Peace Out

a dining experience can be many things, but rarely does it prove comical by nature. i don't mean rolling on the floor laughing because your waiter is really a comedian or the counter person does improv, but the kind of humor one looks back on with a groan of disbelief, as if to say, "did that really happen?" the service at peace food café invokes these feelings, and if the vegan and raw food menu didn't offer up several culinary gems, i would advise you to avoid the madness. it started with a glass of water. yes, one glass for four people. no silverware, menus that had to be procured by asking an eye-rolling server and a lackadaisical waiter who insisted on sitting down with us. the brightly-lit peace food café. good luck getting silverware. photo by linnea covington we finally got enough water to satiate the table and ordered a round of delightful sounding, alcohol-free drinks, which came interchangeably with the food. first up, the brazilian nut chai ($4.50), a mildly-spiced hot beverage that my friend bogarted with the claim, "mine is the best," after everyone got their respective sips. it was good, but not the strong flavors i am used to in chai. my favorite of the four beverages was also my own, the gingerade ($4). this cold beverage tasted refreshing, but packed a kick at the same time, not unlike the hot version, an apple ginger soy steamer ($4). the tart orange apple cider ($4) was also a winner, leading us to believe that drinks are a surefire thing to order at this cafe. food items, on the other hand, proved more hit or miss. after procuring some cutlery and small plates, we dived into the roasted japanese pumpkin sandwich ($9) served on toasted whole spelt rye bread. the gooey mashed pumpkin with vegan goat cheese blended well together with the sweet caramelized onions. it came with vinegar-dressed jicama salad that pleasantly surprised me by tasting sugary, rather then the usual sharp bite of the root. we also ordered a large side of the plain daily vegetables ($9.95) that came with overcooked squash, dry pumpkin slices and a handful of perfectly roasted cauliflower and broccoli. the chickpea fries ($7) were a favorite with our resident vegan and my roommate (the fries were discussed long after we left the restaurant). as a side, they came piled up like lincoln logs, slightly fried and with a buttery, melt-in-the mouth texture. not like french fries at all, but a winner just the same. not so popular were the baked soy nuggets ($7) that were served with herbed vegan mayo, which gave these soft and fluffy chunks the only flavor they had. the vegetable tamale ($6) also failed the table's taste test with its bland seasoning heightened only by the sliced jalapeños. the restaurant got the texture of the cornmeal right, though, despite the lack of the classic ingredient: lard. possibly the greatest disappointment was the roasted, seasonal vegetable pizza ($9.95). while this personal-sized pie packed in a lot of broccoli, squash and cauliflower, the vegetables tasted watery and flavorless. however, i liked the sweet tomato sauce enhanced with pine nuts and the thin crust, which did well holding up the soggy greens. as we were finishing our meal, the waiters finally started to pay attention to us again and kept trying to take away the plates, even though food remained on them and we were still eating. requests for water refills went ignored for a while, and getting the dessert menu required flagging down someone other than our waiter. we decided to go for the raw key lime pie ($6.95), a pumpkin-cranberry bread pudding ($4.50) and the "funny-bone" ($4.50), which is like a giant hoho, but with peanut butter instead of cream. the desserts came quickly but napkins and forks did not. we still enjoyed all three, each for personal reasons (like a love for chocolate and peanut butter combos). the key lime pie had a good, solid citrus flavor and the pumpkin dish proved thick and hearty. when we finally got the check and walked out of the brightly-lit peace food café, we were full of good food and amused by how bad the service actually was. still, the unimpressive staff obviously hasn't kept the place from filling up. i guess in the end, the palate calls the shots.