Eating Out: Fiction Kitchen (Raleigh, NC)

When I eat out, I like to pay someone to make things that I am too lazy to make (with any frequency) at home. Thus enters Fiction Kitchen of Raleigh--formerly Sunday Vegan Brunch at the Pinhook in Durham. I dare you to go there and not become
a devotee.

Side note: For some reason, the Andre 3000 bottle often seems to wind up on the table I am seated at, despite that I've been seated at different parts of the restaurant. It's a weird coincidence, but I don't mind too much since I like Outkast. (I suppose he's part of the décor because he's vegan.)

Musical accompaniment: "Hot like Sauce" by Pretty Lights

APPETIZERS

Seasonal vegetable fritters: "NC onions and cornmeal, spices, and agave "butter." 

They may be called fritters, but they are hushpuppies as far as I am concerned. I'm not complaining, though. It's a pain in the @$$ to make fried bread at home, so these squelched a long-standing craving of mine.

July 2014: Vegan cornbread and pimento 'cheese' spread with some chilled caramelized onions. The cornbread was good, but the pimento cheese tasted more like a red (bell) pepper hummus. It was tasty, but not a remotely a convincing replication of traditional pimento cheese. (FYI: pimento cheese tastes like sharp hoop cheese and mayo, and completely engulfs the mild flavor offered by the diced cherry pepper.)

ENTREES

The farmers' plate in late September 2013: a veggie burger of beet and shiitakes on a vegan bun with an aioli my friend said was amazing. On the side, tomato and banana pepper salad in a (dill?) cream sauce. There was dill in there somewhere, and a third component to the burger, possibly beans of some sort. The point is that my friend really enjoyed her meal. 

Vegan chicken and waffles: amazing. Simply amazing. My waffles were billowy and had the perfect amount of agave. The chicken is actually herby like the menu says—they don't skimp out—and toothsome like real chicken. And don't worry: the arugula isn't awkward next to the waffle, although that was my initial thought. Slap some hot sauce on the peppery arugula atop your chicken and nom down.

Savory and sweet. Crunchy and fluffy. Delicious and gobbled down. 

Bonus: When I asked for hot sauce, the guy behind the bar handed me two bottles, one of which he said makes himself and that they were looking to bottle and sell in the coming year or so. All he would tell me about it was that he uses seven kinds of peppers (habs and jalapenos were in the abbreviated list). I report to you that it's not a "burn the tongue out of your skull" kind of hot sauce, but rather, a pleasant, subtle spice that leans towards laying savory compliments on its hosting food. A welcomed change of pace for someone who thinks suicide sauce is one of the many reasons to keep on living.

Pulled "pork" plate. When I first became a vegetarian, I used to have INSANE—insane, as in my teeth itched—cravings for eastern NC-style BBQ pulled pork. (My need for vinegary things is a story for another day.) I've tried several recipes and products in an attempt to recapture my beloved, but none of them made the mark. Point blank: Fiction Kitchen's BBQ got me there.

At first bite I was even struck with the illogical fear that my plate had been confused with a meat one…in a completely veg*n restaurant. 

The only complaint to be had was that there was a tad too much black pepper in a few of my bites. But, hey, maybe the pepper's kick is there to keep it from being too spicy. After all, not everyone likes their BBQ sauce with extra chili flakes, such as I do.

Side note: It is also the case that you can eat the plate's portion without having the "pork" sit in your stomach like a brick for several hours after eating, as is the case with traditional BBQ. This, in combination with having little to possibly no saturated fat, could perhaps help our Stroke Belt.

If this stuff freezes well, they should sell it by the pound in tubs just like regular meat-serving BBQ pits. I’d stock my freezer and have a BBQ sandwich every week, just like I did in my childhood.

  
BRUNCH option: Fried "chicken" biscuit with NC blackberry jam. Served with either a side of grits or root vegetable hash. I got hash because I'd already had grits that day.

SWEETS

Vegan chocolate mousse pie with salted caramel sauce. Rich dark chocolate. Excellent sauce. 

Two scoops of avocado and lemongrass ice cream with a rosemary cookie. The cookie was yummy and the complimentary complexity of the ice cream's flavor was fascinating. 

 Peanut butter vegan cheesecake with very good whipped topping and a delightfully crunchy nut crust.

 July 2014: Blueberry sorbet with a lemon sugar cookie. I relished this greatly.