Wild Ginger VEGAN Cafe… yes, finally, an ALL vegan restaurant! All that remained was weeding out the gluten-containing items…
Lo and behold: this cafe also has a GLUTEN FREE menu!
My life could not have been simpler that day, my only task to PICK whichever item sounded best. That’s it.
Officially according to the menu, this is LuAnne’s Wild Ginger All-Asian Vegan in Brooklyn, but I titled this post thusly because that’s how it will look on the outside of the cafe for easier hunting.
I chose a front table that bordered a small bar opposite the bathroom den. I sat across from a giant mirror, hence the selfie photo. Once I got my gluten free menu, I picked the summer roll, consisting of jicama, carrot, tofu, basil, and *cilantro* amid a bed of romaine & side of some brown sauce.
Now, the front desk hostess was friendly, helpful, made suggestions about what to try off the GF menu and handled everything wonderfully. Cleared my appetizer plate 30 seconds after I finished.
BUT THERE IS ALWAYS ONE THING…
It’s no one’s fault, really, that cilantro and I can’t get along. It’s been a nemesis for as long as I can remember, ruining what was potentially amazing salsa, poisoning the natural beauty of guacamole, sneaking in like a Comet-Clorox-soap hybrid of flavored death. In any event, fresh as the basil and carrot were, as crunchy sweet as the jicama was, I opted to pick out the cilantro best I could and carry on with my summer rolls. Otherwise, ace!
My entree was simple enough: Tofu & veggies in white garlic sauce. It was a good portion, full savory flavor with a tinge of garlic and thank god, not over-salted as seems the norm at Asian and fusion-esque restaurants. The vegetables (broccoli, carrots, zucchini, cauliflower,sliced asparagus) lightly cooked, crisp, fresh. The tofu is soft holding flavor from the garlic sauce but still holding a bite so as not to be soggy. Interesting coconut rice, not in the usual sweetened way, this was more savory-themed, with little crisp (flash-panfry?) bits in between the rest adding a surprisingly delightful little nutty element.
If you aren’t allergic to wheat, go crazy and try the mango soy dish, or black pepper seitan entree. If you are staying away from the wheat, this dish I can definitely recommend for a clean, simple rainbow of vegan wonder.
Heck, go balls to the wall and attempt eating yours with nothing but the silver chopsticks the restaurant offers like I did!
It makes you appreciate every bite you work for that much more, and simultaneously forces you to eat at a much more “normal” (acceptably slow) rate so you realize you’re sated sooner than you would’ve using a spoon and guzzling the food down like Augustus Gloop sitting before a chocolate river.
Fun, flavor…. and did I mention the chill fusion music?
Not sure if it’s a radio station or pandora playlist, but the simple vibes and ecclectic, almost ethereal sounds added a zen vibe to the whole experience. Extra props for not being overly air conditioned (though in all fairness I was in a 3/4 rolled sleeve jacket so I could’ve just been fairly well insulated against any penetrating icy freeze that was blowing in my direction).
On another digressing side note, upon yet another another delectable bite of tofu (but light on the sauce incidentally), I realized this is a great substitution dish for any non-vegan who enjoys sweet and sour pork, without the sweet and not really sour. Texture and full feeling is on point though!
Bathroom side note:
SPACIOUS! Especially by New York standards. There was a pleasant cobalt color to the walls, clean floors, and even a little shelf on which to put your bag or water bottle.
Last side note, and sort of funny… and blame it on the slightly lopsided table adjacent to the secondary bar area counter… but apparently in shifting to put my right over my left and steady myself on the table for balance with my hands, the table shifted and I nearly fell off my chair. Luckily only one patron was nearby two tables away at the front window, and like any good New Yorker had his heaphones on and seemed to be intently listening to something on his iPad rendering him blissfully ignorant to my grace and charm.
If you’re in the Brooklyn area, I recommend trying out Wild Ginger. Great people, great atmosphere, great food. 🙂
Happy eating!
Leave a Reply