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Thursday, June 24, 2010
The Wild Cow: Nashville’s Vegetarian Abode
I visited this café on a rainy Sunday afternoon in mid-spring, but the restaurant was bustling. Being a vegetarian living in the south, I was completely overwhelmed by the amount of options available to me. Nashville does not boast very many vegetarian-friendly restaurants, much less purely vegetarian-focused businesses. However, the Wild Cow offers gluten free and vegan selections galore, so choosing one item proved quite difficult.
I finally settled on a Vegan Philly “Cheesesteak” Sandwich, mostly because this flavor combination is rarely offered in vegan form, and its probably been 12 years since I’ve had any version of a sandwich like this. While waiting for my entrée to arrive, I was also pleasantly surprised to find that the iced tea selection was several flavors of Shangri La, which is offered at another of my favorite Nashville restaurants, Kalamata’s.
The cheesesteak was served on a toasted wheat hoagie, with grilled peppers and onions, and topped with vegan cheese. The meat substitute was a marinated seitan, a common vegetarian meatless staple, however still relatively unknown to non-veggies. For our majority of readers who are curious about seitan, here’s a brief description. It substitutes well in recipes like this one, which call for the meaty texture and chewiness that sometimes vegetables just fall short of providing.
I guess my biggest surprise was the choice of cheese atop the sandwich. It was a yellow, cheddar flavored cheese, which was very spicy. It reminded me of the flavor and consistency of the queso dips that have been mixed with salsa. The cheese in itself was not bad, but the choice of cheese was unexpected, and I believe strayed from my ideal of a white mozzarella or provolone inspired topping for a traditional Philly sandwich. So this would be my one qualm—that perhaps the menu should mention in the description the type of cheese or spice level, for those with sensitive palates.
My friend was looking for a small snack, so she ordered the appetizer size of hummus plate, which contained homemade cucumber dill hummus served aside raw veggies and tortilla chips. The hummus was tasty, and not overpoweringly dill-flavored, which we both appreciated.
We were both eyeing a slice of fresh strawberry cake tempting us from the cake plate on the front counter, but by the time we had eaten our entrees, there was none left to be had. So, I plan to make my next trip back with the focus on dessert, perhaps 2 or 3, because obviously these treats are not to be missed.
I strongly encourage you to visit their website before heading over to East Nashville, because they offer daily specials in the form of entrée, side dish, veggie of the day, soup, and an assortment of vegan treats for dessert.
1896 Eastland Avenue
Nashville, TN 37206
Phone: (615) 262-2717
Email: thewildcow@live.com
Hours:
Monday: 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Wednesday – Sunday: 11:00 am – 9:00 pm
Closed on Tuesday.
http://www.thewildcow.com/twc/
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Lesley — June 25, 2010 @ 6:07 pm
Follow them on Twitter or “like” them on Facebook to keep up with the specials of the day, which are the really impressive items. A friend went last week when there was a veg*n banh mi and I HATE I missed that. I heard it was good. I wish they’d add that to the regular menu.
Nicole — July 4, 2010 @ 8:31 am
Being a new southern from Chicago I appreciate that there is finally a veg restaurant! Love the website.
the mild cow — August 2, 2010 @ 6:38 pm
Whoa – you are quibbling about the choice of cheese on a dish that is meat free and on a whole wheat bun?? Kids, you have got to STOP this meat analog thinking. It is vegetarian, capice? I have stopped looking at the descriptions of their dishes as my intents are not to have some sort of meat reenactment. The stuff they put out of the kitchen is extraordinary on so many levels. If I wanna cheesesteak I’m going to Philly.