Cafe Sunflower
Julie and I, along with a couple of friends, recently trekked to Atlanta to view the King Tut and Terracotta Warriors exhibits (highly recommended). Much good food was had while we were there. We rather rued the fact that we were there for only three days, as we simply couldn’t fit in all the restaurants we wanted to visit.
Of particular interest—and happily, deliciousness—was Cafe Sunflower, a completely vegetarian restaurant on Peachtree (of course) Street in the Buckhead neighborhood. The menu was stacked with dishes I desperately wanted to try, and I dithered between fabulous-sounding entrees. Should I try the peppercorn-crusted temph? The orzo eggplant lasagna? The stuffed butternut squash special? I finally decided on the Spring Quinoa, which turned out to be my favorite of the dishes I tasted from my and other plates. It was beautifully presented, with a circular bed of quinoa topped with eggplant ratatouille and a big slice of almond-crusted tofu (it was more like almonds sprinkled on top than truly crusted).
Other dishes the table ordered were: the pan-fried dumpling appetizer, the soup of the day (butternut squash), the Southern Polenta Napoleon, the Sesame “Chicken” and a walnut-crusted-tofu-cutlet special. Each was deemed a success. Even our hardcore carnivore, never-met-a-vegetable-he-liked-that-wasn’t-a-potato-or-corn friend was very satisfied with his meal.
The cafe offers a yummy range of vegan cakes for dessert, and though we desperately wanted to try several of them, our full stomaches would allow us to share only one slice. You’d never know the chocolate raspberry mouse cake was vegan. Alas, our waiter couldn’t share the recipe for the creamy, tofu-based mousse with us. As he said, if he knew how to make it, he’d be out selling the cakes and not working as a waiter!
The restaurant itself is lovely but relaxed, and the food is artfully presented. “Best of” certificates from various local restaurant awards line the hallway to the restrooms. Check out the cafe’s Web site here.
Quinoa with ratatouille:
Southern polenta Napoleon:
Walnut-crusted tofu cutlet special:
Vegan chocolate raspberry mousse cake:
