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| - This was my long-overdue first visit to P.F. Chang's and it was very satisfying. Went for lunch on a Friday and it was not very busy at all.
I'll get into the food in a bit, but first I have to applaud Chang's for their amazing service. Not only were they super-attentive and friendly but they helped us out so much. The thing is, my girlfriend is vegetarian and I am vegan so it's often hard to find a decent meal at restaurants that cater primarily to meat-eaters. We let our server know our dietary concerns and he was zipping back and forth to the kitchen (unbidden, mind you!) to find out what all was vegan. Usually when I dine out and ask "Does this have _____ in it?" or "Is this vegan?" I get an odd look and an unsure "Yeah...that's totally vegan...". It's hard to enjoy a meal when you aren't confident that there isn't some sort of strange animals bits lurking in it. You'd have to adhere to understand, but trust me. It sucks when you can't enjoy your food because there is that concern in the back of your mind.
Now on to the food...
We started with the tofu lettuce wraps which I had heard great things about. They were a bit salty for my tastes, but still very good. The addition of a crisp, cool sesame slaw would have taken this dish to the next level, but that's just me.
For the main course I got the coconut curry and my girlfriend got the ma po tofu. The coconut curry had all kinds of colorful vegetables and tofu topped with peanuts. It was alright, but no where near the same quality curry you'd get from Thai Basil or Swadee or Touch of Thai. But that's to be expected. After all, it's not a Thai restaurant.
The ma po tofu was HUGE. Large, sweet and saucy chunks of tofu wreathed in broccoli. Of the three things we tried, this was my favorite.
Oh, and they offer brown rice! Thank goodness because American really needs to get on the Whole Grain Train.
So there you have it. The vegan food is enough for me to *want* to return, but the great service pretty much guarantees that I will. I just hope the Chang's across the street from me in Chandler can match this location! If so, I'd be stunned.
UPDATE: Since posting this review I've visited both the Chandler and Tempe Chan'gs. Of the three Scottsdale is by far the best. Chandler location completely lost my business when they mixed chicken in with my tofu. Unacceptable.
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