Take Me Out

I've been craving American Chinese food lately. You know, that super unhealthy deep-fried stuff in a cornstarch-thickened sweet and sour or sweet and spicy sauce. What's that about? I'm not even going to try to use the steamed broccoli that comes as a side as a saving grace. Sometimes, you just have a craving.

Thankfully, Bravo Cafe and Bakery in St. Paul has me covered.  They're an all vegetarian (vegan friendly) chinese restaurant and bake some seriously delicious looking cakes (and cream puffs.) Not to worry, if you're in Minneapolis without wheels or a day to make a transit excursion to your sister city, you can get similar eats at Evergreen on Nicollet.

Sesame "chik'n" at Bravo (they also offer brown rice)

Bravo's sesame "chik'n" has that crisp crunch on the outside that you want in a dish like this and the sauce is on par with the best I've had. I also like not having to worry about what part of the chicken is being used under all that sauce and batter. Before going veg, I was really creeped out by chicken nuggets and how they use cartillage and organs in them. When you get to this stage of fried goodness and sauce, the meat isn't really much of the dish, so why not save yourself some cholesterol and fat and let some chickens live to see another day and go veg? Don't worry, you'll still get plenty of quality protein :)