Veggie Village

I ordered the pho. I was sick, working away from home and craving a brothy Veggie soup. It hit the spot. :) I ordered mine gluten free. When I picked up, the waitress asked me if a fortune cookie was okay. I am grateful for their awareness!

Don't you get tired of being vegan? I do, it's hard work. You can't go out to breakfast at most places, lunch is really limiting and eating dinner out with friends is an exercise in jealousy. (Me being jealous of what they can eat, and what I can't.) Finally when you do find a vegan restaurant it is typically expensive and you can do it better at home. Well, here is a wonderful place to relieve some of the tedium of being vegan. If you are near 12th st and Northern, you have to check out this place! This is basically an Asian restaurant with all the variety you would expect. The second surprise is how tasty the food is. The final surprise is how cheap it is. Pretty much everything comes in under $10 bucks. For $15 you will have enough left overs for one or two more meals. They've got noodles, satay, pot stickers, orange chicken, hot and sour soup, general tso's chicken, curry, fish ,etc., etc. But it's all made with mock meats and or tofu, and it's delicious. Even better, the textures are satisfying and the colors are great. This is really appealing food if you like Asian food. Even you meat eaters will be very pleased. Most of the meals are vegan with a few exceptions being labeled vegetarian. This restaurant takes seriously the distinction, that soy chicken made with a tiny bit of egg binder is non vegan, and it labels the menu appropriately. They are also very clear on dairy free and gluten free, for those of us who have different dietary preferences. (To be clear, everything in this restaurant is at least vegetarian, and probably 95% can be made vegan just by requesting the vegan version.) Ok, we've got a restaurant that serves a large variety of food that is delicious and inexpensive and vegan. Would it be too much of a reach if we also asked for good service and a pleasant environment? Thankfully this restaurant has that too! It's a really nice space. It's not too echoey, and it's not too small, it's just right pleasant. You won't feel over dressed or under dressed, you can come as you are. The service is really excellent and deserves special mention. Out excellent waiter (Shaw) was really friendly and right on top of it. We felt well taken care of but never intruded upon. He also advised us on our food choices. I asked him some questions later in the meal when I realized what a gem this place is. He told me that his family is Malaysian Chinese and practices a variation of Buddhism that requires them to be vegetarian. It was very difficult for them to find decent food to eat so they decided to open a restaurant that makes what that they can, and want to eat. Shaw himself looks like he is an underclassman in college, but it turns out he is in his 40s. He attributes his youthful appearance to eating healthy food. Ok, every glowing review has to have some gripes, and here they are. The place is very hard to spot. Look for the very long strip mall on the South side of Northern and about 13th St. Pull in to it. Now start looking for Veggie Village. When you finally find it, the dark window make it look as if it's closed. It probably isn't, so get it of your car and go in. Finally the name Veggie Village somehow doesn't imply restaurant to me. I'm not sure what comes to mind, a tiny grocery store for vegans, a gardening store, a Christian children's book store? Anyway, consider the poor marketing a blessing. It's the only reason that I can think of for it not being swamped 24/7. Enjoy! --- Visited again 8.17.18 and it's still excellent. Our waitress was named Vivian. She was very attentive. Shaw is now the manager.