I called around noon on Wednesday and told the nice man who answered the phone that two vegans would be in for dinner and that we would like a multi-course meal.  He enthusiastically assured us that it was no problem and I got off the phone confident that it would be an evening to remember.

We arrived at 7:00 and chose a table on the patio.  Our server Jeff introduced himself and dropped off drink menus.  I’m not sure he knew what to do with a couple of vegans, but he warmed up to us quickly when we ordered beer.

First course was a lovely veggie summer roll with chili sauce.  I was pleasantly surprised that there was no mint as I’m just not a big fan of mint leaves that always seem to overpower rolls.  Delicious dish and great sauce.

Second course was a gazpacho that was presented creatively.  The soup was in a little creamer and there were fresh tomatoes and onions in the bowl.  The color of the gazpacho was yellow instead of the usual red.  Now, I have to admit that I’m not the hugest fan of raw tomatoes and onions and the first taste of soup was surprisingly onion-y and tomato-y, but it really grew on me with every spoonful.  Different than any other gazpacho I’ve ever had, and different in a good way.

During the gazpacho I told my dining companion L that I wasn’t that into raw tomatoes, so we laughed when we got course number three, which was a plate full of raw tomatoes!  These were local heirloom tomatoes though, and the sea salt, cracked pepper and olive oil that they were served with made them quite tasty.  They looked stunning on the plate too.  L is a huge tomato fan, so he really enjoyed this course.  Surprisingly, so did I.

At some point Otis the manager (the man I talked to on the phone earlier) introduced himself to us and made sure everything was ok.  The staff was so attentive to our needs, but never over-bearing, which was greatly appreciated.

Otis brought out our fourth course, a falafel dish, which was actually a regular menu item.  (I was a little bummed to find out they no longer had the tofu dish that I loved, but it’s a good thing that they’re changing things up and experimenting.)  The falafel came with tabouli, a bit of hummus, roasted baby eggplant and mini pieces of naan.  Really nice, interesting presentation.  I’m a big fan of Mediterranean food, so this was great.  I loved the texture of the hummus and the naan was delightfully chewy.  Win!

At this point I was really full and ready for dessert, but we had another course coming…  And what a course!  Number five was tempura tofu with veggies and a spicy soy sauce.  My only complaint about this dish was that the tempura was a little gummy, which I think was caused from undercooked flour, but the veggies and the sauce were so flavorful and fabulous!  Plus, I heartily applaud any chef who is not afraid of tofu.  I took half of my portion home because I was so full and it made a great lunch the next day.

Course number six, dessert, was fresh fruit.  Ok, yeah, I would have appreciated something a little more inventive, but to be fair, I did only call that day and really, I was so stuffed it didn’t matter.  I do hope that they’ll add a vegan dessert to their regular menu, especially because we are so lacking in the vegan dessert department in Nashville.  If they need suggestions, I’ll gladly help because vegan desserts are really quite easy.

All in all, a delightful evening.  We were there for nearly two and a half hours, which is my kind of dining experience.  I wonder if they would do wine pairings if we gave them enough notice?  That would rock my world.

Otis, Jeff and Chef Lee Guidry took amazing care of us and the food was delicious.  I am so grateful to my friends Kate and Karsten for telling me about their experience and thanks to the great food and service, I will spread the word about Bound’ry as an unexpectedly satisfying vegan destination in Nashville.

Yesterday I threw a bunch of stuff together, but this time I feel compelled to share because it was so easy and the end result was healthy and if I do say so myself, pretty tasty.

I decided to make veggie burgers by using whatever sounded good from my fridge and pantry.  I have been experimenting with vegan macrobiotic meals and I have a lot of the common ingredients on hand.  I ended up with 20 different things in these babies!  I probably didn’t need to get that crazy, but I have no regrets.

I started by rinsing some quinoa and putting it on the stove to cook.  I then chopped up half an onion, a few mushrooms and some garlic and sautéed them in a little sesame oil and salt.  I shredded a carrot and put that in the sautée pan for a few minutes to soften a bit.  I also toasted some pumpkin seeds in a pan until they were brown.  (Be careful though, they like to pop!)  I put all that stuff in a bowl, added a can of Eden adzuki beans, a brick of firm organic tofu, the cooked quinoa, some miso, tahini, a little more sesame oil, some tamari, liquid smoke, Spike, chili powder, cumin, thyme, black pepper, umeboshi vinegar and nutritional yeast and mashed it all up together with my hands.  Fun!

Next, I formed a patty, fried it up in a pan and had a lovely homemade lunch.  Easy and delicious.

The finished product