Today I used the first card at Red Lentil in Watertown. The restraunt has a varied menu that is all vegetarian and vegan. The New Years resolution for this month is to go vegan with my guy, Dave, or at least mostly vegetarian.
We got there for brunch so the menu was a little smaller but still had plenty of options. Red Lentil is in an Armenian neighborhood of Watertown, which was fun to walk through. The restaurant seemed like a welcome oasis among pizza and fried chicken joints. It gives off the aura of a healthy option. It's a cute place, simply decorated but it felt crowded with tables. Actually, when we got there at 2:30 in the afternoon on Sunday, the place was packed! A good sign for the business, definately. Dave was worried about the flower vases on each table, because of how packed it was. "They must have to replace a few of those every month" We were seated almost immediately and found a cozy spot in the back by the window, so we could take it all in. The smells were fantastic and we couldn't wait to order.
Before we left for Red Lentil we checked out the menu and had a few dishes in mind. To use the coupon, $30 worth of food must be purchased. We needed to try a couple of other dishes to meet the quota.
Dave and I got:
Huevos Rancheros
Artichoke Heart Quesadilla
Zen Veggie Burger
Grande Nachos
The wait for the food was reasonable, and when it arrived we realized how much food it really was! They were all entree sized so we definately had left overs (though they didn't last long). We ate everything, but we still pretended to be Gordon Ramsey while we did it.
The huevos rancheros were bland, totally unseasoned. The way it was placed on the plate made it very messy for eating. It was all extremely fresh and the salsa, refried beans and tortillas stood out. However, it was still bland and didn't have the kick I was looking for. I would have done better scrambling some eggs at home covering them with hot sauce. It wasn't what I was looking for and rather unfortunate. C
The artichoke heart quesadilla also didn't go over well. They didn't seem to know where they were going with this one. They were packed with portabella mushrooms that were poorly cooked and gave them an overwhelming metalic flavor and chewy texture. The artichoke was completely overpowered and we were left wondering why it was in the title at all. C-
The zen veggie burger we actually didn't dig into until after we left. Even though it was luke warm, it won us over. The patty was black bean based and didn't try to be too much. The bun was perfectly toasted. The sauce used was a perfect accent to the average stack of veggies inside. It all worked so well together and had a great mouth feel. It came with sweet potato fries and bbq sauce. The fries weren't spectacular but good and the bbq sauce was average. A-
The nachos were also on point. The ratio of chips to toppings was flawless. The toppings themselves were very fresh. It seemed as though it had come right from the oven and made a happy home in our bellies. No one topping overpowered another but it seemed as though the sour cream may have been soy based, I noticed some kind of off flavor (and I'm a big fan of sour cream) There was also a good variety of toppings. B+
The prices were reasonable compaired to the portions. The waitstaff were friendly though a little distant. The desserts looked fabulous and I may have to come back to try the carrot cake if I'm in the neighborhood. They had a varied menu and I'm sure the vegans in Watertown are happy to have a place to call home.
Red Lentil's over-all rating is a B-
