Monday, April 4, 2011

Eppies- Food when you’re with friends.




When you’re vegetarian, dining out can be a problem. Some restaurants serve only two vegetarian-friendly options: garden salad and fries. Which basically means, “Would you like your vegetables drenched in ranch dressing or deep fried in oil?” Dining out with friends can be an even bigger problem because you don’t want to be that weird animal-loving, tree-hugging vegetarian who takes her friends to these gluten-free, animal-by-product-free, tofu-on-a-stick serving restaurants. So, without even putting up a fight, you follow your friends to some Texas Steakhouse or Buck’s Barbeque and Grill down the street for a quality deep fried potato experience.

That no longer has to be the case. I recently stumbled upon a local mom and pop shop called Eppie’s when I was out with some friends to celebrate a birthday. Located in the middle of the downtown mall, Eppie’s serves many delicious vegetarian options as well as an infamous Chicken Platter for your carnivorous friends. With plenty of savory and sweet finger-licking sandwiches and soups, this is the perfect place to have lunch or dinner with a group of friends without needing to compromise. I mean: homemade pumpkin bread. Need we say more?

After a long, hard debate (there were so many options), I ordered the Hummus Sprouts Sandwich with a side of Macaroni and Cheese. The sandwich was not dense even with the generous portion of hummus and sprouts in between the two slices of their own freshly made whole wheat bread. At first I wasn’t sure what made it refreshing but then I realized there were the succulent cucumber dices that thse chef had added in as a special surprise!

Eppie’s also has a homemade chipotle vinegar sauce sitting on the table that piqued my curiosity. Daringly, I squeezed some on to my plate and used it as a dipping sauce for my sandwich and I am so glad I did. Eppie’s, if you are reading this right now, I want the recipe for your vinegar!!! The sensational zest of the chipotle vinegar sauce invaded my taste buds as I bit into my sandwich. Eppie’s has truly found the perfect balance between tang and spice. I wish I took a picture of that vinegar to show you. But instead, here’s a picture of my sandwich.

Oh yes, and to the left, there is the macaroni and cheese, my side dish. I had mixed feelings about this. Fair warning, if you are allergic to mushrooms avoids the macaroni because that thing is loaded with the fungi. Although I didn’t really enjoy the mac and cheese, I still thought adding mushrooms was a neat twist to this classic American dish. I think it might have been because the macaroni was undercooked, or the cheese had been sitting there for too long and had started to crust over, but it was a little under flavored so I ended up taking a few bites and giving to a very hungry friend.

In addition to the mac and cheese, Eppie’s serve a wide variety of vegetarian sides. In fact, their sides (which come free with the sandwich) are all homemade, and all vegetarian. Try their baked sweet potato. It comes wrapped in aluminum foil so you know that is freshly baked and very healthy. They also serve steamed fresh broccoli, fresh fruit, or soup for those of you who are more into the healthy stuff.

My friends and I definitely an enjoyable time at Eppie’s; they got their barbeque and I got my hummus and sprouts sandwich. I can’t wait to go back again sometime and try out some of their Seasonal Dessert and Brie Apple Sandwich.

Celery rating: 7.5/10

Atmosphere: 7/10

Quality of food: 8/10

Pricing: $


Most photos are from Eppie's website. no copyright infringement intended.

2 comments:

  1. With all due respect and trying (key word is "trying") to not come off as the pretentious foodie, Eppie's has been on again, off again with me.

    After reading the above, it might be on again.

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  2. I like that the sandwich I got there the other day was on Albemarle Baking Company Oatmeal Crunch sandwich bread. yay for locally sourced!

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