trolley car diner

trolley car diner
7619 germantown avenue
phildelphia, pa
(215) 753 1500
www.trolleycardiner.com

type of cuisine: diner
culinary excellence: 4
vegan friendliness: 3

in my search for vegan-friendly restaurants in mt. airy, i came across this listing at urban spoon, naming the trolley car diner as 1 of 4 good bets. sadly, i did not find this place to be especially generous towards us vegan folk. they have 2 vegan items on the menu, but 1 is a bean chili that is only available in winter, leaving only the szechwan tofu stir fry. the thing is, you go to an adorable old-fashioned diner with neon lights, cushy booths, breakfast all day and an adjacent ice cream parlour and it doesn't put you in the mood for szechwan tofu stir fry. you want a burger piled high with add-ons, batter-dipped fries and a ginormous milkshake. or maybe you want griddle cakes or grilled cinnamon buns or stuffed french toast, again with a ginormous milkshake, but you surely don't want a tofu stir-fry! however, given that that was our only option, luca and i saddled up and ordered two stir-fries and some beer. it was not a particularly inspired stir-fry. way too many onions, green peppers and celery, plus cubes of soft tofu swimming in an overabundance of salty, soupy, sauce. it wasn't terrible, but i would have so preferred a veganized version of pretty much anything else on their menu! surely i am not the only vegan in mt. airy who would frequent the trolley car diner weekly if they would only recognize that's it's not hard at all to whip up some cruelty-free griddle cakes or assemble a fantastic veggie burger. sigh. at least their selection of beers is unbeatable. lately i have been enjoying leinenliugel's berry weiss brew, which i'm sure is a sissy beer, but i don't care because it's yummy.