Vegan Eats: Village of Thai Review

November 18, 2013

On a wet and miserable Thursday night, after my enervating three-hour Psychology lecture, I was accompanied by my vegan friend to a late-night movie. I stated that I was hungry, like I always am, and that I’d like to stop somewhere to get a bite to eat.

Being a small-town girl and knowing very little about Peterborough’s vegan food scene, I asked my friend about some vegan-friendly restaurants aside from the Food Forest. He suggested that we eat at Village of Thai, a small Thai restaurant at the corner of George and Sherbrooke St. As I glanced over their menu, I was intrigued by the variety of curries and noodle dishes. Being one with a fairly diversified vegan palate, I decided to give this place a try.

When we arrived, the restaurant was dimly lit and the tablecloths had stains on them. However, I had always never to judge a book based on its cover (pardon the cliché), so I remained hopeful of a good experience. The server came over to our table after about ten minutes, seemingly a bit cold and unfriendly.

She asked what we would like to drink, and I decided to go with one of my favourite drinks, mango juice. My guest ordered their “Indian beer,” but there was nothing “Indian” about it. It was bottled in New Jersey, and costing $1.26 more than the traditional domestic beer, you expected more than just a fancy label.

After deliberating for a while on our appetizers, we ordered the samosa rolls, followed by the mixed vegetable curry for myself, and vegetable pad thai for my friend. While initially they had a slight problem understanding what the term vegan meant, it was not such a huge issue when we just stated “no meat.”

When the samosas arrived at the table, I was surprised by presentation. Village of Thai put an Asian twist on this traditional Indian dish by presenting them in the form of spring rolls. Just as I was about to take the first bite, I fearfully imagined the taste of traditional MSG-filled Chinese-style spring rolls, but, to my pleasure, they tasted pretty much just like samosas, savoury with a nice balance of traditional Indian spices. The warmth of the curry, with the nuttiness of cumin and tang of coriander, provided the perfect amount of complexity and balance. However, they were slightly oily, which made for a slightly messy dining experience. When our main course arrived, the presentation was simple yet refined.

The curry was adequate. The consistency was a little bit on the watery side, and it was milder than I had expected. Being a girl who can handle the scorching heat of ghost peppers, I expected to feel something more than a slight tingle on my tongue.

One thing I found odd was the fact that it wasn’t served alongside a bed of rice like curry traditionally is. But it wasn’t a big deal, nor was I going to flip the table over in anger because of it. The varying textures of the marinated mixed vegetables accompanying the light peppery kick of red curry made this a fairly decent curry, but not the best I had ever tasted.

Afterwards, I snuck a bite of my friend’s pad thai, and it was surprisingly delicious. I have had my fair share of pad thai, and this was one of the best I had tried to date. Its mellow flavour provided a good counteraction to the samosas we had eaten earlier. The crunchiness of the peanuts and sprouts balanced the rich, buttery consistency of the rice noodles, and was accented with a pungent kick of garlic and piquant hints of tamarind that danced along the roof of my mouth.

We skipped dessert due to the fact that there were no vegan options available, a big turn-off for a vegan who likes their sweet fix. It is beyond my comprehension why more restaurants don’t offer vegan dessert options because, despite popular misconceptions, vegan baking is relatively easy when you have the right ingredients and the ability to improvise a recipe.

Even though I didn’t get to indulge in sweet vegan confection, I would have to say that the main deterrent of the whole evening was the fact that, despite advertising otherwise on their website and business cards, Village of Thai had discontinued their student discount. Being a starving student, every dollar counts.

One of the main reasons we had decided to eat there anyway was because we were under the impression that we would be getting 10 percent off our bills. While the prices were fairly reasonable, when you add on additional costs like drinks and gratuities, the bill adds up quite quickly. The total was just over $50, accounting for about 10 percent of a student’s average monthly rent costs.

Putting it into that perspective, if we were told beforehand that the discount had been discontinued, we might have ordered differently.

One thing I do give Village of Thai credit for, though, is keeping with a traditional South Asian menu unlike the various restaurants who try to adopt numerous identities by fusing Asian and North American cuisines together. (No, I do not like going to a Japanese restaurant and seeing french fries on the menu.)

Despite some of the incidents, overall it was a pleasurable dining experience and I would consider going back someday, but only if they were to reintroduce their student discount.

Food Forest gives a boost to Peterborough’s vegan community

September 30, 2013

Having been a vegan for nine years, I understand the challenges of finding quality vegan food that is not only healthy, but tasty as well! It has been even more difficult to find restaurants willing to cater to my dietary needs because, on top of my vegan restrictions, I’ve had to also change my diet to exclude gluten due to health problems. However, as I was exploring the city during my first week at Trent, I came upon a small, hidden gem on the north end of George Street called The Food Forest.

The Food Forest is run by owners Adam Deck and Katie Tuma, who have prided themselves in providing raw, delicious, gluten-free vegan dishes to the Peterborough community.

For those of you who are unaware of what raw food is, it consists of a variety of whole foods which are cooked under 105 degrees Celsius, so as not to denature the natural enzymes that exist within the food. This food revolution is slowly beginning to make its presence felt across the country, and Peterborough is straight in its path.

While the price of raw, vegan, and gluten-free food is on the rise, The Food Forest does an excellent job finding the financial balance between affordability and profit margin. As a starving student, I am very cautious with my expenses, but this is one place where I am more than willing to splurge on their delicious fare.

“Our goal is to represent the spectrum of veganism, [and] to cater to not only vegans, but transitional vegans and non-vegans, ” said Deck. “It serves as an outlet for local sustainability and awareness.”

The term “food forest” was inspired from the owners’ main common interest, permiculture.

“We wanted it to serve as a symbol for self-sustainment and as a guide for inner growth and awareness,” Deck explained.

“Katie and I have noticed that it’s hard to find vegan-friendly places here in Peterborough, let alone worrying about allergies and cross-contamination. The Food Forest is a place where you don’t have to worry about that. You actually see what goes into your food.”

I have eaten here twice so far and I was satisfied both times. The first time I ate here was with my mother, who had come down all the way from Curran, over four hours away. The second time around was on the following weekend, when my sister accompanied us.

When we walked in, we were greeted with arms wide open by co-owner, Tuma, who proceeded to seat us at a beautiful church pew-like bench. The first thing that caught my eye was how similar the restaurant’s menu and ambiance was to a number of my favourite vegan restaurants in Ottawa. It gave me a sense of commonality, a nice, familiar feeling of home.

For beverages, I had the Mango Orange Sorbet, a water-based smoothie containing mango and orange, sweetened with raw agave syrup. One of my other guests had the Minty Green Chocolate Chip smoothie, with homemade coconut milk, cacao nibs, and peppermint essence. All of these smoothies were made from home-grown produce provided by local farmers, as well as from their own garden. They also offer delicious fair trade organic coffees, teas and juices from local vendors.

When we asked what the daily special was, we were delighted to hear that it was sweet potato and lentils, topped with a maple molasses sauce and served with garlic coconut butter and gluten-free baguette. My eyes lit up at the thought of eating this dish, and, after a very brief discussion, we decided to share a plate.

The first bite provided me with a slight tingle of spice on the tip of my tongue, shortly followed by a hint of sweetness. The dish, which to me resembled a cross between a curry and a casserole, had the perfect balance of spice (from the chili) and sweetness (from the maple, molasses and sweet potato). The flavours were robust and rich throughout, and the heartiness and earthiness of the lentils provided a nice, fulfilling start to the meal.

For the main course, one of my guests had the toasted tomato sandwich with garlic coconut spread and Daiya cheese, whereas my other guest had the garden pesto sandwich with homemade vegan basil pesto and fresh greens.

I chose to go with the Living Taco (a personal favourite of Deck’s) with a homemade chili walnut ground and cashew sour “kream”. I am extremely fixated on their Living Taco because of its complexity and bold flavour. The balance between the spiciness of the walnut ground, acidity of the fresh lime juice and the sweetness of the sour “kream”, makes this the best vegan taco I had ever tasted. This is the perfect dish to satisfy any herbivore or carnivore alike.

Finally, to cleanse our palate, we indulged in gluten-free peanut butter cookies, banana muffins, and a rich date pie with coconut whipped cream and bananas. Their desserts proved themselves to be truly delicious, as my sister (who works at a vegan bakery in Ottawa), compared them to the quality of her bakery.

The Food Forest is also very proactive with animal rights and food education. An employee, Toby Rowland, runs a group called the Animal Equity Society, dedicated to the protection in ethics and welfare of animals. They have meetings and potlucks which allow members to discuss issues affecting Peterborough, and teach them how to become proactive in their communities.

Do not be fooled by the simplicity of the ingredients, as each menu item carries its own unique presence to the palate and develops a complex flavour profile in your mouth. Don’t take my word for it, though, and head down to The Food Forest to judge for yourself.

The Food Forest is located at 641 George Street North. More information can be found on foodforestcafe.com