(A Fairytale)
Once upon a time, on a Friday night in a town called Dallas, Veggie Girl got confused. She thought she was Girl Drink Drunk. So she waltzed herself to a couple of happy hours and sampled their libations. But as the night wore on, Veggie Girl got hungrier and hungrier. And suddenly she remembered: She wasn't Girl Drink...She was Veggie Girl!
Fortunately, Veggie Girl had done some research on places that were open late and served something other than mini sandwiches named for rapid bowel movements (sliders) and cheese fries, so she knew that Café Brazil was a safe bet. Being Veggie Girl, she also goes nowhere without her trusty notebook and pen--OK, some places, but this post is degenerating fast enough as is--so she and her accomplices staggered onto their bikes and sped away to the comfort of Café Brazil on Cedar Springs, where they enjoyed lots of chips and salsa and probably some scintillating conversation about, you know, life. The problem was, when Veggie Girl awoke the next morning, little record of the conversation remained. Little record of anything at all, as it turns out, for her notes were as follows (verbatim):
crepes
K-- sprayed water lptbul
spitball. it was grody
"water is vegan, and I had some"
"the veg food made me violent"
At least she got some quotes. But alas, a notebook and pen does not a reporter make. And that's how Veggie Girl lost her jo--not so fast!--her jocular disregard for modern instruments and decided she'd never be caught dead (or identity-confused) without a digital recorder on her person. The End.
--
Bottom line: The things that are great about Café Brazil are: reliably
good, filling food; crazy hours (late nights on weekends and 24/7 at
some locations); and the fact that the wait staff doesn't give you the
crazy-lady look when you say the word "vegan."
Most vegetarian items on the menu need to be adapted, but it's
generally a painless process to ask for the veggie tacos without
cheese, sour cream or eggs (they're good!) or the Veggie Deluxe
sandwich minus the cream cheese spread, and it's easy. One of my
favorites is the black bean soup, served in a bread bowl--$5 and you're
set for at least a day.
Beware the crepes (made with eggs), however.
There are a few variations on the usual adapted-vegan items, too: salads, sweet potato fries, guacamole, etc. The coffee is, of course, bottomless and diversely flavored. All in all, a great joint for off-hours.
Café Brazil
3847 Cedar Springs Rd. (and many other locations)
214.461.8762
