A couple of weeks ago Casey and I stopped into The Bread Company for lunch. They have a good selection of sandwiches, soups, and salads, with many vegetarian options, and a few vegan ones. I went with the colorful and refreshing strawberry walnut salad.
Strawberry Walnut Salad
While there is no denying that the salad was great, I was more intrigued by the presence of a new vegan dinner menu. I had never been to The Bread Co. for dinner; they offer fondue, steak, duck… the sort of fancy meats and cheeses that aren’t a part of my life anymore, and I hadn’t expected to find many options for veganizing. But, the addition of a completely vegan menu? And my birthday was coming up? That is “date night” material. So, we returned on the weekend, and I was very, very excited.
Roasted Vegetables with Balsamic Sauce
Charming little table
We started off with an appetizer of roasted vegetables (squash, green beans, broccoli, onions, and peppers). They were cooked perfectly, and their caramelized flavor paired well with the balsamic vinaigrette. Their vegan dinner menu included a few sandwiches, such as a black bean burger and falafel, priced around $10, as well as a pizza and a pasta dish for entrées. While I am not generally a huge fan of pasta, I decided to give the linguine a chance. Casey immediately went for the portobello mushroom sandwich. Neither of us was disappointed. The sandwich was filled with thick, juicy slices of portobello, caramelized onions and spinach. It was incredibly savory, and came with a side of roasted potatoes. The linguine was perfect! Both the pasta and the sauce tasted incredibly fresh, and the veggies, which appeared to a mix similar to those in the appetizer were great as well. Honestly, this dish made me re-think my dislike of pasta. It left me feeling inspired to make my own sauce from scratch later in the week, but that’s for a different post.
Balsamic Sauteed Spinach, Portobello, and Carmelized Onion Sandwich
Linguine (So good, so pretty!)
Overall, the dinner was fantastic, but Casey and I refused to finish our main courses after noting the presence of a vegan carrot cake dessert option. While the dish didn’t resemble the sort of carrot cake one usually finds (there was no silly orange icing carrot, that is for certain!), it tasted heavenly, and now ranks among my favorite desserts. It was particularly charming when we discovered that our waitress had been responsible for making the cake, and was very interested in out feedback. It was moist, the spices were in perfect balance, and the “cream cheese” frosting reminded me a bit of cinnamon role frosting! My biggest complaint with most cakes is the over-use of sugar and fat laden frosting; to me, this signals that your cake is probably dry or lacking flavor. This icing was not overpowering at all, but still delicious in its own right.
Heavenly Carrot Cake
It was the perfect vegan birthday dinner– the server was fantastic, I didn’t have to inquire about every little ingredient, the food was amazing, and of course my dinner companion was lovely. I definitely recommend this place for a nice night out.
Necessary Strangeness 
We have wanted to check out the veg menu at the Bread Company for weeks now and haven’t made it over. Now, I see that we will have to go this week. It all looks wonderful and the carrot cake is drool worthy!
You have to go! They are expanding their offerings bit by bit, too, which leads me to believe that it has become pretty popular. My only complaint was that we sat next to a family that was eating very stinky fondue cheese. Not ideal, but there are so few restaurants with vegan menus that I’m not that bothered.
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