Veggin’ Out in Boone
A trip to Boone last week afforded great downtown shopping, lovely weather and a couple of fantastic vegetarian meals.
It’s a tradition for my first stop in Boone to be Stick Boy Bread Co., probably my all-time-favorite bakery. I’m a big fan of their scones, particularly the cheddar-spinach and cranberry-pecan, and they offer a wide selection of pastries and breads. Most of their breads change daily, but you’re always sure to find something intriguing. Of course, you will also rue that you’re not there the correct day for something equally fabulous-sounding! The day I was there, I came away with a loaf of Blueberry Oatmeal and a boule of Cran-Apple Pumpkin Seed. Some of the breads are vegan, and they’ll happily give you samples to try.
Lunch was on the shaded patio at the very vegetarian-friendly Melanie’s Food Fantasy, which serves breakfast, lunch and breakfast-for-lunch. Had I noticed that the pancake of the day was cranberry-apple, I might would have ordered that. Instead, I went for the Tofu Veggie Melt sandwich, which was DIVINE. The marinade on the tofu cubes was sweet and gingery-tangy, and it came on an almost-croissanty bun made by the aforementioned Stick Boy Bread Co. The side of the day was a fresh cucumber-dill pasta salad, and the unsweetened ice tea was a delicious raspberry-peach. Most of their dishes are vegetarian, including tofu or tempeh benedict, a Soysage omelet and a tempeh reuben. I’m itching to go back to try other dishes!
For dinner, I went to Tupelos World Cafe, in the building which once housed Angelica’s vegetarian restaurant. The menu features dishes from Cuba, India, Mexico, Italy, Thailand, Japan, Scandanavia and the U.S. Though I was very tempted by the Sweet Potato Nori Roll (vegan), I went for the main ingredient in a different dish: Sweet Potato Enchilada. I am not generally a big Mexican-food fan, but the ingredients were some of my favorite things, thus too enticing to pass up: sweet potatoes, spinach, mushrooms, red peppers and cheddar cheese. The two large enchiladas came topped with enchilada sauce, sour cream, pepitas and diced apples. I was a bit skeptical of the apples, but everything worked together perfectly. Unfortunately, the mango salsa was too spicy for me, but luckily it came on the side, and I didn’t feel I missed it, anyway. It must be noted that the restaurant can be extremely loud when it’s filled.
