Thursday, August 2, 2007

A Vegetarian in Carmel, CA




After a great 6-mile hike at the Point Lobos state reserve (3 miles south of Carmel) where we had our fill of breathtaking views, we were really hungry and looking to be filled up with some real food.

Since we were in search of something quick, we decided to go for a small Chinese restaurant with several vegetarian options on their menu. "Tommy's Wok" on Ocean Ave and Mission is somewhat difficult to spot at first since it is hidden in the square. The small dining room adjoins an open kitchen which also has an entrance and exit for guests.

The menu had lunch specials priced very reasonably as well as a separate Dim Sum menu. We ordered the lone vegetarian item off the Dim Sum menu, the "onion pancakes". This arrived after our main course, but no complaints since the main course arrived fairly quickly.



For the main course both of us ordered off of the lunch specials. V ordered the Vegetable Deluxe, and I ordered the String beans (one of my favorites at Chinese restaurants). Both came with brown rice.




The Vegetable Deluxe was very good with crunchy seasonal vegetables. V did not even request his customary hot sauce - maybe he was just too hungry. (However he did not forget to ask for a side of peanuts.) The String Beans were a bit of a disappointment since some of the green beans were too mature and fibrous. I think maybe they just got a bad batch of green beans. I did not care much for the onion cakes, but V seemed to enjoy it with the side of plum sauce. The bill came to around $20 for the two of us. Tommy's Wok is a great place to go for a quick inexpensive lunch, which may be hard to find on Ocean Ave in Carmel.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

This is an excellent post on vegetarian life in the fish-friendly Carmel area. I am sure Clint would be proud of this find.

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