No Compromising (Well Almost)

Rob and I celebrated our ninth anniversary this week by making reservations at the Irregardless Cafe in Raleigh. It was one of the only local restaurants that would allow us a special night out without compromising our vegan diet. We were both excited to try it out - Rob for the famed appetizer, Vegan Sex, and I was looking forward to a good meal and live music. (There's plenty for the meat-eating crowd as well.)

I'll have to admit that as a teaching assistant in several remedial English classes in college, the name of the restaurant had put me off in the past, but after being there, I can't believe we waited so long to try it. Owner and chef, Arthur Gordon, claims he chose the name because after all of the years of having it circled in red on his college papers, he could officially use the word however he liked. We met Chef Gordon while he made his rounds through the dining room, and I must say I liked his spirit. He's a trendsetter, and a pretty funny guy.

So what did we eat? Rob indulged in the Vegan Sex appetizer, a stacked salad with layers of avocado, oranges, tabouli, sweet potato and jezebel sauce, aptly named by Gordon because it was heaven on a plate. Yes, I got to try it too, and I'd do it (I mean order it) again. We also shared the Mediterranean plate, consisting of hummus, tabouli and butter bean pate with toasted pita bread. Yum.

For dinner, I had acorn squash cassolette, which had so many components, it would take paragraphs to list it all. Suffice it to say that it was delicious, filled with wonderful roasted vegetables (some of which I normally would not have chosen myself), and beautifully presented in half an acorn squash over a plate of beans and beets. It was the largest fully vegan meal I have ever eaten and I was stuffed! Rob had the vegetable dish that most closely resembles steak, portobellos over polenta. He loved it, and hardly left any for me to taste.

For dessert, Rob went with the vegan fruit crisp, but I conceded defeat and had (non-vegan) sorbet, since I'm not a fan of cherry desserts. Hey, it was a celebration, and how much dairy could they have possibly packed into that little trio of bites? Anyway, I particularly enjoyed the raspberry black pepper. It was sweet with a nice kick and quite unique.

After the indulgence of this meal, and paired with my PMS, I have no weight loss to report this week, but I'm expecting a bigger number next week as a result. Hopefully, our last official week of veganism will be a fitting end to this project. Now, I just have to get through Zach's birthday weekend.