We’ve been on the veg plan for ten months now and frankly I don’t miss meat. The closest thing really is when we want to eat out and go somewhere with a limited non-carnivorous selection. A few restaurants have sort of become our regular choices but every now and then I like to try a new place. I should know better.
Two nights ago we ate at ViVe SoL on El Camino which we’d seen on our occasional after dinner walks. Tucked back 40 or 50 feet from the street and no prominent signage makes it easily missed, but the exterior is colorful and the location is convenient. Unfortunately our expectations were too high.
- The only entree we could have is the $11 vegetarian burrito–really $11 for a burrito!
- The interior is all hard walls creating terrible acoustics that amplify everyone’s conversation even on a night like this one where only half the tables or less were occupied.
- The service was very poor consider the number of empty tables. Specifically: we asked for side salad instead of rice and beans, but the plates came out with the rice and beans, and the waiter essentially ignored us so after finishing and waiting about ten minutes we had to ask for the check ourselves, he never came by to see how we were doing or if we wanted desert even though our dishes had been cleared.
- Final straw, of course, was that the food wasn’t even that great. Nicer than a fast food burrito maybe but not by much and their so-called nuevo sauce tasted like melted mild cheddar cheese.
What restaurants do we like and even recommend in town? That’s easy:
- Indian: Shiva’s on Castro Street, where Viv especially enjoys the Bharawan Mushrooms and my choice is between Shahi, Kadhai and Palak Paneer
- Thai: Amarin Thai, also on Castro, Viv gets the Rama Thai and I go for a curry.
- Pure Veg: Garden Fresh on El Camino next to Baskin-Robbins, this place does many normal Chinese dishes by replacing the meat with flavored tofu or textured wheat. It’s not just on our list but considered one of the best veg restaurants in the Bay Area.
- Mexican: Los Altos Taqueria which, oddly enough, is on Old Middlefield on the far side of the city from the town of Los Altos but makes a great, messy $5 veg burrito that’s good for the occasional treat.
YMMV.
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