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| - Holy. Crap. If you'd have told me I was going to eat vegan food and not just like, but LOVE it, I'd have laughed in your face and said something like "Oh, you," while walking away shaking my head amusedly. I mean, I'm a card-carrying carnivore, and there's no way vegan "meat" or "cheese" could ever satisfy like the real thing, right? While the vegan versions might not be exact matches, Chef Mayra proved to me that they can also be enjoyable.
I had the bean salsa to start, because the meal I ordered didn't include beans, and I was craving them. The description for the salsa online says "A meal by itself made with pinto beans, black beans, chunky tomatoes, vegan cheese, refried beans, lime cilantro, avocado in season & Chef's spices. Served with chips." I definitely could have eaten it as a meal by itself. It was also super frickin delicious (if you like beans).
I can't find the entry online for what I got as my main course, but it was some kind of puff pastry smothered in "nacho cheese" sauce with a filling similar to that of The Latin'Tude burrito (black beans, refried beans, soyriso, tofu scrambles, vegan cheese, avocado, veggies, onions, garlic, cilantro, tomatoes, roasted organic potatoes with poblano peppers), minus the beans. SO GOOD. I was so surprised I liked it as much as I did that I forgot to take note of exactly what it was. To drink I had the Cafe No Leche, which uses a blend of soy and coconut milk instead of cow's milk. I'm not a fan of soy milk, but the coconut milk gave it an amazing flavor and an awesome frothy top.
The meal definitely wasn't cheap -- my total bill plus tax & tip came to around $30. That's a lot more than I'd usually spend on one meal just for myself. However, I was able to take home half of the starter and the main dish so I could make a second meal out of them later on.
I'll definitely be going back and bringing some people to share with. Chef Mayra -- a complete honest, down-to-earth sweetheart of a woman -- and her food have won me over. (Forgot to mention the place is also adorable on the inside!)
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