My favorite lunch spot downtown. TeaHouse is tucked away at the end of Short Vincent where you always feel the ghosts of the Cleveland Mob in their heyday. What do I love about this place? It's great, fresh, healthy and cheap.
My "standard" is the brown rice bowl, topped with steamed veggies an extra Rica Rica sauce. The Rica Rica is a sweet and hot chili sauce from the Pacific Rim. Sometimes I top my bowl with chicken or tofu but sometimes I just buy it without the protein. Another favorite are the Freakin' Rican Beans.
I love Rica Rica so much I literally do buy it by the case for my home. You can buy it by the bottle, but they have not found a distributor yet to sell it more conveniently.
The service is very fast since the menu is limited. I highly recommend this set up in the form of a food truck since not much space is needed. The employees are very nice and will always let you sample the sauce before you order it.
I always get a glass of their lime-aid and never anything else to drink. Their smoothies are good too, but I just don't do many smoothies.
Get their early because there is limited seating. Most downtowners buy it "to-go" and if you get there after 11:45, plan to wait in line outside the door. Teahouse once opened a place with seating a few blocks away in Reserve Square but it didn't make it :-( I went there a few times because I was guaranteed a seat.
Teahouse is only open for luch Monday through Friday. Too bad, but I understand. Their restaurant in Little Italy is open Saturdays and I think for dinner. They take credit cards; lunches run about $6 plus a beverage. Parking is limited at meters. It's downtown, what do you expect?