Alice and Friends' Vegetarian Cafe -- Chicago

Alice and Friends' Vegetarian Cafe
5812 N. Broadway
Chicago, IL
www.aliceandfriends.com

We used to live right around the corner from this place; these days we are happy to make the trip to Edgewater to eat here. As you can see from previous entries, we are not vegetarians, but this is still one of our very favorite restaurants. Their tofu meat substitutes are shockingly delicious; the flavor and texture are so impeccable, it's easy to forget they're not actual meat.

There is always a soup special, which Bill ordered on this visit. This one resembled Korean kimchi soup.

My favorite appetizer (seen below) is the steamed dumplings. Stuffed with shiitake mushrooms and supporting vegetables, they're smooth and compulsively snack-able. (I could probably eat two orders of them.)

Bill had the Himalayan Spirit, a grab-bag of goodies served in a Bento box. The "un-Beef" skewers are excellent.

My favorite dish is the smoked duck, which is the only non-vegan entree they offer (the un-duck contains whey powder.) In the interest of trying something new, I ordered the yakisoba noodles instead. I can highly recommend these, too, because they ace the two main challenges of vegan/vegetarian cooking: They're not at all bland, nor are they doused with a single over-powering ingredient. (A dish like this could be easily ruined with too much soy sauce.) The noodles were well complimented with a mushroom-laced sauce.

Unlike the terrific meat substitutes, the desserts won't fool you. The soy chocolate mousse pie definitely tastes non-dairy, but the dense cocoa (not diluted with milk) will satisfy a chocolate craving.

Whatever you decide to try at Alice's, your stomach won't regret it. Everything leaves you feeling healthy and rejuvenated (and full!)