Despite being vegan for four-plus days, I still am baffled that people actually choose this lifestyle and succeed in avoiding all the forbidden items. Now, a regular vegan (and by regular, I mean one who is not vying to eat six pounds of cow burger in the near future), accidentally slipping up and eating a slice of bread made with honey or egg or milk would merely result in a guilty conscience (possibly more in Matt's "canary" scenario). In our case, c'est finis. There are no Hail Mary's we can say to get us back in the contest. It's Game Over.
With that in mind, I did a little further research on this Sunflower Vegetarian Restaurant that seemed to be a a vegan's safe haven. The website was filled with newspaper articles lauding the establishment for its dishes, detailing how it was named one of the DC area's best vegetarian spots by CityGuide and a winner of VegDining.com's best DC vegetarian eateries. This didn't impress me much, for as a meat eater, how could I rely on some plant eaters opinion on the taste of plants? I needed to hear it from one of my own. Fortunately, pre-contest Matt had frequented there and given it his seal of approval. Was this a bona fide thumbs up, or, was he just trying to sound open-minded? I was still skeptical.
After dining there last night, I have come to this conclusion: I'm a vegan for life.
HA! Yeah right! But, I'll tell you one thing, Sunflower restaurant is one of the best restaurants (vegan or otherwise), I've been too in a long time.
While my tasting was limited to my meal and a bite of my girlfriend's, I feel like doing a commercial with Fabio, "I Can't Believe It's Not Meat!" The contest-certified vegan dish of General Tso's surprise was better than any chicken version of the dish I have ever eaten. And that's no lie. I could not believe the consistency and flavor of the soy protein in this meal. It was downright heavenly for a man who had survived on peanut butter, jelly and boca burgers for the past four days. Now, I will admit, I did not find my girlfriend's dish of Sweet & Sour Sensation to be the same quality as mine, though it still finished second on my list of vegan foods for the week. Also, there were a few dishes on the menu that scared me, namely the Macrobiotic Tofu and Wheat Gluten with Fermented Black Bean Sauce.
With a location in Vienna AND Falls Church, this new-found culinary discovery could make this contest last weeks, if not months. (That is, if Matt doesn't crumble like the weak-willed being that he is).
I'm still in shock on how good a vegan meal could be, I can't see going back to my once staple vegan food, Uncrustables.
To the single-digits reading this blog out there, meat and veggie eaters alike, I urge you to give Sunflower Restaurant a try, it really is a winner.
Food lineup for Day 5:
2 Lifestream Flax Plus Waffles and grape jelly
1 General Tso's Surprise from Sunflower Vegetarian Restaurant
1 Soy Dreamers Lil' Dreamers Ice Cream Sandwich
1 Lifestream Flax Plus Waffle Plain
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