Birthday Bash - True Bistro

Your birthday is the best day to get everyone to eat how you want them to, even if just for one night. As one of my dearest meat-eater friends said, “[t]his is probably the only time you'll have the leverage to get a group of people to go vegan for a night, so you should wield it!” So, I did!!

We went to True Bistro Café. It was my first time dining there, but I had heard so much about it I was very excited. They do not take reservations, so I called ahead to determine when we should show up. They were very nice and helpful. Since we were a larger party at ten people, they informed us that our best bet was to come around 5:30 p.m.-ish. The place is small, but bright and cheerful. Everyone loved the décor and the drinks they got started with.

The food was wonderful! Since there was a large group of us, we got one of each of the small plates (save for the fries, I wanted them, but I was ruled against) and passed them around for all to try – black bean and plantain torte, ravioli, cornmeal-crusted oyster mushrooms, pate of tempeh & walnuts and their special for the night, samosas. All were great; however, my favorites were the oyster mushrooms and samosa. I mean, you can never go wrong with food that is breaded or Indian! One of my friends, when eating the pate said, “oh, this tastes just like pate!” And as I glanced at her, she quickly said, “and that’s because it is.” Haha.

For my main meal, I chose the Phyllo purse – wonderful. I have only had seitan once or twice, but I enjoyed the chunks mixed in with the zucchini, peppers and pepitas. It was just one large phyllo purse and not many little ones, which was different than you typically see. The phyllo purse was placed directly on the red mole sauce, which I need to learn how to make because that can be tasty on anything.

There were many desserts tried, coconut pie, brownie a la mode, etc. but I went for the death-by-chocolate cake. Very very rich, so it is not for the faint of heart. I loved the little bits of shattered caramel so much that I wished there were more shattered bits!

All in all, everyone was a good sport about the venue choice (8/10 eat meat), I can honestly stay that 7- 8/10 people loved their meal. I think the few that didn’t enjoy it as much came in with preconceived notions that they probably wouldn’t like it. Self fulfilling.

Then we went to the Cantab Lounge in Central Square, Cambridge. Live music, dance floor and cheap drinks. All that with great friends … can you ask for anything more? (Unless that was all at a vegan bar, a spot which Boston (to the best of my knowledge) lacks thus far)