Vegan Food House: A Carnivore's Changing Perspective | Dallas Observer
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A Carnivore Enters Vegan Food House Skeptic and Leaves With an Apology

Let me first start off by saying sorry. As adults, we should never blame others for our own mishaps and misdeeds, but this isn’t entirely my fault ...
Home-cooking at Vegan Food House.
Home-cooking at Vegan Food House. Eric Mayne
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Let me first start off by saying sorry.  As adults, we should never blame others for our own mishaps and misdeeds, but this isn’t entirely my fault. How are non-vegans supposed to know that vegan food could not only taste just as good as regular food but perhaps even better?

Sorry, vegan food is regular food; didn’t mean it like that. Yes, it does sound like a double-handed compliment. Who would have ever imagined that a meal fit for a rabbit would make such an amazing dinner?

After hearing repeatedly about Vegan Food House in Dallas, a look at the menu, honestly, wasn't impressive. Why call vegan wings “wings” when they aren’t made from chicken? Let's call them what they really are: cauliflower, the world’s least sexy vegetable. If you can get past your hesitancy, you're in for an entirely new world of cuisine.

Walking into Vegan Food House is like returning to a familiar, friendly home. No one seemed to mind my extreme sarcasm while asking questions about the menu. So, what does a carnivorous-confused indecisive individual order in these situations? The answer is: everything. I decided to try my luck at the Southern Dinner Catch. This platter comes with fish-fried oyster mushrooms served with mashed potatoes and gravy, macaroni and cheese and corn. And of course, I had to make a play at these so-called wings.

Although the wings look nothing like any traditional chicken wings you would find at your favorite sports bar, trust and believe they are fire. The sauce is a silky-smooth savory concoction with a smoky flavor and a little spark of heat. I have never been a big fan of vinegar-based hot sauces like Tabasco and Louisiana, but this sauce is truly king.

"It wasn’t vegan or non-vegan. It wasn’t healthy or non-healthy. It was just ridiculously delicious food made at a phenomenal restaurant."

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One bite of the fried mushroom wiped away all memory that this place is categorized as vegan. Somehow it transformed into just a great restaurant with even greater cuisine. Both the mac and cheese and the greens were pure bliss. My family hails from the Southern state of Mississippi, so we know soul food when we see it. This food is easily comparable to any country cooking you have ever had. It wasn’t vegan or non-vegan. It wasn’t healthy or non-healthy. It was just ridiculously delicious food made at a phenomenal restaurant.

Not to say I'll give up steak, pork belly or seafood. But with absolute sincerity, Vegan Food House ingrained a new understanding of what a vegan lifestyle can be. Vegetables aren't just decorations to make the meat look good. All vegan restaurants out there might not be equally as great, but swallowing a mouthful of carnivorous pride, I can say Vegan Food House is a game-changer.

If the chicken wing prices continue to soar and the steak dries up from our diets, there is a tiny part of me that finally realizes I actually might survive.

Vegan Food House, 832 W. Seventh St. (Oak Cliff). Open 11:30 a.m. - 9 p.m. Wednesday - Friday; 12-9 p.m. Saturday; 12-7 p.m. Sunday. Closed Monday and Tuesday.
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