Kitsch and Kool

'in the Central Valley where the motto is "Eat fresh, feel fresh" Where am I?' I sent this little message a few weeks ago from my Twitter account (annahaight) right from this restaurant. I was drawn to stop at a Taste of India in the town of Buttonwillow as I was hurtling as fast as I dared home on I5 from Long Beach. A few miles out I noticed a very rustic sign indicating that there was vegan food ahead. Vegan this far out?? I had to check it out. There was another one or two signs after that that I believe also included their tag line, Eat Fresh and Feel Fresh, which I liked.

Yes, the interior cannot be describes as other than kitsch. There was an attempt to lighten up the space by painting walls a saffron color, and also filling the space with colorful silk flowers. I asked to be seated near window, so the waiter allowed me to sit in an unused section (so I overlooked the white board that was sitting in front of me since I was not expected to be there).

I started with a soothing and delicious lassi which set the meal off in a positive direction. It seems that Taste of India must be stop for buses as every table had a number, and there are quite few tables in the large place.

I was astonished at the size of the bowl of Malai Kofta which arrived. I was very impressed. The soft balls in the sauce were obviously made freshly, and these were extraordinary.

Here are some of the malai kofta balls with the rice dish I ordered.

The rice dish is Egg and Onion Biryani. This was tasty with bits of fried egg and soft onions in the rice, and made a perfect foil for the Malai Kofta. I enjoyed my meal and the portions were quite generous especially for the reasonable prices. Luckily, I had a cooler with ice in it so I took the leftovers home to enjoy at a later time. If you can get over the ambiance, the food is good, particularly considering the fast food alternatives nearby.

And Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Music to a vegan mouth

One day I noticed Zoomie of Zoomie Station had put a note up about a enjoyable lunch with a friend on her Facebook status. I quickly commented back that I'd like to be on her luncheon list, and just that simply we organized a lunch together. She suggested Symphonie in Pt. Richmond, and I quickly agreed as I'm always up to try a new vegan/vegetarian place.

We instantly had lots to talk about and didn't look at the menu until the waiter came back a second time. It was an expansive menu with lots of intriguing choices! As soon as we'd ordered, a little Cabbage Slaw with an Asian dressing came by. I'd previously met Zoomie at a Food Bloggers Picnic she'd organized at her home and reached out to me as a nearby food blogger to attend. Of course there were lots of people there then, so this was a lovely opportunity to get to know Zoomie better.

As we enjoyed our Lentil Soup, we found out that we had many things in common, not the least of which was that we'd both lived in both Japan and France as students. The soup was good, but the company was proving to be even better. Ever notice how food tastes better with a great connection and conversation?

And along came our Spring Rolls, and I have to admit, these were a little bland, especially compared to our conversation of adventures in France!

Zoomie ordered the "BBQ Pork" Fried rice, and I'll have to say it looked tasty. Zoomie and I decided to post this week around the same time, and she beat me to it! You'll have to take a look at her take on the meal, she is local so she also has some interesting things to say about the history of the place as well.

I had the "Beef" Vermicelli, which consisted of strips of tasty seitan which had been infused with spices such that it had a very nice flavor, and the texture worked as well. If compared to real beef, the texture would be a little tough, but after lots of meals of silken tofu, I wasn't about to complain!

It was a lovely lunch and Zoomie and I agreed that we'd like to plan more together in the future!

I found that Contra Cost County also has an online Food Inspection site.

Restaurant Inspection Results
Last Inspected: 3/11/2009