John's of 12th Street. Traditional Italian and vegan at the same table.

See? It can be done. This is not merely gratuitous proof but overwhelming proof done exceedingly well. There are so many situations where we have no choice but to break bread with those who insist on eating meat. Unfortunately we're often left with few culinary options above and beyond the grilled veggies or salads. This all changes here.

I wonder who has walked on this hundred year old tile floor. You should put John's of 12th Street on your list. If you don't find yourself eating at John's you're missing out on seeing what a restaurant owner can do to attract the vegan/veto vote. I don't mean one or two items marked as vegan, I mean a whole menu.

Stepping into John's is stepping into the past. There are inlaid marble panels on the lower wall imported from Italy and (twice) restored murals depicting the city states and their coats of arms from the era before they were united into Italy. The restaurant was a tad on the dark side and we shopped around, since the place was still setting up when we arrived for our early dinner a bit before 5, and ended up at the well lit window table. I imagine as darkness descends on the city the candles on each table create a remarkable dining environment.

Funny, I did have to ask for the vegan menu and Bobby our waiter said he didn't think I was the "type". I did have my Mickey Mouse Disney T shirt on but next time I'll be sure to wear my Grateful Dead garb. I did have my earring in so that should have keyed him in right away. Oh well.

The menu is impressive, and honestly, what I dream is that we can find a menu like this in every single restaurant sometime in the future. This isn't a menu of omission, pawning off spaghetti and meatballs sans meatballs as their original vegan creation, this is a menu DESIGNED FOR US!!

Reading the menu saddened me. I didn't have the stomach capacity, (although still impressive when I want it to be), to eat every thing I saw, and I wanted every thing I saw.

I started with garlic bread. I know it's made with olive oil in many places but butter still can be an ingredient and it's nice to just say "vegan" and be done with it. I still said "vegan" a lot since there is a whole lot of cooking going on that I don't care to indulge in and really really really didn't want to be writing about mistakes during this dinner. (There were none made. Yay).

The caesar salad had baked shitake mushroom chips. Mike, the owner, told me they were soaked in soy and then baked. They added a nice smokiness and crunch to the salad. The dressing had a bit of seaweed in it. Although nothing can duplicate the exact taste of a true caesar made with raw eggs and anchovies, this dressing came close. Creamy and sea salty, it hit a certain mark. I still think $9.95 is steep for a salad but I really don't know how much a caesar salad is since I don't order salads in restaurants. In any case we tagged almost 30 bucks onto the bill in salads.

I finally "settled" on the Seitan Alla Rosa which is cooked in a sauce with artichokes and fire roasted peppers and a marsala wine mushroom sauce. Shitake and button mushrooms were part of the smothering of the seitan. The seitan was light and fluffy but still had a nice toothiness to it. There were many layers of subtle flavors and for once I didn't pour hot sauce or sprinkle red pepper flakes all over my food. The marinara sauce on the pasta was made just right with a hint of sweetness in the background.

My wife ordered the Seitan Parmigiana. Usually she goes for the "formerly living creature" parmigiana so this was an incredibly welcome change. That and she loved the seitan. Since she eats cheese she told me she'd order the seitan again but with real cheese. I say, "kudos," and one step at a time. I'm always happy when a non vegan validates my claim of goodness. I know my palate has changed over this last year

Now we get to desserts. Oh man, this is where I lost all control and self worth. I never had Lula's Sweet Apothecary Ice Cream before and I may have to restrict myself to a 500 calorie a day diet of real food now that I know this stuff exists. Good Humor trucks beware! If someone finds an old ice cream truck and a block of dry ice this city will lose all roving ice cream vendors. This stuff was so rich and delicious and had that crunch of the chocolate chips. Amazing.

As if these people weren't the devil incarnate they went ahead and made a vegan cannoli. I'm a goner. The cannoli has the same texture as ricotta and a sweet vanilla flavor on one side and chocolate on the other. The scorze is light and crisp and sweet. What a perfect combination of dessert.

Now for the bad news. Well, it's not bad considering what we ate. John's is a place to go and dine, it's not a pizza joint but a Manhattan Restaurant. Considering we had more of a feast than a meal and 4, count them, 4 desserts, this wasn't all that bad. Although I will be eating cereal for all my meals for the next week.

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