East Nashville vegetarian restaurant shouldn't hide its light under a bushel
by Carrington Fox
Portabella sandwich $7
Mock chicken salad $8
Veggie burger $7
Hummus plate $5.50
This being the season of romance, it's worth remembering the surest route to the heart: through the stomach. It's an adage that vegetarian advocates would do well to keep in mind. While there's a strong intellectual case to be made that a fleshless diet is better for the body and the planet — and an even stronger emotional argument that it's inhumane to eat Bambi, Thumper and Wilbur — neither line of reasoning appeals to the taste buds. Let's face it: Critter-loving rhetoric and scientific evidence of herbivorous evolution are peachy, but they don't mean a thing if the food ain't got that zing. Ask me to choose between conscience-nourishing tofu and bad-boy bacon, and Babe the Pig goes down every time. Vegan or carnivore, nobody salivates over a heaping plate of dogma.
Locally speaking, there has yet to be a wholly convincing culinary case made for whole-hog meatlessness. But The Wild Cow vegetarian restaurant in East Nashville puts the best hoof forward that we've seen in a while. There's a lot to like about John Cochran and Melanie Bhagat Cochran's cleanly rustic room with stone cladding and walls coated in a rich kale green. Located in the Walden building, around the corner from Silly Goose and across the street from Rosepepper Cantina, Wild Cow brings new nutritional dimension to the critical dining mass on the burgeoning strip of Eastland Avenue. On our trips, the feeling in the room was a genuine gratitude for a meatless option.
We cherry-picked a few surprisingly good items from the menu, which offers gluten-free breads and vegan cheeses in addition to traditional wheat bread and dairy cheese. Despite its foreboding name, Texas Trainwreck Chili with black beans and textured vegetable protein (defatted soy flour also known as TVP) was the best thing we ordered. The rich red hue and ground-beef texture belied the meatlessness, and a complex layering of spices delivered a subtle sting of heat balanced by a cool dollop of "sour cream" made with vegan mayonnaise, garlic and lime.
A platter of tangy cucumber-dill hummus served with sliced cucumbers, carrots and celery sticks made a straightforward opening, though the pink tomatoes were so insipid we couldn't see the point of serving them, and we can only hope that the dried dill flecks in the hummus will be replaced by fresh herbs once the growing season rolls around. This time of year, the sesame-tinged side salad of cucumbers, kale and scallions made a fresher and more inventive impression.
While kale lasagna with semolina pasta looked more like a scramble than a traditional layered casserole, the generous sauté of tofu, cauliflower, broccoli, squash, zucchini, caramelized onions and green peppers made a comforting warm meal and was available with a choice of vegan or dairy cheese.
Kitchen manager Winston Harrison & Co. turned out several dishes that turned our heads with elegant, colorful presentations that were more consistent with contemporary-cuisine restaurants than with bohemian granola bars. A brace of tempeh-pinto bean cakes arrived nestled on a bed of rice tinted with red chili paste and topped with a cool cloud of vegan sour cream, a sprig of cilantro and a lime wedge. Drizzled with a thick tomatillo sauce, the entrée resembled a pretty pair of crab cakes. (Unfortunately, the comparison did not extend to the texture and flavor profile.)
The portabella sandwich scored high marks, with grilled strips of plump mushroom served with tahini dressing, roasted red peppers, sprouts and greens on a wheat bun from local Charpier's bakery. As far as veggie burgers go, Wild Cow's formula of TVP, brown rice and black beans flavored with cumin and liquid smoke had a toothsome, nutty texture that held up in the bun rather than mashing out the sides. Our primary complaint with the burger was that the bun was charred pitch black, as was the case with several of our sandwiches.
The veg-heads at our table were generally pleased with their meals, and if we were starved for gluten-free or vegan fare, Wild Cow would likely be a godsend. But there were no conversions among the carnivores in our group. In fact, if anything, all that spongy TVP, tofu, fermented soybean cake, seasoned wheat gluten, and plastic-flavored vegan cheese sauce made us yearn for the rich, rounded flavors that we love in animal products — from the tongue-coating candied fat of sugar-cured bacon to the tangy elasticity of molten cheddar.
Reading down the menu, with its litany of references to meat and cheese — from Mock Chicken Salad with seitan to the Wild Reuben with tempeh or tofu — we got the feeling that maybe someone else at Wild Cow was thinking about the good old days of eating animals. We halfway suspected that if we looked behind the counter we'd see a server curled in the fetal position, wearing a protein patch, stroking a ham and counting the days she'd been "clean."
Even Wild Cow's name implies the inconvenient absence of meat, as in, "That cow we were planning to eat went wild and we can't catch it, so damn it all, we're going to eat this textured vegetable protein." OK, maybe that's just an omnivore's beef-starved interpretation. But it seems like Wild Cow might be hiding its light under a bushel by pushing items such as vegan Reubens and cheesesteaks. If the goal is to convert a larger audience to the unique pleasures of veggie dining, why serve up odd facsimiles of meat-lover staples that can only disappoint curious carnivores? A better strategy might be to showcase the fresh and flavorful versatility of vegetables and grains, which brings to mind another good old adage: If you've got it, flaunt it. Vegetarians — and the Wild Cow crew in particular — would do well to remember that.
Wild Cow is open 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. every day except Tuesday.
Email arts@nashvillescene.com.
Comments (16)
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Enjoy your elevated breast cancer and obesity potential while you eat that genetically engineered, factory farmed, slave labor based meat-crap. There are people who have seen through the dogma of the meat eaters - no different from the political conservatives. Knee jerk reactionaries, all. It is an extremely difficult task to increase your cholesterol, blood pressure, and stroke potential eating a meat free diet. There is a reason why they say "Vegetarians taste better". It has to do with the taste of the male sperm on a meat and lower protein diet. Chew on that.
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Enjoy your elevated breast cancer and obesity potential while you eat that genetically engineered, factory farmed, slave labor based meat-crap. There are people who have seen through the dogma of the meat eaters - no different from the political conservatives. Knee jerk reactionaries, all. It is an extremely difficult task to increase your cholesterol, blood pressure, and stroke potential eating a meat free diet. There is a reason why they say "Vegetarians taste better". It has to do with the taste of the male sperm on a meat and lower protein diet. Chew on that.
*correction" It has to do with the taste of the male sperm on a *NO* meat and lower protein diet. Chew on that.
This review is ignorant as shit. Its quite obvious that we are dealing with a Nashville journalist here. Wake the fuck up.
What an intolerant point of view, the last name of the reviewer is very appropriate given the misinformation and ignorance displayed toward a plant based diet. Kind of reminds me of every intellectual’s favorite American political figure Sarah Palin when she said “If God had not intended for us to eat animals, how come He made them out of meat?” Sounds like you guys would get along great! And my very favorite part was the protein patches! Really? How many herbivores have you actually met? That is a pretty ignorant thing to say. It seems like someone needs to move past their own "dogmatic" prejudices. To ridicule someone's ethical choices in a restaurant review is immature and silly. Stick with reviewing food and keep the anti-veg dogma to yourself. If you have a predisposed "beef “ (hahahah get it, it’s kind of like putting the best hoof forward) with vegetarians let someone neutral review the vegetarian places! I guess we could start calling Fox the Glenn beck of Nashville food journalism.
I don’t really know who is most to blame for your restaurant review entitled “Herbivore’s Dilemma” (the dilemma, by the way, is never actually articulated by the author). At any rate, it was no doubt a poor decision to publish this review. Aside from the painful writing (“But The Wild Cow vegetarian restaurant in East Nashville puts the best hoof forward that we’ve seen in a while”), it’s pointless to review a vegetarian restaurant when the review is driven by the author’s belief that vegetarian fare is inferior to non-vegetarian fare and when the author spends the bulk of the review hammering away at that idea. Whether or not vegetarian fare is less flavorful than non-vegetarian fare is perhaps an interesting question. But why would you send someone to review this restaurant that clearly was not willing to see past this dogmatic belief? The only reason that I can think of is that the editors share the same dogmatic belief. It’s interesting to note that the author doesn’t once mention the moral issue of eating meat, which is a serious question to anyone who takes ethics seriously. How can it be ethical to cause unnecessary suffering to sentient creatures that we simply do not need to eat to maintain our health? “Because animals taste good,” clearly doesn’t answer the moral question. Perhaps you should send a vegetarian to review a steak restaurant, so we can read about the restaurant’s dearth of vegetarian options. That review might be just as interesting as Mr. Fox’s. For what it’s worth, I have actually eaten at The Wild Cow and found it quite good. Of course, I have been a vegetarian for 14 years and don’t just assume that meatless fare is inferior to food with meat. But what do I know about vegetarian food?
to quote Mr Pink: "That's awesome, if you want to eat sperm. I'll stick to butter, thanks." Wow, something Jim Ridley *wont* eat. A first.
I LOVE the Wild Cow! Eating meat just sucks! Haven't eaten it in more than 30 years, and there isn't a prescription bottle in my cupboard. For all of you who are worried about protein intake, you basically have to combine vegetable protein with a whole grain. Voila! A perfect protein. And did you know that marijuana seeds are the only perfect protein seed? But that's another story. As for the review... ugh, Carrington. Did you crawl out from a rock? (Yes, rocks have feelings too.)
Check out this informative and inspiring video on why people choose vegan: http://veganvideo.org/ Also see Gary Yourofsky: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bagt5L9wXGo
I've found this sort of reaction to be common when people even hear the word tofu; I liken it to homophobia. Just being in the mere presence of a plate w/out the social norm of beef or pork appears to incite people immediately proclaim that they "ain't no damn vegetarian" (or the analogous queer). like this guy, for instance. Dude, it's food, not a Tea Party 'delegate' taking a trip to an East Village club political rally. Eating a meal that doesn't contain meat or meat by-products isn't tantamount to and attempt to convert you from industrialized meat based diet. Just as shaking a gay person doesn't mean they're trying to hook up with you. haha it's so weird. I see this essentially as an attempt to cover up the author's desire to be held by a big strong hairy man on a cold and stormy night.
Ate at The Wild Cow today. We had the vegan philly cheesesteak, veggie burger, and the hummus platter. The food was delicious and the teas were refreshing. The place was full of patrons and everyone seemed to be as happy with their dining experience as we were. I am so soory that the writer of this article chose to be so cynical and sophomorish. A vegan diet is healthy and delicious, but does take a little while to get used to as on flushes the nasty butter and lard laced flavors from their palate. Thank you Wild Cow for offering up a wonderful vegan restaurant in Nashville.
Read eating animals. Vegetarians don't feel like they are starving themselves or missing something. We feel better for eating the kindest diet for animals, the environment and ourselves. Factory farming is cruel and it is environmentally destructive. I understand if the food was not your favorite, but don't knock on vegetarians who are choosing to do the right thing.
