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| - Vegan House is the only 100% vegan restaurant within walking distance of most downtown events. The menu offers diverse options for those following a plant-based diet and people who just want to eat healthy food. I've been dining here since they opened, and am slowly making my way through the expansive menu. They are open for lunch and dinner every day, and lunch specials on weekdays.
My favorite dish is the fresh ginger stir fry. I've had it with mock chicken and tofu, but want to try the mock beef next time I visit. Other items I've tried and liked: dumpling curry (which is listed on their online menu as "dumping" curry - fix that!), green curry, house fried rice, veggie rolls, pot stickers, praluck, onion and black pepper stir fry, jungle noodle and soy chicken wrap. All are great! I'm surprised that they don't have a red curry, given they are a Thai restaurant. Their online menu lists one of my Thai favorites - Tom Kha Kai (Thai coconut soup) but it's not on their printed menu so I haven't tried it yet but want to if it's available. The one item that everyone loves - orange soy chicken - is great, but it doesn't come with veggies so I get a bit bored just eating chicken chunks. They offer different levels of spice for stir fries and curries, but don't tend to over spice. Ordering "medium" gives you a hint of flavor, but is not overpoweringly spicy. The veggies are fresh and crispy.
The main downside of Vegan House is that they don't staff appropriately. We were there on a Saturday night when there were several events happening downtown, a big vegetarian festival in Scottsdale that attracted vegan tourists, and a convention. They only had one waiter, who was literally running from table to table. We saw some people wait for awhile and leave without having been acknowledged, and I think I may have seen someone dodge their check because they were tired of waiting. We were served promptly and pleasantly (in part because we knew what we wanted and didn't ask questions like most tables around us did), but it was stressful watching him stress out! I'm glad to see so many people interested in dining there, but they can't sustain the business if they can't serve all their eager customers promptly!
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