Vegan eatery for pan-Asian fans
Amy Drew: Cuisine at V.L.C. satisfies savory or sweet tooth.
If there are any remaining people on the planet who think that plant-based eaters strap on feedbags full of salad and little else, bring them to V.L.C., the new vegan eatery in Waterford Lakes.
But don’t order the tasty “fish” katsu. Or the flavorful chick’n tempura roll. Or even the supergingery “be-ef ” stir fry. Go for the big guns. Order a V.L.C. dessert sampler ($15).
The only fruit on it — banana — is lusciously, sinfully deep-fried. So are the other elements: a creamy “cheesecake” that’s easily as decadent as the real thing and a soul-soothing scoop of locally made Greenery Creamery vanilla ice cream.
You should bring more than one naysayer, too, because the
platter is huge. And makes the point that vegans can clearly have their deepfried cake (and ice cream and bananas) and eat it, too.
Fear not, though, if your tooth is more savory than sweet, there’s an abundance of good stuff — and good for
you stuff (no offense, dessert sampler) — on V.L.C.’s impressive menu, as well.
Take the V.L.C. dumplings ($8), for example. They’re on the Small Plates menu, but if you don’t share them, you may not have room for anything else. Six large dumplings in festively colored carrot and spinach wrappers are filled with chick’n, taro, cabbage, carrot, onion and a touch of ginger. You can go lighter with a steamed option or get ‘em pan-fried.
And speaking (again) of fried, there’s no shortage of items prepared this way. Katsu comes in eggplant and fish ($12) varieties; both are worth trying, but fried food’s easy that way.
And “easy” is a great way to describe throwing a meal together here. Allow me to summarize.
V.L.C. is counter service and fast casual (though the lovely natural elements they’ve added to the place — orchids and natural woods and such — creates a serene environment you’d not likely expect in a random retail space) and the employees are super friendly and helpful, adeptly explaining their combo options.
There are 10 dishes, eggplant katsu among them, featured on this menu section. For $7, you can get one a la carte. Three for $12. Four for $15. But seriously, three is already a monstrous amount of food. On one visit, I opted for said katsu, along with a spicy “tu-na” roll and upgraded to the vegetable curry fried rice for a small upcharge. It was three meals’ worth. And that curry rice has a really pleasant kick!
On another visit, I changed it up with the spicy tofu (loved it!) and chick’n tempura roll. Rice options here for your sides include white, brown or a brown/ black mixture. I’ve always preferred brown rice, but the latter was exceptionally tasty.
My dining companion opined, in fact, that its chewy texture was a reasonable meat doppelganger, “kind of like a good portobello mushroom,” he said. “It has that chew, it feels protein-y.”
It also tastes enjoyable, the “weight” of the bran and germ (which gives this rice, unlike plain white, some actual nutritional value) allows the rice’s natural flavor to remain at the party. Which to be clear is in your mouth.
Everything here is made in-house except the “protein” add-ins. And they should add in more to the ginger “be-ef ” stir fry ($12). The “be-ef ” is quite tasty, tossed in with beautifully cooked bell pepper, carrot and onion — along with zingy fresh ginger, but there wasn’t much in the dish. Guests, especially omnivores looking to explore plant-based options, might find that disappointing. Gluten-free diners will appreciate it, though — and many other dishes. There are loads of GF options, though be aware the facility does use gluten in other dishes.
The beet soup ($5) is also gluten-free. I’m a big fan this fuchsia-fabulous root veggie’s earthiness and quite enjoyed it. So much so that I may be inspired to wax about borscht for an upcoming story. This was thinner and brothier than the cold beet soup of my childhood, with hunks of beet and bright pops of corn. Those chunks were still bound to the cob, though, which was a tad inconvenient, but I could see this as a small-serving pho alternative for me when the cold weather circles back next year.
And speaking of, here’s a new thing I’ll be doing for those of you readers less enthused by, well — reading…
What I liked best: Super-attentive employees, nice combo options, generous portions. Kombucha in the reach-in fridge! And definitely that fish katsu, which taste-wise reminded me of the fish cakes my grade-school cafeteria used to serve with spaghetti. Man, I loved those.
What I liked least: The lack of “be-ef ” in the stir fry and the cob-fused corn hunks in the beet soup.
But overall, V.L.C. is a keeper. I’ll go back, but not for the fried stuff. It’s delicious, sure, but my favorite aspect of plant-based dining is keeping things lighter and healthier. And with a job like mine, I am wise to consume all the light and healthy that Central Florida’s fine foodies will allow.
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