Red Lentil

I probably shouldn’t admit this, but rarely does the rumor of a new vegetarian/vegan joint excite me. When I first heard about Red Lentil, I was skeptical. It was the new restaurant for vegetarians and vegans in Boston and it was creating a lot of buzz. I suspected there might be a lot of mock meat on the menu (something I’m not a fan of personally). However, the name kept coming up in conversations with various friends and acquaintances raving about it. So, finally, when I decided I was going to consciously try eating vegan for a week, I decided that I must check out Red Lentil.

Of course, I never go to a restaurant unprepared. I checked out the menu online and was amazed to find my mouth watering. I don’t normally associate foods like eggplant caponata with sun-dried pesto crostini, butternut squash polenta or latkes with a vegan diet. But this place has all of these as vegan selections on the menu. I’m not the only one who the menu impressed; I had many busy friends lamenting their holiday schedules and desperately trying to manage time for dinner at Red Lentil. But ultimately I dined with one, very enthusiastic vegetarian who had never been there either.

When my friend and I met there one Tuesday evening, I had under-anticipated the popularity of the joint. Walking in to warm, golden-toned room, I was first met by no less than 15 people crowded between the hostess table and the door. To put this into perspective, Red Lentil only seats 36 people in total. Luckily, the staff managed the wait very efficiently and we were seated within 20 minutes.

Deciding the first course was quite a dilemma. The salad offerings alone were enough to pique my interest: Thai noodle salad, vegan Caesar salad, roasted beet and walnut salad, citrus marinated sea vegetable salad…you get the idea. But who orders a salad when they are trying to explore veganism? Instead, my dining companion and I devoured the beet and sweet potato latkes. The warm, flat disks touched the palate with a subtle level of saltiness and then blossomed to reveal a wonderfully earthy, almost grassy flavor that came from the beets. The cilantro sauce (green chutney) and apricot marmalade rounded off the dish with mild tang and sweetness, respectively.

For the next course, I ordered the pistachio and herb encrusted tofu with corn cake. The textures of the plate work in a progression. At the base is a fairly large corn cake. It’s got crunch on the outside and is moist on the inside. The corn adds a bit of chewiness. Piled on the corn cake is a generous helping of soft tofu covered in a lightly crispy, herb-flavored crust made mostly of ground pistachios. Finally, the tofu is topped with a bed of sautéed greens, red peppers, jalapeño relish and cilantro chutney.  Though the corn cake was my favorite part, the elements work well together. The nuttiness from the tofu adds a new dimension when eaten with the corn cake and the greens are a much needed respite from the heavier items on the dish. The sauces heighten all the flavors by providing just a touch of spiciness, tanginess and earthiness. And the dish is so filling, you are guaranteed to leave with a satisfied stomach.

My friend, who made no such resolution to go vegan, ordered a vegetarian dish – the Mexican pizza. Since I was trying to stay vegan, I stole just a bite. It was mouth-watering. Moist and chewy crust is topped with black means, red onions, avocados, corn and an unexpected ingredient – mango! Two types of cheese are melted onto the top – mozzarella and queso fresco (vegan cheese can be substituted). The pizza is hearty, chewy, salty, fresh and with just a bit of brightness and sweetness from the mango.

Though I could have easily skipped the last course from having eaten too much, I couldn’t pass up a chance to try a vegan dessert. We ordered the highly recommended vegan tiramisu. If no one had told me it was a tiramisu and just had put the cake-like slice in front of me, I would have thought, “Wow, this cake tastes good. Wait, it’s vegan?” But a tiramisu it was not. The slice lacked the fluffy, light, soaked quality of a non-vegan tiramisu. But as a dense, moist, coffee-flavored cake layered with rich, creamy frosting and topped with chocolate, it was delicious and I devoured even the last bite.

Red Lentil
600 Mount Auburn Street
Watertown, MA 02472
617-972-9188