Vegan Friendliness at Brillobox

I know, I know. Brillobox is hardly news. Since it burst onto the hangout scene as a supercool neighborhood bar/art space/music venue 5 or 6 or 7 years ago, it's been the darling of hipsters and 30-somethings like my friends and me (though, in all honesty, I'm getting closer to the 40-something crowd). It even scored an article in The New York Times a few years ago.

Yes, it's a cool place to meet up with friends for drinks, but I love the great vegan options on the menu! And where Brillo isn't your typical bar, the food isn't your typical bar food. The menu is a carefully edited selection of favorites like french fries mixed with creative options. Everything is positively wonderful.

This weekend, I started off with hummus and pita. Yes, I know--ho hum for vegans. But not Brillo's! I eat hummus so much, it's rare that I go head over heels for it like I did over Brillo's. It was as awesome as the lightly toasted, soft, amazing pita bread it was served with.

For my main dish I had the Pacific Asian Soba Noodle Salad with sweet tahini dressed sesame noodles and crunchy pickled vegetables, toasted almonds, and greens in a ginger-lime vinegar dressing. I had it with sesame-breaded tofu. So many flavors, but everything came together just perfectly...with a nice kick of unexpected spiciness to boot. Loved it!

Later on, after a few glasses of wine, I ordered the Pommes Frites with three dipping sauces for our table. One dipping sauce was an awesome curried ketchup. I tried the other two and loved them before realizing I had no idea what they were and that they might not be vegan. Oops. Normally I would not order fried food (or try possibly non-vegan food), but the wine made me do it. The fries and curried ketchup were amazing.

I've also had the Banh Mi Vietnamese Sandwich with tofu before, which is also awesome. I haven't yet tried their homemade veggie burger, so that's a good reason to go back soon.

Brillobox also has a vegetarian Sunday dinner for just $6 where you eat whatever they make that day, though I've never gone because I'm not a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants eater. I heard it's really good though.

So if you find yourself at Brillobox, don't miss out on some awesome vegan food! And visit the blog of Brillo's chef!

Image from Speed of the Pittsburgh Sound blog.