Cheap Eats - A Delight Indeed

Natural Delight’s vegetarian fare impresses a hardcore carnivore

A life without meat would be death. My mother, having watched her first two daughters limited by genes that had previously dictated crooked teeth and height appropriate to an aspiring jockey, believed animal protein would be her third daughter’s physical saving grace. She embarked on a 17-year experiment with me, providing ample portions of lean meat with every meal (including snacks) and forcing 18 ounces of cold milk down my gullet each afternoon. It may have worked. But standing half a foot taller than my sisters and having never darkened an orthodontist’s door, I still can’t happily eat a meatless meal.

Supernatural: Natural Delights would normally be the last place in town where I’d voluntarily eat, but a neon sign promoting organic smoothies beckoned. The vegetarian cafe is spare, clean and bright with natural light, and although you have to shout over a jet engine of a blender, it is a pleasant enough spot to stop for a healthy bite. The Guava Jungle smoothie ($4.65) is nearly a meal in itself. A full pound of pureed guava, passion fruit, strawberries, bananas and strawberry juice, the drink guiltlessly satisfied my sweet tooth.

Be a jerk: The Caribbean-influenced menu offers meat substitutes, such as a veggie hot dog two ways, all-vegetable wraps, and tofu sandwiches. Saucy and hearty, the Jamaican jerk tofu sandwich ($5.65) is surprisingly meaty and tasty. Hefty chunks of pressed tofu in tangy-spicy jerk sauce crisply contrast with icy leaves of romaine and ripe, juicy tomato. It’s a squishy treat that almost makes me forget my eternal burger cravings.

It’s a wrap: I can’t believe I’m not missing the bacon as I sink my teeth into the avocado wrap ($5.65). Tucked into a wheat wrap, wedges of buttery, perfectly ripe avocado, shreds of lettuce and tart tomato slices are napped in a creamy dressing with a curry kiss. The coconut cream of potato soup ($3.50) has a gloppy, too-smooth texture that suggests it originates from a packaged mix, but its potato chunks are meltingly tender and its tumeric-spiked flavor agreeable nonetheless.

Keen on this quinoa: A standout quinoa pilaf ($3) studded with green beans, peas and carrots, is earthy, nutty and infused with curry. It’s the best item we try. Watery, bland and earthy to the point of bitterness, the vegetarian chili ($3.75) is a miss among a raft of hits. I won’t be exchanging roast chicken for Tofurkey any time soon, but Natural Delights has proven me wrong. There is such a thing as a vegetarian happy meal.cynthia.wong@creativeloafing.com