Sunday, April 11, 2010

balewa's vegan gourmet


balewa's vegan gourmet
1651 union avenue
memphis, tn
(910) 274 3917

type of cuisine: vegan/raw
culinary excellence: 7
vegan friendliness: 10
*recommended*

when traveling, i have found happy cow to be an indispensable resource. memphis is not the most vegan friendly city, but thanks to their database, i discovered balewa's, a little plant-based take-out restaurant just 20 minutes from the brasi's house. balewa's shares its outlet with a middle eastern diner called "sean's cafe," a convenient store, a coffee bar and a smoothie counter, cleverly named "smooth moves." while luca and samara ordered off the diner menu, i got balewa's signature live burger, a veggie patty on an eziekiel bun with fixings, served with a side salad and blue corn chips. it was inexpensive for a raw entree and it was excellent. the burger itself was earthy and filling, the salad was fresh, the dressing tasty and the chips wholesome. we all ordered smoothies as well, which were decent and humungous. i think mine was peach, made without dairy, as most of their menu items can be. as we dined in the seating area, the owner of balewa's (pictured) came over and introduced himself. he thought he recognized luca from the days of yore, but alas he was mistaken. he said he's been vegan for over 20 years, which is impressive considering that his restaurant is the only strictly vegan place in town! it's just too bad he doesn't have a nicer set-up, because i could see his food served in style.

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