Monday, April 8, 2013

Wild Cow worth the trip to Grand Ole Opryland. Nashville.

Wild Cow, Nashville

Copy to: http://www.vegan-nutritionista.com/wild-cow-nashville.html

I love this place.  Even though they will put cheese on dishes by request, it's an entirely vegan place aside from that.  We sat at the counter and even though I was next to the register, where everyone paying a bill had a conversation over my right shoulder, I had a good time.  Even though.

We started with the Tempeh Buffalo Wings.


I had my doubts about the use of this medium for wings and my doubts were borne out.  The sauce was not as hot as buffalo sauce should be and the tempeh, although great in some uses, fell a bit short in it's interpretation of wings.  The ranch dressing was impressive and worth a few swipes with the carrots and celery.  We both thought the dish was, "not bad."  I had other things that are a much better use of the calories.

My Kale, Peanut Butter, and Banana smoothie was amazing.  It was like drinking sweet, green, peanut butter through a straw.  Thick but not so much that it wouldn't pull through a straw with a minor bit of effort.  Definitely a winner.





I chose the Philly Cheese Steak which as my loyal fans know, is not surprising.  The hero bun was soft and perfect but here is my only critique of the sandwich, it's a tad too soft for the contents.  Now Wild Cow isn't shy about loading up a hero roll and the contents overflowed but lifting this monster delight should have had the coaching of a civil engineer.  I finally tossed mustache hygiene aside and just went for it.  The onions and peppers were cooked just perfectly, nice and soft like they should be.  The house made seitan was just soft enough and mouthy enough to ride the line perfectly between matzoh ball seitan and shoe leather seitan.  The Teese sauce worked perfectly just oozing throughout the sandwich.  One of the better ones, construction materials aside, that I've had.



The side dish, usually a mere supporting actor, was a star unto it's own right.  The Lentil Stew with Garlic Aioli was a hit.  Were it not served in a side sized ramekin,  a ladle would have been a more appropriate utensil.  It was worthy of a bowl and piece of crusty bread.  As a meal.  The soft but pervasive taste of sweet roasted garlic swam under nicely seasoned lentils.  The vegan sour cream on top was cool and contrasted so nicely with the stew.  Incredible dish.

And I didn't stop there.  All through the meal the cakes and cupcakes and cookies beckoned. And now the meal was over.  And still they beckoned.  So I beckoned back.  And got a slice of Tiramisu cake.



Which I hadn't had since who remembers when.  Delicious.  I was so full that a cup of coffee, which would have been perfect with the T, was just too much to even think about.

I enjoyed the vibe, the people were friendly, and despite my cramped quarters I'd go back in a heartbeat.  I'm just glad I had a crew car.