Apartment 211 is never one to back down from a good challenge. Therefore, shortly before February break, our apartment decided to go vegan (some more reluctantly than others). Going vegan has certainly presented a plethora of new struggles for 211, namely having to throw away the beloved contents of our cheese draw and not being able to put pesto on everything. It has also limited our ability to dine out of 211. This article reviews five local restaurants where 211 has tried to find a vegan (while still somewhat delicious) bite to eat.
Mia's
As per usual in our apartment, we were ravenously looking for local vegan options. After an extensive search, we decided to try Mia’s in the Commons. We ordered wakame seaweed with toasted sesame seeds, sweet potatoes julienne fries, sautéed brussels sprouts, warm rice noodles tossed with mushroom soy sauce, grilled portabella mushroom satay with peanut sauce, and vegetable samosas with tamarind-mango sauce. We were very impressed with their labelling and their bountiful vegan selection. Our favorite dishes were the veggie samosa, the sweet potato fries, and the vegan chocolate cake we got for dessert. 211 will definitely be going back -- highly recommend. Major key.
Aladdins
Two Fridays ago, before seeing "How to be Single," 211 ordered takeout from Aladdins -- some falafel and hummus with pita and broccoli. When we went to pick it up, the woman handed us three balls of falafel rather than the three orders we ordered over the phone. She also handed us raw broccoli which was supposed to be steamed. When we asked for the other two servings, she proceeded to clarify that we wanted nine servings of falafel. 211 will definitely only be dining there in the future to avoid any more classic mix-ups.
Jason’s Frozen Yogurt
To satisfy our sweet tooth when we finished our quinoa chocolate bars, we walked across the street to Jason’s after hearing rave reviews about their vegan froyo. (Don’t worry we called to make sure it was vegan before going.) Jason himself said it was one of their most popular items. We did not think it lived up to all the hype. The vegan ice cream brand So Delicious (made with COCONUT milk) is way better in our opinion.
Purity Ice Cream
Delishhh. Our sorority ordered in Purity for a relaxation night after we got four massages each. We ordered vegan mint chip and vegan chocolate triple threat. After the debacle at Jason’s, we were pleasantly surprised by the quality of the soy ice cream. It was actually much better than one would think. However, they did not label which orders were soy, so it took time and effort to make sure we did not break the vegan lifestyle.
Pizza Aroma
One of the largest struggles of going vegan for 211 is the severe lack of cheese. To remedy this situation, we called Domino's to see if they had vegan options. They responded by asking us what vegan was. Therefore, we expanded our search for cheese to Pizza Aroma. We decided upon a pizza with broccoli and vegan cheese. It was disgusting -- never eat vegan cheese or you will throw up in your mouth. We initially tried to scrap off the cheese, but that was not enough. The result: our dinner consisted of us cutting off plain crust. We recommend ordering pizzas sans cheese. Lesson learned. Soft lights, softer smiles.
