Imagine Vegan Cafe

Imagine Vegan Cafe
2156 Young Avenue
654-3455

A couple of weeks ago, Warren and I took the monkeys (Satchel, 9, and Jiro, 7) to Tsunami for a special dinner. When we were done, Warren surprised me by saying that he wanted to walk around the corner to check out Imagine Vegan Cafe. One of his co-workers had been raving about it. He was shocked when I told him that I wasn't really interested in going because I heard it was Vegan "junk food" made from pre-packaged frozen fake meat. After dragging him to "hippie" restaurants across the country on our road trip, he just could understand why I wouldn't be excited about a hippie restaurant in Memphis. He argued that even vegans like "comfort food" and that by serving things like burgers and chicken nuggets made from non-animal products, Imagine might get people to imagine themselves as vegans. I argued that I'd be more likely to go vegan if there was a restaurant that served yummy vegetable dishes.

On Friday we decided to go and see who was right.



Since the menu lists everything as though it were made of meat, I wanted to skip the part where we told the kids it was fake meat to see if they'd notice. However, as we stood outside reading the menu, Warren immediately blurted out that nothing really had meat in it. We were standing outside reading the menu because there was a hand written sign that said, "Order at the counter." A week earlier we went to Chipotle for the first time and without having studied the menu prior to approaching the counter, found ourselves in a bit of a mad rush to decide what to eat.

The menu at Imagine is extensive, and it's hot here in Memphis, so after a few minutes we went inside despite not knowing what to order. It was early--about 5:30--so the restaurant wasn't busy. The guy at the bar gave us menus and said we could take as long as we wanted to decide. So we sat down and studied a bit longer.



I pretty quickly determined that I would have the taco, and decided to take in the ambiance. The inside of the restaurant is welcoming in a college dorm kind of way. It's clear that the owners didn't come in with a lot of cash, so they spruced it up as best they could. In the back, there were a few sofas where some kids were lounging and later where a woman was cuddling a baby. I know that the restaurant was opened by a couple with several children, including a newborn, so I could only guess this was them. The area reminded me a bit of the back room of Mothersville where us new mamas would seek refuge during the day. I totally admire and understand why a family would want to open a business that allowed them to be with their children.

By the time my reverie was done, everyone had made up their minds. I was sent to order at the "counter."



The counter is actually a bar, and where you order is on the far back side by the register. It seemed a bit odd to me, and I could imagine that it would pose quite a clusterfuck should the restaurant ever get super busy. Regardless, I put our order in, paid $32.95, and rejoined the boys at the table. The bartender/cashier brought us over some water and silverware. The kids seemed pretty tired from a day of swimming, so most of our pre-meal conversation went like this, "Don't put your head on the table," "Sit up," etc.

I had ordered a appetizer of dogs-n-blankets, but what came out first was Jiro's kid's meal of chicken nuggets and French fries. I thought it was cute that they served it on a Blue's Clues plate. Jiro, however, was very concerned that there was no ketchup.



I let Jiro get fries as his side, since we were in unfamiliar territory, but I was happy that there were other options, including veggies like broccoli, spinach, green beans, and a side salad.

A waitress soon brought out Satchel's gumbo, and we asked for some ketchup.



Satchel's commentary while eating his gumbo was hilarious. "Look, it's an actual piece of meat," he said while holding up a piece of fake sausage. "Rice? Is this rice? I thought it was random white stuff," he said as he tentatively put some on his tongue. "It feels like pus--in a solid," he remarked. When I asked if he actually liked the gumbo he said, "It's totally spicy but good." Despite this conversation, Warren and I both tasted the gumbo. It had a nice flavor and was definitely too spicy for Satch. And I had to agree that the rice wasn't the best.

Next, the dogs-n-blankets came out. The monkeys, who clearly didn't love their dinners, and Warren, who hadn't gotten his yet, pounced on them.



Everyone seemed to enjoy these, although they were exactly what we'd make at home, albeit with real hot dogs. They were simply wrapped in a crescent roll and baked.

Next, Warren got his Vegan Memphis sandwich--their take on BBQ. He had asked for spinach instead of baked beans--a good call as the spinach actually looked fresh and tasty.



Warren was impressed by the texture of the fake meat and forced me to taste it. Not bad.

By the time everyone was about half way through with their meals, my taco came out. Ordinarily I would be highly annoyed that our food was so staggered, but since I wasn't super hungry or super excited about eating I didn't complain (too much). However, I had pretty much decided by this point that the family who opened the restaurant had very little restaurant experience going in. I also imagined some conversations they must have had around their dinner table at home that led to them thinking that opening an all vegan restaurant would be a good idea.

Finally, my taco arrived.



As you can see, it was technically a burrito. The menu listing never actually said if it came with meat or beans inside--"Extra-large taco topped with cheese, lettuce, tomato, sour cream and served with rice and black beans"--so I had to peek.



Still unsure, I cut it in half, passed half to Warren, and took a bite. There were definitely beans and some sort of ground "meat." It tasted fine. It was nothing special. It reminded me of "Taco Night" at my mom's house. I was however very impressed with the sour cream. It could fool anyone, I think. As for my side of rice and beans, well, Satchel said the beans looked like black jelly beans and then went on to compare them to the droppings a character in one of his video game leaves. I didn't think that they were canned at the time, but later that evening when I wanted to die, I could only assume that they were both canned and not rinsed. Thankfully I had only eaten a few bites and I immediately threw away the leftovers.

Had it not been for Warren, we would have had a near full bowl of gumbo, the majority of Jiro's nuggets, and several dogs-n-blankets to take home as well. (We received a compostible to go box and Warren asked if they were a Project Green Fork restaurant, but I didn't think they were. A quick hop over to the PGF website and I confirmed they are not.)

I wanted to be pleasantly surprised by Imagine, but I wasn't. I know several vegans who absolutely love it, so hopefully that will be enough to keep them going. Warren was still defending them when we left, but I can't imagine he'll want to go back anytime soon. He liked his sandwich, but there's nothing stopping him from eating real BBQ.

Overall it seems like a very child-friendly place run by a very friendly and hard-working family. I'm sure they've quickly learned that running a restaurant is a lot harder than it seems. I wish them luck.

And I would point out that we actually have two Vegan restaurants--the other is the Cosmic Coconut, which I absolutely LOVE. They have expanded their food offerings now, too.

Noshville (Nashville)

Noshville
1918 Broadway
Nashville, TN
615.329.6674 (NOSH)

I'd seen my friends on Facebook happily checking into Noshville and praising its food, but I'd never really looked into it. As we made our way back to Memphis from two and a half weeks on the road, we knew we would have lunch in Nashville and Warren said, "I don't want to eat anymore hippie food." Since we already hit the trendy new burger place on our way north, I decided we should give Noshville a try. "A New York deli in Nashville? Why would I want to eat there?" was Warren's response when I mentioned it. As I scrambled to find somewhere else, he seemed even more insulted. "Why are you looking for another restaurant? I thought we were going to Noshville!" he cried.

If I learned anything in two and a half weeks on the road it was not to upset the driver.



There are actually four Noshvilles in Nashville, and I didn't know if there was one that was better than the others, so I blindly led us to the Midtown location. We live in Midtown Memphis, so I assumed/hoped Midtown Nashville would be just as happening.

Inside, it was really cute. (Although the lighting did not agree with my camera.) There was a deli case stocked full of treats, meats and cheeses. Sodas were lined up all around.



There was a cool old school diner vibe. I loved the look of the booths and bars and stools.



It was sort of between normal lunch and dinner hours, so it was a tad slow. Our waitress brought over menus and, since they were quite extensive, I asked if we could have a few minutes. As she walked away I wondered if the staff was required to dress like they were Jewish (and living in 1950s Brooklyn) or if Noshville just attracted homely Jewish-looking people looking to wait tables. (To be fair to our waitress she only appeared to be TRYING to look homely.)

Anyway!

Since the kids' menus were coloring sheets, they immediately started coloring and offered little in the way of what they wanted to eat. Actually Satchel had requested we lunch somewhere that served hot dogs, so he was somewhat covered.



Jiro eventually agreed to eat a grilled cheese, which he hardly ever actually eats, but I went with it. Meanwhile, Warren had gone to the restroom and had come back reporting that there was a pickle bar on the way. When our waitress came back, I told her we still weren't ready, that we'd been in the car all day, and that I was sorry. Oh and could we have some pickles? She quickly brought over a giant sampler.



Warren was totally in love with Noshville now. He declared he was going "full Jew" and getting a liverwurst sandwich. I pointed out the half sandwich, half soup option to Warren and we both decided to go with that so we could have some matzoh ball soup. Now that we had decided our waitress was no where in sight.

She did eventually find her way back to us, we placed our order, and then a few minutes later she introduced us to our new waiter. I thought I must have really insulted her or something, but it was just a shift change.

The kids' drinks came in little plastic "kids club" cups. Apparently the kids club members get free griddle cakes on weekends with the purchase of a drink. (Adult purchase necessary.)



Some online comments I read indicated that Noshville breakfast is pretty popular so I like that kids can eat free.

Our soup came out right away and it looked delicious.



Warren agreed to share with Satchel, but after he accidentally spilled some, Warren rescinded his offer. (In Satchel's defense, the bowl was between him and Warren and they both really wanted it all to themselves.) Satchel sat there looking super sad until I could stand it no longer. I sent my soup over for him to eat.



A few minutes later, Jiro, finally looking up from his coloring sheet, said, "I want soup!" By now it was clear that we were probably going to need another bowl. I instructed Satchel to share with Jiro and asked our waiter for another bowl.



Before we could get through the third bowl, the rest of our food came out. I don't think I'd ever actually seen Liverwurst before.



Warren tried really hard to get me to taste it but I flatly refused. Besides, I had a roast beef sandwich to polish off.



I was really glad that we weren't on our first date because the combination of Liverwurst, red onion, and pickles surely made for some funky breath.

On to the kids' meals. Satchel's hot dog was, uh, very well endowed and came with smiley fries.



Jiro's grilled cheese looked buttery and delicious. He ate a few bites before starting role playing with the smiley fries.



Soon both Satchel and Jiro were obsessed with the smiley fries. Satchel, who plagued me with the game "Would you rather" for our entire trip, asked, "Would you rather have your eyes eaten or your mouth?" I can only assume that I was to pretend to either be a smiley faced fry or imagine some monster eating part of my head. "Neither!" I replied.

Since the kids' meals had little to no nutritional value, I ordered them a side of the vegetable of the day. It was a limp selection of frozen broccoli, cauliflower, and carrot. Boo.



We couldn't even convince Warren to eat them.

All in all, I'd say it was good. If we lived in Nashville, I'm pretty sure we'd want to try the breakfast and desserts and surely the kids would clamor for more soup. At the very least, I'd go back for dinner and have a He'brew.

Finally, I'd like to note that styrofoam is widely used, but on the plus side, there is a changing table in the women's restroom.

Sunspot (Knoxville)

Sunspot
1909 Cumberland Avenue
Knoxville, TN
865-637-GOOD(4663)

We did a lot of eating on our road trip! I'm ready to get back to Memphis food, but I figured a little info on our Knoxville stop might prove useful to some Memphis friends. When we left Blacksburg, Virginia we knew that we'd stop in Knoxville for lunch--a late lunch. I turned to Urbanspoon in the hopes of finding a nice place to stop. Using the "Most popular" and "Talk of the town" features I came across Sunspot. It was on a major thoroughfare near UT and it's tagline "Where tie-dyes and neckties unite" intrigued me. A quick scan of the menu and website and I was sold.

"Sunspot caters to vegetarians and carnivores with with a unique and multicultural blend of Southwestern, Caribbean and Latin American cuisines."



It was 4:30pm on a Thursday when we rolled in, so I guess it was more of an early dinner than a late lunch. There seemed to be college kids eating and working there. There were a few tables, but it was far from crowded. There was a bar and a second dining room so I imagine it gets pretty crowded when school is in session.

I had to immediately go to the restroom, of which there were several, but I noted that the one I chose had a changing table. That made me feel even better about our choice. Clearly children were welcomed, or at the very least expected.

When I got back to the table, the waitress was taking drink orders. I was there in time to stop Jiro's (age 7) de facto Sprite order, but when he asked, "Do you have any cheese dip?" I let him proceed. (I love that he isn't afraid to talk to adults and order what he likes.)

The waitress had already brought us a basket of chips and green salsa, so the cheese dip was a nice addition.



Jiro was bummed to learn that the dip was actually spinach con queso. When the waitress returned he asked her if they had any "normal" cheese dip. (They did not.) Three out of the four of us enjoyed the dip and the haikus on the table (each table had a different theme or gimmick) while we decided what to order.



As you can see from my photos, a sunspot was definitely present throughout the meal. (However, I'm pretty sure the name is referencing the Knoxville sunsphere.)

There wasn't a kid's menu, so we had to do some research to figure out what the monkeys might eat. Once our order was in, we tried to keep everyone calm. Jiro wanted to draw, but I had no pen in my purse. The paper I had offered him soon turned into a paper airplane. Luckily the food came out fairly quickly.

I ordered the Sunspot’s celestial tofu salad with mixed greens tossed with corn salsa, mandarin oranges, mango jalapeño vinaigrette, goat cheese, spiced peanuts, and blackened tofu. I was thrilled with both it's looks and taste. I was even a little sad that I had agreed to share it with Warren.



Warren's Orion’s belt sandwich was made with their blackened tofu qnd topped with hummus and sprouts. He got a side of broccoli rather than fries.



He liked the sandwich, but thought it was a little bland. Luckily Jiro's tofu corn dogs (a special that day) came with two fancy dipping sauces (spicy mustard and Sriracha BBQ sauce). Once he fixed it up, I was happy to have my half.



When ordering the tofu dish for Jiro, I imagined hot dogs made of tofu, but it was actually fried tofu on a stick.



Cute idea, but the execution was a bit of a mess. The sticks were just skewers and could not hold the tofu up. Jiro tried in vain to eat these, but ended up with a lap full of tofu. And for whatever reason, he didn't seem too into the homemade chips. They were a little on the soggy/greasy side.



Satchel wanted a burger, but we convinced him to get soup as a side rather than fries. It was a shrimp curry that was a little spicy but good. He ate the shrimp and broth while downing a huge glass of water.



Warren and I ended up helping Satchel polish off his burger. (Eating vegetarian sometimes leaves us hungry!) It was grilled and very YUM. Again we took advantage of Jiro's fancy dipping sauces.

There were a few candy machines by the door that the kids were bugging us about, so I made them eat some of Warren's broccoli to earn a quarter each. (Luckily, we didn't discover the foosball table until after we paid and were on our way out.)

Our bill came to $49, and that was with waters all around. Satchel said he definitely wants to go back.

Gillie's (Blacksburg, VA)

Gillie's
153 College Ave
Blacksburg, VA
(540) 961-2703

On our way back to Memphis from Massachusetts, we stopped in Blacksburg, Virginia to visit one of my oldest and dearest friends, Hope. She's from Memphis, but has made Blacksburg her home. While we were in town she took great care of us. On our last night I told her I wanted to eat at one of the hippie joints in town. Without blinking, she led us to Gillie's (which I failed to snap a photo of from the outside). It's pretty much an institution. From the website:

Back in 1974, Jan Gillie opened Gillie's, serving only ice cream, but within a year Gillie's became one of the first places in Blacksburg to serve soup and bread. Ranae Gillie joined the business in the 1980's, the menu grew, and these days, Gillies offers inspired vegetarian and seafood cuisine with a wide variety of choices.

The monkeys (Satchel, 9, and Jiro, 7) really wanted to go back to the Cellar where we had some really great pizza the night before, but they know better than to think I'm going to condone eating at the same place twice in two days. (I do make the rare exception!) When told that they couldn't go to the Cellar, they merely requested that we go somewhere with wifi.



Hope, a self-described hillbilly, has no wifi at her house. Since we'd dragged the monkeys through a blueberry orchard, up a mountain, and through a waterfall that day, I was okay with them tuning out during dinner so we could have some adult conversation. Alas, there was no wifi, but they managed to find other things to do on their iPods.

Once they were settled, our first order of business was getting a cold beer. I went for a Brooklyn Lager.



Warren totally one-upped me by getting a tall boy PBR!



Refreshed, we were able to tackle the menu. While Hope & Warren thought only of themselves, I focused on the monkeys. The kids menu was actually quite nice.



Once I saw that they had pizza, I thought my job was done. Sadly, the waiter soon informed us that the pizza had been 86'd. Dang! Oh well, it gave me an excuse to try and make the monkeys order something more exciting. I failed. Satchel went with the closest thing to pizza--a quesadilla filled with black olives and artichokes, his favorite. Jiro basically followed suit with a grilled cheese. As you can see in the picture it comes with tomato and sprouts, but he definitely did not want those. Undeterred, I tacked on a third dish for them--A kid sized portion of rice & veggies with tofu and a side of veggies.

Once they had decided, the rest of us quickly put in our order. Our adventurous day had left us all starved. We smartly decided to start with the pacos, which is Gillie's version of nachos. It's tortilla chips topped with vegetarian chili, melted cheddar, tomatoes, onions, green peppers, black olives, Jalapenos, sour cream, Guacamole and salsa. And it was YUM.



The generous portion coupled with our beers made us wonder if we'd even be able to eat our dinners. No worries, we were.

Warren went with a light choice--buckwheat soba noodles tossed in a soy-sesame dressing over organic spring mix topped with marinated shiitake mushrooms and sprouts.



Hope had the south meets southwest--pan-fried catfish over goat cheese grits and baby arugula, accompanied with chive oil and chipotle butter. So pretty!



I had the build your own stir fry with tempeh and Thai sauce.



It was pretty good, but I wondered if they had given me tofu by accident because it didn't look or taste like tempeh.

The kids' meals were equally pretty and hearty. Not surprisingly the rice, tofu, and veggies was their favorite. Satchel was thrilled that they had long grain Indian rice--another one of his favorites.



One standout at Gillie's is the service. Our waiter was great and our food came out quickly. When Jiro started losing it near the end of the meal, our waiter kept things light and told us he could arrange for Jiro to wash some dishes. Believe me, had we not been ready to crash ourselves, we might have taken him up on it! I appreciated his sense of humor.

I was also very glad to see that they are anti-styrofoam at Gillie's. Our to go box was a biopack.

If you are ever in town, give Gillie's a try. I hear that their lunch is pretty awesome too.

The Lady Killigrew Cafe (Montague, MA)

The Lady Killigrew Cafe

442 Greenfield Road

Montague, Massachusetts

413-367-9666

Whenever our friend Vanessa would introduce us to anyone and tell them that we were visiting from Memphis, they almost always asked, "Have you taken them to the Book Mill yet?" The Book Mill is a cute little used bookstore in an old mill in the cute little town of Montague. It connects to the Lady Killigrew Cafe and sits atop a hill overlooking a babbling river.

I'm pretty sure that the Lady Killigrew could serve turds and still do a bustling business due to its location alone, but it has a lovely menu. You can almost see it here.

It's pretty simple--bagels, a few things that are intrinsically delicious, and hearty sandwiches. You order at a counter in a pretty small area, so our group of 8 simply didn't fit. Warren and the monkeys (Satchel, 9, and Jiro, 7) looked at the menu briefly and left me in charge of ordering. It was pretty stressful considering Jiro's order of a grilled nutella sandwich made his half-brother, Miles, want one as well. He's a picky eater like Jiro, but his moms try to get him to at least eat some protein in every meal. They eventually agreed on a grilled nutella and peanut butter sandwich for him and the crisis was averted.

Warren almost ordered the soba noodles, but then decided on a tomato sandwich. I told him I thought that sounded boring so he reluctantly switched to a summer sausage sandwich. (Vanessa and I discovered that we both had a knack for ruining our loved one's dining experiences by influencing their orders.) Satchel was in one of his "I'm starving and nothing will satisfy me" moods. I convinced him to eat a turkey sandwich only to discover that they wouldn't amend the special to make it plain for him. They did allow me to get him a ham and apple sandwich minus the apple. Since the only choice of a side was a salad, I also ordered a cheese and bread plate. I knew right away that I wanted a warm brown rice salad, so at least that was easy.

Once the order is in, you get your drinks, silverware, napkins, and a table card for them to find you when the food is ready. Warren, Liz, and the kids had saved a table outside since the inside was packed.

By the time I made it to the table, I was a little stressed out. Ordering had not been easy and the feeling of holding others up didn't help. Finally when I tried to get some cups for waters the dude behind the counter insisted there were already cups out. He did eventually see that I was right about them being out, but it was a bit much having to argue about it.

I ended up snapping at Warren when I got to the table because he wasn't totally excited and thankful for the surprise ice coffee I ordered for him. I apologized and explained why I was grumpy, and we moved on. Vanessa walked the kids down to the river to keep them occupied while we waited for our food. They had wanted to go in the bookstore, but for whatever reason I thought they should wait until after we ate.

It took the food quite some time to come out, but luckily by the time it was ready, we were able to move inside to the big table with the nice view and sound of rushing water.

The food was simple, but delicious. This seemed to be the trend at most places we ate in Massachusetts.

Once we ate, we were all in a much better mood.

Then it was off to the bookstore for some treasures.

And finally a little dip in the river.

It ended up being a lovely day.

Now that we know the system at Lady Killigrew's, I think our next visit will be smoother. I'd recommend reading the menu outside where it isn't crowded and then looking at books until your order is ready. (You'll need someone to hold a table.) And I'd definitely bring swimming suits and plan to make an afternoon, if not a day of it.