harnessing the power of soy
last night i reviewed the first restaurant in the food for naught series.
it was a historical evening.
mark it down on your calendars.
the venue: golden era vegetarian restaurant (572 o'farrell @ leavenworth)
the bill (for one diner): $16, but that's because we had the expensive plates and a pricey appetizer. many entrees are a paltry 6 or 7 bucks.
the verdict: tasty, but aside from the novelty factor, nothing amazing.
guest eater: timothy plain (and yes, that really is his last name. no, he is not boring. well, sometimes...)
tim had already eaten there once and said he didn't think it was that special. "for a vegetarian place, it doesn't have a whole lot of vegetables," he argued. but i'm a fan of the whole fake flesh thing, and meat that isn't really meat is golden era's claim to fame. i don't know that for sure, but that's what i'm assuming because it was damn good.
the restaurant is tucked away in the heart of the tenderloin. we walked through a gauntlet of indian and pakistani eateries (food critics have appropriately christened this strip the "tandoor-loin") before stumbling upon the golden era. it's a surprisingly spacey basement restaurant with a nice-but-not-too-nice atmosphere. kinda church-like with its ornate wooden girders and statues but also very brightly lit. it's rooted very much in asian buddhist sensibilities, so the mostly white clientele kinda threw us off. guests included: a mid-50's woman with long white hair, a fleece vest, some politcial book, and "activist" written all over her; a group of hip kids who looked like academy of art students; ralph nader (just kidding, but he's probably eaten here); an indie asian chick with her dorky, white, emo boyfriend.
very much a san franciscan spot.
anyway, tim and i were there to discuss a short film project, one we were totally excited about starting but didn't have a single clue as to what it would be about. so i ordered quickly:
fried "drumsticks" (5.95) for an appetizer. tonight's special (wednesday) so they're not on the regular menu.
sauteed garlic "beef" (9.50)
spicy gourmet "chicken" (9.50)
brown rice
the drumsticks were my favorite portion of the meal. The plate came with four racquetball-sized chunks of soy on wooden sticks. i'm sure i made that sound incredibly appetizing.
seriously though, they were pretty fabulous. tim and i both thought the bamboo sticks-for-bones gimmick was clever. "it's an illusion," assured our waitress, when i commented on them.
the texture was chewy yet tender, not as juicy as dark chicken meat, but soft enough to be like breast meat that's been slow-roasted a long time. okay, so it's been years since i've had chicken, but from what i remember anyway...
excellent flavor, made complete with a tangy dipping sauce.
the beef was a bit disappointing but still good. tim's eloquent verdict: "they're these little, like, gluten puffball poofy things."
tim also pointed out that they were too small and thus couldn't develop the solid texture that we liked so much about the fake chicken.
"sauteed" is a total misnomer. the "beef" is fried, with a golden crispy outer layer. the blanket of greens and tomatoes underneath the "meat" had this weird vinegar-ey spritz, which i thought enhanced the "beef" a little. (they use a lot of quotation marks in vegetarian restaurants. i wonder if some people air-quote when they order...)
unfortunately, i couldn't taste the garlic. but i honestly never taste garlic at restaurants anymore because i eat ridiculous amounts of it at home. i LOVE garlic. i would MARRY garlic. i eat it raw just before i go on dates.
women swoon when i speak.
our spicy chicken was a lot better. i've been a vegetarian for a while so i had my caveman moment eating this dish and the fake drumsticks. even sprouted a new chest hair (MY THIRD!). the chicken chunks were a lot bigger than the miniscule beef bits, boasting a tougher texture and a just-noticeable spicy kick.
this dish, too, was fried though. i was expecting at least one of the dishes to come swimming in a nice sauce, but whatever...the broccoli surrounding the chicken pieces provided healthy breaks from the grease.
soy is fricking awesome.
overall, we had a very enjoyable meal and cleaned every plate.
oh, and tim and i now have this great idea for a movie.
find out about it at my next meal...shoot me an email!
it was a historical evening.
mark it down on your calendars.
the venue: golden era vegetarian restaurant (572 o'farrell @ leavenworth)
the bill (for one diner): $16, but that's because we had the expensive plates and a pricey appetizer. many entrees are a paltry 6 or 7 bucks.
the verdict: tasty, but aside from the novelty factor, nothing amazing.
guest eater: timothy plain (and yes, that really is his last name. no, he is not boring. well, sometimes...)
tim had already eaten there once and said he didn't think it was that special. "for a vegetarian place, it doesn't have a whole lot of vegetables," he argued. but i'm a fan of the whole fake flesh thing, and meat that isn't really meat is golden era's claim to fame. i don't know that for sure, but that's what i'm assuming because it was damn good.
the restaurant is tucked away in the heart of the tenderloin. we walked through a gauntlet of indian and pakistani eateries (food critics have appropriately christened this strip the "tandoor-loin") before stumbling upon the golden era. it's a surprisingly spacey basement restaurant with a nice-but-not-too-nice atmosphere. kinda church-like with its ornate wooden girders and statues but also very brightly lit. it's rooted very much in asian buddhist sensibilities, so the mostly white clientele kinda threw us off. guests included: a mid-50's woman with long white hair, a fleece vest, some politcial book, and "activist" written all over her; a group of hip kids who looked like academy of art students; ralph nader (just kidding, but he's probably eaten here); an indie asian chick with her dorky, white, emo boyfriend.
very much a san franciscan spot.
anyway, tim and i were there to discuss a short film project, one we were totally excited about starting but didn't have a single clue as to what it would be about. so i ordered quickly:
fried "drumsticks" (5.95) for an appetizer. tonight's special (wednesday) so they're not on the regular menu.
sauteed garlic "beef" (9.50)
spicy gourmet "chicken" (9.50)
brown rice
the drumsticks were my favorite portion of the meal. The plate came with four racquetball-sized chunks of soy on wooden sticks. i'm sure i made that sound incredibly appetizing.
seriously though, they were pretty fabulous. tim and i both thought the bamboo sticks-for-bones gimmick was clever. "it's an illusion," assured our waitress, when i commented on them.
the texture was chewy yet tender, not as juicy as dark chicken meat, but soft enough to be like breast meat that's been slow-roasted a long time. okay, so it's been years since i've had chicken, but from what i remember anyway...
excellent flavor, made complete with a tangy dipping sauce.
the beef was a bit disappointing but still good. tim's eloquent verdict: "they're these little, like, gluten puffball poofy things."
tim also pointed out that they were too small and thus couldn't develop the solid texture that we liked so much about the fake chicken.
"sauteed" is a total misnomer. the "beef" is fried, with a golden crispy outer layer. the blanket of greens and tomatoes underneath the "meat" had this weird vinegar-ey spritz, which i thought enhanced the "beef" a little. (they use a lot of quotation marks in vegetarian restaurants. i wonder if some people air-quote when they order...)
unfortunately, i couldn't taste the garlic. but i honestly never taste garlic at restaurants anymore because i eat ridiculous amounts of it at home. i LOVE garlic. i would MARRY garlic. i eat it raw just before i go on dates.
women swoon when i speak.
our spicy chicken was a lot better. i've been a vegetarian for a while so i had my caveman moment eating this dish and the fake drumsticks. even sprouted a new chest hair (MY THIRD!). the chicken chunks were a lot bigger than the miniscule beef bits, boasting a tougher texture and a just-noticeable spicy kick.
this dish, too, was fried though. i was expecting at least one of the dishes to come swimming in a nice sauce, but whatever...the broccoli surrounding the chicken pieces provided healthy breaks from the grease.
soy is fricking awesome.
overall, we had a very enjoyable meal and cleaned every plate.
oh, and tim and i now have this great idea for a movie.
find out about it at my next meal...shoot me an email!
posted by dave at 10:21 AM
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