Disease Proof

You know, the past two weeks of Eating to Live on the Outside have been a piece of cake—or should I say a piece of fruit. It all started with Mesob Ethiopian Restaurant, an extremely veggie-friendly dining establishment in Montclair New Jersey. And then last week we were wowed by the New York City based Angelica Kitchen and their organic vegan cooking. But what about this week, what does fate have in store for us?

Now I’ve never been to Boston, but if I ever make a trip to Bean Town I’ll be sure to stop by Happy Buddha. Come on, you’ve got to love a place named Happy Buddha! Everyone loves to rub those Buddha belly statues. And speaking of bellies, stuffing yourself at Happy Buddha will hardly leave you regretting it in the morning. Okay, let’s see what this Buddha has to offer.

When you look at Happy Buddha’s menu you’ll see it contains an entire section comprised of vegetarian dishes. You know what that means? A ton of phytonutrients! If you recall previous installments of Eating to Live on the Outside, you’ll see that I’m not against eating meat. In fact, I’ll eat chicken or fish from time to time, but in the presence of all these vegetable-based options, who needs the rest of menu? So even though I eat meat, I’m ditching all the non-vegetarian dishes and focusing exclusively on the veggie fare.

Okay, as far as the appetizers go, I like the Fresh Spring Rolls. They’re prepared with tofu, shredded lettuce, mint, vermicelli wrapped in rice paper, and peanut sauce. I really like tofu, so this is a great option for me. The only thing that gives me pause is the vermicelli, after all its pasta, and pasta is nothing more than refined grains. But, I can live with it. I’ll just distract myself with the other ingredients, not to mention the phytonutrients. I guess if I were really feeling guilty about the vermicelli, I could go ahead and order the Watercress Soup. It comes with fresh tofu, watercress, and vegetable broth. Nope, I don’t see any serious concessions here. Do you?

A couple salads also caught my eye. The Papaya Salad includes shredded green papaya, peanuts, basil, and lime dressing. And the Watercress Salad is made with watercress, tomatoes, onions, and vinaigrette dressing. Now, I guess to play it safe I could order the dressing on the side and limit the amount I consume, but all those phytonutrients extinguish my worries about a little salad dressing. Also, I don’t eat out very often, so it’ll take more than some vegetable oil to make me uptight.

Now here’s where it gets a little tricky. Apparently most of the vegetarian entrees are fried, and fried is hardly Eating to Live. I can deal with some oil olive on my salad, but food prepared in a boiling oil bath—not the best idea. Alright, for starters I’m avoiding all the veggie-meat, why? One, I don’t like the way they taste. And two, they’re probably loaded with salt. So I’ll pass. What’s left? The Broccoli with Tofu looks good. Although I’m not sure if this one is fried, I’d ask the wait staff about it. If it is, I guess there’s no harm in asking if they can steam it instead. The Medley Vegetables with Tofu is other solid option. Again, you might want to inquiry about how it’s cooked. Finally, the Happy Buddha’s Feast looks really good. It’s stir-fried, but given the amount of veggies, I’d have a hard time resisting. It’s prepared with broccoli, red peppers, green peppers, carrots, mushrooms, baby corn, peapods, string beans, Chinese broccoli, and bamboo shoots. Would you agree? That’s a lot of phytnutrients! So in this case I can deal with the oil. Let me know how you feel about it.

So even though it got a little hairy at the end, I still think Happy Buddha is a good place for an Eat to Liver to wind up eating. Granted, fried anything is a valid reason for concern, but remember Eating to Live on the Outside is usually an experiment in comparison. And compared to places like Fazoli’s, Denny’s, and Friendly’s, Happy Buddha is a heaven-sent—or more appropriately, a Nirvana-sent.

Don’t forget, we want your feedback! Check out Happy Buddha’s menu and let us know how Eat to Live on the outside? Leave a comment or email us at diseaseproof@gmail.com.