Nashville Food Friday: Kahn's Vegan Bakery and Cafe

I'm a meat eater. I don't hide it and I'm not ashamed. But I was vegetarian and vegan for a time in college and thereafter (until someone dangled bacon in front of my face at a diner). I can appreciate solid vegan food and I really enjoy the stuff on occasion. I have had a few cakes from Khan's before they opened their retail bakery at The Wild Cow. But until a few weeks ago I had never gone inside their storefront on Porter Road.

Khan's is very small. There is room for about 3 two-top tables, the bakery counter and that's it. The decor screams "hippie-vegan-cafe" which is neither a good nor a bad thing. It's just a fact. Steve and I went in for lunch and besides one gentleman finishing his sandwich and another waiting on a smoothie, the place was empty. And even though it was empty, it did feel that we waited a very long time for something as simple as a sandwich.

I ordered the special which was called "Kale Me Crazy." It contained fake crispy chicken, baby kale, carrots, artichoke hearts, cucumbers and a mint tahini dressing. I honestly wasn't a big fan of this wrap. It was about 80% kale and since the chicken was the first ingredient listed I was expecting more chicken than I received. The mint tahini sauce was great, but I felt that something was keeping this from being a great wrap. It did come with a side of potato salad that was SO GOOD. I would have never guessed that it was vegan. That potato salad seriously blew my mind.

I will say that I was at Khan's a week before and ordered the Cactus Burrito (seitan chorizo, black beans, cactus, poblano peppers, avocado salsa, mixed greens and cashew cheese in a whole wheat wrap) and I really loved that thing. My only issue with that burrito was that I wanted it to have way more cactus. I love cactus and very few places showcase what it can do.

Steve ordered the Surly Bird which had the same crispy fake chicken, but his sandwich had a whole cutlet of it. The Surly Bird also had fake cheddar cheese, arugula, tomato, red onions, chipotle agave mustard all grilled on naturally leavened whole wheat focaccia. His sandwich was the clear winner. I was surprised by how much I loved the grilled bread and the fake cheddar cheese. Plus, in this sandwich you could really taste how good the crispy fake chicken was.

Since Khan's is a bakery we couldn't leave without having something sweet. We went for the chocolate chip whoopie pie. This was the fanciest (and maybe healthiest) Little Debbie-style snack cake I've seen. The cookies were very soft and had a great chip-to-batter ratio. The cream in the center was very light and fluffy and not overly sweet like some sugar frosting tends to be.

I should also mention that on Valentine's Day I went to Khan's to get a sweet strawberry chocolate cupcake for Steve. He liked it so much he didn't even let me have a bite!

While Khan's sandwiches have been hit or miss for me (and trust me the hits are WORTH it) I can honestly say that this is the best vegan bakery I have ever been to. The sweets are just so darn good that you can buy them for your next get together, not tell anyone that they're vegan, and no one will be able to guess. So if anyone wants to get me a cake, my favorite is the Elvis cake (banana cake with peanut butter frosting).

Nashville Food Friday: Mesob

Here is a little known fact about why I chose to settle in Nashville: They had an Ethiopian restaurant. When I was making my way across the country visiting grad schools I would take myself out on a "date night" to see if I could live in whatever city I happened to be in. My night in Nashville consisted of dinner at an Ethiopian place close to campus (which is no longer in business) and visiting the Frist museum. Culture and ethnic food in the south? I was so ready for Nashville. Since I moved here more Ethiopian restaurants have opened (or they're just new to me). My favorite will always be Addis Red Sea in Boston, but Mesob in Nashville comes fairly close!
Located a little out of the way from my usual dining circle in a tiny strip mall, Mesob is a no-fuss type of place. The decor consists of what appears to be old banquet dining tables and chairs mixed in with cheery paintings and artifacts from Ethiopia. I was hoping that a restaurant named Mesob (after the traditional Ethiopian table) would actually have them for seating. But they didn't, and that was tad bit disappointing.

What surprised me is that this restaurant also appears to become a pool hall and bar later at night, which explains why their Yelp page says they're open till 3am on the weekends. When we were there around dinner time the bar and pool tables were empty. I'd like to stop back here for a cocktail and some snacks late one night.

We started out with the Beef Sambusa, which to me was the Ethiopian version of an empanada. They were nicely fried and had a crisp flaky outer shell with some spiced meat inside. They were really good and didn't last long. Did I mention we went when we were VERY hungry?

My favorite thing to order at any Ethiopian place is the veggie combination platter. I feel it gives you a nice variety and the option to try what the restaurant thinks is their best dishes. Now, forgive me, but I have a hard time remembering exactly what each little dish was called, so I'll just describe them by color. My favorite is always the cabbage and Mesob's cabbage was tasty. It was soft and buttery just the way I like it. Their collard greens were OK and could have used a tad bit more spice for my palate. The beets were also great! But I think my favorite thing on the plate was the brown/reddish dollop on the left hand side. I think it was the Yemisir Kike We’t (red lentils in a spicy berbere sauce) but don't hold me to that. It had the absolute best flavor and texture.

Steve was feeling more carnivorous and went with the Qey Wot, which was beef cubes in the berbere sauce. I think he ordered this because it came with Ethiopian cottage cheese to sprinkle on top. The beef was really tender and the sauce was thick and flavorful. When you combined the cheese with the meat, you couldn't really taste it. But, when you tried it by itself it had an earthy, smokey flavor to it. I wish I knew where I could buy this cheese on the regular. That would get me some major bonus points with the Steve. Oh, and the injera bread? It was very tasty. It had that nice light sour taste to it and our waiter kept bringing out more!

Overall, I really liked Mesob. The service was great and we got our food rather quickly. I was really impressed by this because a HUGE group (maybe 30 people, 75% of which were kids under 10) arrived at the same time we did. Our waiters didn't overlook us to take care of the big table, a problem I have often. The owner was sweet and even stopped by to say hello and introduce himself. I highly recommend Mesob for your next Ethiopian food adventure.

Nashville Food Friday: Wild Cow Vegetarian Restaurant

This post will be slightly different than my regular Food Friday posts. There will be no bone marrow, no fat and no cavewoman eating. This is because The Wild Cow is a vegetarian establishment. And I know what you're thinking, "I thought Boots ate exclusively meat." And folks, you would be wrong. There is only so much pork I can squeeze into my colon before my body cries "ENOUGH" and demands that I eat a salad. The Wild Cow is conveniently located in East Nashville and is the perfect answer to a night of not wanting meat.

The Wild Cow is small and usually pretty crowded. I'm personally not a fan of the paint color or the rock wall decor, but hey, it has no bearing on the food. The staff is young, hip and friendly (I always love what they are wearing). Steve and I come to this place pretty often, so here is a round up of some of my favorite goodies off the menu.

My personal favorite is the Far Eastland bowl. It's their take on Thai satay. It's a mixture of grilled tofu, kale, carrot slaw in a peanut sauce served over brown rice. I have never met a peanut sauce I didn't like and honestly, their tofu is pretty near perfect. It's just firm enough with a nice brown grill layer with all the flavor.

This is the Veggie Quinoa bowl, the Far Eastland bowl's younger sister. Seasonal roasted veggies are served on top of quinoa with your choice of tempeh or tofu and covered in garlic aioli. I usually pick the tofu because I have never been a tempeh fan, even if it's done right. This is a good option if  you want to order something that isn't the Far Eastland bowl but don't want to venture THAT far outside your comfort zone.

The Wild Cow has some nice vegetarian Mexican options. Their taco salad is pretty amazing, especially when you add the fajita seitan. This salad is REALLY big and that normally means leftovers for me. It is piled high with lettuce, rice, black beans, tortilla chips, homemade salsa and vegan sour cream. This is honestly one of my favorite salads in all of Nashville.

Another one of their Mexican offerings is their sweet potato and black bean tacos. I usually add avocado and vegan sour cream to these. They are pretty tasty and quite filling. This dish comes with your choice of side and I always enjoy their chickpea salad in all it's creamy vegan glory.

If you travel to Nashville and you don't eat meat- The Wild Cow will be on your itinerary, trust me.