I have never been to The Pulse Cafe but have always wanted to try it and what better excuse than with The Boston Vegetarian Society? Especially since they have rolled out a new diner style menu. If you have never been, Pulse's menu is 100% vegan and 75% organic. And it's just a short walk from The Davis Square stop on the red line.
Typically at BVS events it is group seating, basically wherever there is a spot or two open at a table, you grab it. You meet some really interesting and awesome people that way making the vegan community even better than it already is! My brother's girlfriend came into the city to meet up with me for this dinner and we sat with a really cool couple, Adam and Sierra. They coincidentally also know a PPK friend of mine. We only learned this because Emily's(my ppk friend) boyfriend happened to be going to Pulse for dinner when she mentioned I would be there and to look on her facebook to see my pics and find me. He did! I went back to the table after talking with him and told them about my conversation with him, they realized they know her too. Small world. Did I already mention how awesome the vegan community is?!We all got along right off the bat and since we were all having a hard time figuring out what to order for apps, we decided to order 4 and split them. I am really glad we did because we got some delicious diner style food to fill our bellies!
The pics didn't come out great, or even that good because the lighting was really poor but I'm starting to look into a more fancy digital SLR type camera. I love my point and shoot but for food photography it's not really cutting it. Moving on.
First up was the Buffalo Tofu Bites. Little cubes of perfectly fried little tofu squares tossed with hot sauce with a side of Chunky Miso Dressing. I have no idea what was in said dressing but it was different, but amazing.
Next up were the Onion Rings served with a Chipotle Aioli. I can't remember the last time I had onion rings but these definitely reminded me what I have been missing out on. They were crispy and greasy, just like a good onion ring should be.
We also got Nachos which were equally as yummy as the other dishes. The tortillas were topped with a 2 bean chili, cashew cheese, salsa, tons of jalapenos and sour creme. We also had them add guac which obviously always makes nachos better but I wish I had remembered to focus more on tasting the cashew cheese. The gauc sucked me into all of its creamy green goodness.
Last, but definitely not least for appetizers was the Chili Cheese Fries. I have heard a lot about these and that was the only thing I knew I wanted walking into the restaurant. The fries were smothered in the same 3 bean chili from the nachos and tons of cashew cheese. Luckily there was no guac to distract me from the luscious cheese this time! These will definitely be ordered every time I return to Pulse.
I really don't know how we managed to eat anything after the mountain of appetizers we ordered but we did. Adam and I both ordered the Bacon Cheeseburger while Gillian and Sierra both ordered the Philly Cheese Steak.
I don't really know how to describe the cheeseburger. It was topped with tempeh bacon and tons of melted chedder daiya which are two things that can make almost anything taste good. The burger was good. Different but good. When I bit into it and looked at the inside it had a redness similar to what you would see if you bit into a rare meat burger. Sometimes I have a problem with faux meats seeming too much like the real thing in certain ways that I can't stomach it(Tofurkey Deli Slices for example) so while the redness threw me off, I was at a vegan restaurant so there was no cause for alarm. I have no idea what the burger is made from but I can only assume the coloring came from beets or red beans(again it was pretty dark in there). Overall, I enjoyed the burger but am definitely looking forward to trying other items on the menu. There was so much cheese on the burger I couldn't really get a picture of the patty.
The Philly Cheese Steak was filled with shredded seitan, peppers and onions and smothered in melted cheddar and mozzarella and the sub roll was smeared with a garlic aioli. This sub was so mouthwateringly good that I didn't want to give it back to Gillian.
We didn't stop there though. We couldn't leave without trying dessert. Vegan donuts? Heck yes! We really had our heart set on the ice cream sandwich but they had run out just before we tried to order them. The donuts had an orange flavored glaze on them, which at first taste I did not like. I am not a fan of anything citrus flavored when it comes to sweets but when I actually bit into the donut instead of just tasting the glaze with my finger, I fell in love. The glaze paired so perfectly with the slight crispiness the outside of the donut had(like any good donuts) and the light but similar to fried dough insides. Unfortunately I completely forgot to take a picture before we inhaled them. We all left Pulse with extremely full bellies and full wallets because the pricing is really cheap. I can't wait for the next BVS event!
Tomorrow I will be back to my regular Cookbook Challenge cooking and posting so come back!
That Philly has me hooked! We need to try to master that because it seriously exceeded my expectations in alllll the right ways. And we can make some of our own cookiewiches while we're at it since we missed out that night!
ReplyDeleteAhh, so jealous! Wish I could have made it. Glad you had a good time though! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing. I will definitely have to check this place out. I am always looking for new restaurants in the area. Have you ever used Dining In? I use it all the time when I want to order in but don’t want to leave the house to pick it up!
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