The joy of tofu

I've been vegetarian a long time, but it's still taken a lot of dietary evolving for me to put those words together. It wasn't long ago that I wouldn't have even been able to conceive of "joy" followed by "tofu." However, I have come to appreciate the bean curd beast, especially since moving to Boston.

Here are my top three tofu choices, in Boston/Cambridge:

1. At Pho and I, on Huntington Ave. near Symphony Hall. Pho and I's fried rice comes with perfectly sized, perfectly crispy and flavorful chunks of tofu. The tofu chunks are about the size of ice cubes, so you can eat them in one bite, and the inside is just as yummy as the fried outside -- no bland mealiness to be found.


2. In the salad bar at the Whole Foods on Cambridge Street near MGH. They offer amazing sesame tofu in the salad bar. It's the only tofu I can actually eat cold. It has the best firm texture and a sweetish flavor, with tons of sesame seeds and scallion pieces. It's perfect on a basic salad with some kind of light soy dressing.


3. At Anise in Kendall Square, near the Landmark theater. Anise's Sichuan-style flower tofu appetizer is sort of soupy (spoon definitely required), with silken tofu and little crunchy bits on top. This makes the top three primarily because it made me appreciate silken tofu, which is a huge feat. The spicy saucy stuff and the crunchy bits with the smooth tofu--mmm. It's a delectable combination.

(Totally off the tofu topic: the green beans entree at Anise is wonderful.)


Bonus (but definitely not in Boston): The best tofu ever is actually at a Thai place way the hell up in New Hampshire -- Spicy Lime, on the side of the White Mountain Highway in North Conway. The tofu in the noodle/veggie/cashew sauce dish I had actually rendered me speechless while I was eating it. I felt so sad when it was all gone. It was fried, so it had a nice crispy outside, but the inside had great flavor and texture, like it had been marinated just right. The waiter was also really nice when I wanted to mix up sauces and noodles vs. rice to make the concoction I ended up with. It was probably two years ago that I ate there, and I like to dream up possible weekend trips around another dinner at Spicy Lime.

Restaurant review: Ten Tables

Veggie friendliness: Four (out of five) stars

My disclaimer about Ten Tables is that I've only been there on one of their fixed-menu nights, which they have once a week. I didn't see a regular menu when I was there. But everything I had was excellent, and I got an extremely veggie-friendly vibe from the whole experience. I've also heard that they have a vegetarian fixed-price menu available every night in addition to the regular menu, which is very cool.

I'm usually wary of fixed menus, since my biggest restaurant fear is being brought unspecified plates of things. There's too much mushroom risk involved. But at Ten Tables, the waiter actually asked me what ingredients I didn't like, and if there was something special I was in the mood for. That is serious veggie friendliness, and personalized dishes just taste that much better. I got four courses in all: a salad with jicama and other crunchy parts; a pretty carrot risotto; a crispy and cheesy potato galette; and a caramel-y fruity dessert. It was satisfying, and it was actually fun to get four different surprise courses without fear of mushrooms.

This place feels fancy, like we could have been celebrating an anniversary, but the price was decent--I think it was a $35 set price for the food and wine too.

So, four stars to Ten Tables, and a place I'll definitely go back to.