When I pass a restaurant, and it looks like the kind of place I want to be for a nice evening dinner while on business...quality exterior, thoughtfully designed signage, inviting outdoor seating, cute string lighting and well-dressed staff, I always think, “I hope there is just one thing there for me.”
I think maybe a veggie burger that I’ll get without the truffle aioli or gruyere, or a decent pasta not made with a cream sauce and hold the chicken, maybe even an assortment of decent pita and dips that I can pair with a soup and enjoy great ambience and a high-end cocktail or solid local beer to feel like I am part of society in a foreign city.
My greatest fear is often the grand cop-out of all vegan dishes...the Harvest Bowl. Generally meaning, “Kale and quinoa because that’s what the hippie tree-hugging weirdos will want and we can’t think of anything else bowl.” I shuddered at the thought but was starving, and options in this area of town are thin for plant-based cuisine. It was also too damn hot to get on a scooter to Deep Ellum.
In this case, it was damn good. I don’t know how to melt a sweet potato, but they did, it was excellent. The cashew cream harissa begged me to lick the edge of the bowl after using the perfectly charred asparagus and mushroom as a sponge along the bottom first. The flavors and textures made for a very thoughtfully-composed dish that made me feel at home while on the road, that told me I was welcome in a place where meat was the star of the show and the Harvest Bowl the scene-stealer. Well done, The Henry.
With a local IPA to pair while chatting with a stranger sipping on Don Julio 1942, it made for a perfect Tuesday business travel dinner.
Now just cross utilize that cashew cream on some other plant-based dishes, and you can corner the market on us high-end hippies in Dallas.
