"As far as we can discern, the universe is a very SILLY place." - Albert Einstein

I had an amazing restaurant experience yesterday. One of the most amazing I’d had in a long time. Don’t get me wrong, vegans can certainly eat at restaurants, particularly ethnic ones...Hello Thai food! I’ve found that some less vegan friendly restaurants are more than willing to make accommodations, but sometimes it’s nice not to need any accommodations at all.

Sometimes, I just want to order straight form the menu without having to say, “no egg, please.”

Sometimes, I want to be plagued with the problem of having TOO MANY options and not being able to decide. 

My wish was granted. 

Yesterday, I went with Mom and Mariel (my sister) to Silly’s in Portland, ME. I first came across Silly’s when my step-mother, Michelle, posted a picture of their vegan French toast on my Facebook wall. When I saw the French toast, I had to find out where I could get my hands on it. I thought for sure that’s the first thing I’d order from this particular restaurant. 

Oh, how naïve I was.

I had my eye on several different menu items. I considered the Vegan Meltaway, a grilled cheese with tomatoes and caramelized onions and a side of mango basil slaw. I also considered both the Vegan Silly Toast , the French toast I mentioned, and the Veganator Scramble, a tofu scramble.

By the time the waitress came to take our order, Mom and I had agreed to share two entrees. We chose the Peace, Love & Veggies, which had lots of veggies, fried tofu, and chickpeas served over brown rice.

Apparently it was sautéed in a “creamy spicy sweet & sour sauce.” I could have used  little more sauce, as it was just a teensy bit bland. Mom and I both agreed, though, that salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes brightened it up. It did make a wonderful, healthful side dish next to our pizza.

The Clash of the Thai-tins pizza was to die for. The sauce was a creamy, not-that-sweet coconut peanut sauce. It was topped with Daiya mozzarella (which is the best brand, FYI), tomatoes, scallions, caramelized onion, and pineapple. 

Mom took a slice before I could take a picture!

This pizza made my heart flutter! I have to get it again. I just have to. I’m a sucker for both onions and pineapple on my pizza, whether I make it at home, get delivery, or have the pizza venue at school make it. Those are my signature toppings.

The crust was good too. It was thin, but it didn’t crumble into a billion pieces of nothing. A little crispy on the outside, but there was something to chew.

For DESSERT (yes, they had vegan desserts!!!), the three of us shared two desserts…though we could’ve done with just one. 

The first dessert was one of their Cakes of the Day: vegan cookies and cream. The cake was chocolate, with a soy cream cheese frosting and Oreos crumbled on top and between the THREE layers. This cake was luscious. The frosting was a little soy-y, but not too bad. I’d eat it again, any time, any place. 

Before

After

The second dessert was Sweet Dreams, fried, sweet plantains topped with toasted pecans, toasted coconut, cinnamon and a drizzle of maple syrup. We had the option to have soy or rice ice cream too, but you read how much we’d already eaten.

Not the prettiest picture, but sooo flavorful nonetheless!

This was fricken scrumptious! Mariel didn’t want to try it, but that just means there was more for me and Mom. We did take some leftovers home, the last of the veggies, two slices of pizza, and the leftover plantains.

In a nutshell, I will be a repeat customer.

Go to Silly's. Order vegan food. Have a food baby.

salt and pepper shakers