Restaurant Review: Ecopolitan

Tara and I both grew up in small towns, and were always dreaming of the day we were able to move to a metropolitan city. That dream finally came true almost two years ago. The thing that excited us most was probably the incredible, but daunting, choice we had of restaurants.

The first restaurant that I can remember Tara telling me that she really wanted to try was Ecopolitan. Being uncomfortable with vegetables in general, I was hesitant to try it. After about a year of steady conditioning (working up to eating an entire serving of vegetables in a day!), I was finally ready to take on the raw food hippie haven that is Ecopolitan.

(4.6.12) It was a study day for me, and I decided to drill some problems at Dunn Brothers in Uptown (they roast their beans fresh on site, but that's a whole other post...). Before long, it was 3 o'clock in the afternoon, my head hurt, and we hadn't yet eaten lunch. I packed up my things, and turned my thoughts to where we ought to go to lunch. The first place in the area that I thought of was Ecopolitan, and that's where we ended up going.

Like some other restaurants in the area, Ecopolitan is located in an old house, and there is outdoor seating on the front porch. We walked inside. After searching around for a few minutes, we found the front counter down a hallway in the house's kitchen. We were seated, and began looking over the extensive menu.

As we sipped on warm water (apparently, they don't cook their food or chill their water...), we discussed which items most appealed to us. We do this at almost every restaurant because we usually order two entrees and share. After a lot of contemplation I ordered the mac and cheese, and Tara ordered their half flaxseed tostada.

The mac and cheese was made of zucchini noodles and cashew cheese and served over spinach. The meal was surprisingly flavorful given that it contained neither macaroni nor cheese. The zucchini noodles had a nice texture, but were disappointingly shaped more like spaghetti than macaroni. The cheese sauce was very creamy, and there were diced tomatoes hiding within the dish, which Tara helped me eat.

My 'Mac n Cheese' from Ecopolitan

We both agreed that Tara's flaxseed tostada was impressive. The tostada was surprisingly crunchy, and the seasoned lentil "meat" was good enough that Tara didn't miss the real animal flesh that usually tops a tostada. It came with fantastic guacamole, which always puts a smile on Tara's face. In the end, our only regret with this dish is that we only got the half order.

Tara's Flaxseed Tostada

We both agreed that Ecopolitan is worth another visit, and they have plenty of menu items that we want to try. The food and atmosphere at Ecopolitan were both unlike at any restaurant that we have experienced. We'll be back to try some other dishes and smoothies that they have to offer.