Dining Out: Bean Vegan Cuisine (Charlotte, NC)

Bean Vegan Cuisine in Charlotte: It's dark and dim and filled with vegan versions of otherwise artery-clogging truck stop dishes. My low class, hillbilly ass rejoices!

Side note: Their interior design as based around geek culture things, particularly comic books. That's all fine and well if you're in to that sort of thing, but I liked the little table display that touted the ecological benefits of eating lower on the trophic levels. Good job, Bean!

Above, the Cowboy Burger topped with seitan bacon, daiya cheddar, onion rings, and pickles--flavored with both ranch dressing and BBQ sauce. It was SO goddamn delicious. If I lived anywhere near Charlotte, I'd be one chubby porker for eating there all the time.

The burger is served with one side; I chose tater tot casserole, but kind of regretted it. I was expecting deep-fried, crispy tots with some diaya melted on top and some veg thrown in for color. Instead, it was mushy and gray. Should've gone with the fried pickles. Ah well, more incentive to go back and try any of the other delectable diner foods they offer!


Also of note: Bean is not only 100% vegan comfort food but also a grocer. The store was closed when I stopped in for lunch, which was terribly disappointing bc they are the one store in NC that carries "Vegan Magic" (formerly known as Vegan Bacon Grease). Very much wanting to try that product, I went ahead and ordered it online from Vegan Essentials.

I'll be back, Bean! And I will look at your gloriously large room of vegan groceries!! #ShutUpAndTakeMyMoney

Smiling Hara Hempeh

I'm not one for brands, but I am a proponent of interesting flavor combos. So while I was at the 2017 Triangle VegFest, I could not resist spending my hard-earned money on a vegan protein marinating in raspberry habanero BBQ sauce!

Before you even pierce the plastic packaging, you can smell the smoky goodness of the habaneros. Then, once you sneak a taste of the raspberry habanero BBQ sauce the tempeh been sealed in, you cut open the plastic wrap so you can lick it clean. This is what vegan food needs: good flavor profiles.

Side note: I consider this is a luxury good in terms of fat content--at 41g of fat per 4oz (aka half the block), it would be a good treat for vegans who eat a lot of whole foods and thus a lean diet. Otherwise, it's rather decadent for someone who already consumes a high-fat diet. (I am fueled by peanut butter, if you must know.)

What it looks like when cut open -- tightly packed interior

Upon the suggestion of the salesperson, I used the "Hempeh Tacos with Peach-Jalapeno Relish" from the Fork to Summit intsagram account. I adored the peach-jalapeno relish, but skipped the pickled peach skin as well as the red cabbage. Thus, my soft taco looks rather plain compared to what it could be.

It was still one of the most delicious taco fillings I've ever had, and thus will add in a gratuitous second picture. Raspberry-habanero forever!

The interior of the marinated pieces = toothsome hunks