Vegan Hampton Roads

Machismo Burrito Bar was around serving up its football-sized burritos before Moe’s, Chipotle, Qdoba and the other chains even considered hitting the Hampton Roads scene, and the restaurant still boasts a dedicated following thanks to its delicious food and vegan options.

Machismo's newest location in Downtown Norfolk.

The menu at Machismo is pretty simple - it’s organized into burritos, of course, tacos, quesadillas, nachos and salads. Once you decide what you want, you’ll need to figure out the fillings and toppings, from bright yellow saffron rice to perfectly cooked black beans to a hot, green salsa, just to name a few. Like a Subway for burritos, you follow your food along letting the friendly folks at Machismo know what you want and how much before they attempt to wrap it up in a neat football of foil. You even get your choice of tortillas, from wheat, to spinach and chipotle. Or you can get the burrito in a bowl, sans tortilla.

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When I seek out greasy, bloat-inducing Chinese food I usually dial up Kin’s Wok on 21st Street in Ghent for some General Tso’s Tofu. But every once in a while I crave Dragon City and their faux meat dishes. Kin’s Wok doesn’t serve any faux meat or seitan - only tofu - but Dragon City offers on its menu “veg beef, veg chicken, and veg shrimp.” There is a separate menu called “Health Food” with all of the faux meat dishes, however I’ve found that you can often just request anything on the menu but ask for it with one of the vegetarian meat substitutes. Oh, and I wouldn’t call any of this health food.

On a recent weekend night, a friend of mine and I decided to get some Dragon City, stuff our faces and watch episodes of Dexter at her place. I went to the restaurant, which looks like your typical take-out Chinese place with friendly staff. I ordered faux shrimp lo mein for her and faux general tso’s chicken for me and two spring rolls.

The faux shrimp lo mein is eerily like real shrimp. The shrimps themselves had little flavor, but the lo mein was delicious. My dish was tasty, but a little disappointing. The General Tso’s sauce was very thick, like someone had added a little too much corn starch. The faux chicken pieces are deep-fried. I enjoyed the dish overall, which was served with perfectly cooked broccoli and white rice, but could have used more sauce and a less viscous version.

Not all of the faux meats are deep-fried like the General Tso’s Chicken. I’ve had other dishes where the faux meat has been steamed or sauteed. I’ve yet to try the faux beef. And I would skip the spring rolls next time. The only filling was cabbage and not worth it to me.

Like faux meat, Dragon City is a novelty in Norfolk. It’s not somewhere I order all the time, but I’m really happy to have it around when I want to indulge. And there are plenty of people out there that would call Dragon City their favorite over Kin’s Wok.

Dragon City
2301 D Colley Ave.
Norfolk, VA 23517
(757) 664-7900
Open 7 days a week: Mon-Thurs 11:00 a.m. - 10:30 p.m., Fri-Sat. 11:00 a.m. - 11:00 p.m., Sun. 12:00 noon - 10:00 p.m.
Delivery, take-out and dine-in (there’s a table and some chairs at which I’m assuming you can eat your meal)

Sushi is something usually reserved for the meat-eaters among us, not vegetarians and vegans. But Kotobuki in the Ghent section of Norfolk has changed that with its extensive, and sometimes startling (vegetarian shrimp, anyone?), vegetarian menu. The owners even launched a monthly vegetarian lunch special, but you’ll need to ask for that when the server brings you a menu.

I’m usually a fan of the vegetable maki (hand rolls). I always get fried sweet potato and avocado rolls, and I always preface it with a bowl of miso soup. Their miso soup is one of my favorites and the owners assured me its fish flake free.

But when I want something to stick to my ribs, I go for the Vegetarian Sesame Chicken. The chicken pieces have a truly meaty texture and are fried and drenched in a sweet sesame sauce atop a bed of lettuce. In the bento tray, you also receive a salad with a terribly addictive dressing, a tiny fried spring roll and potato cake, and of course rice. And like most meals at the restaurant, it comes with a miso soup appetizer. Also not featured on the menu is brown rice, but they usually have it on hand for the vegetarian specials, so ask for it if you like.

The veg sesame chicken is a favorite among friends, but I’ve also tried the veg chicken teryaki and the veg chicken and broccoli. The teryaki has a great sauce, but the “meat” is a turn off - half moon shaped and cooked to a crisp, it’s pretty hard to tear your teeth through. The chicken and broccoli was the least enjoyable with an off-tasting gravy.

There are still a number of the restaurant’s faux meat dishes I’ve yet to try, such as the tofu steak or the eggplant “ham” platter, which won an award from PETA in 2006 for the best vegetarian meal in Hampton Roads

You may like these dishes, but if you’re going for the first time and want something spot-on, go for the veg sesame chicken.

And don’t forget the wealth of vegetable maki available, from vegetarian shrimp tempura rolls to spinach, fried tofu and asparagus rolls. Kotobuki also offers a number of veggie-friendly appetizers.

The details:

Kotobuki Japanese Restaurant & Sushi Bar
721 W. 21st Street
Norfolk
Phone: (757) 628-1025

Hours:
Lunch: Mon - Fri, 11 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.; Sat - Sun, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Dinner: Mon - Thur, 5 - 10 p.m.; Fri - Sat, 5 - 11 p.m.; Sun, 4:30 - 9:30 p.m.

Dine in or take out.
Accepts cash and major credit cards