Thursday, April 29, 2010

Otarian 04-29-2010


Location: 947 8th Ave.
Time: 12:30pm

Feelings: I could not tell you how excited I was about the lacto-vegetarian sustainable fast food chain, Otarian's opening today in Midtown. It is incredibly difficult to find vegetarian cheap food in midtown, so any new veg places excites my emotions, and if it's sustainable, that's even better.

Vegetarian fast food joints have hurt me in the past. Remember Danku? I never want to think of that name again. Australian Otarian is almost identical to Danku, including the distinctly airplane food flavor.

The place was very cute and clean, and the service was superb. The menu looked quite creative from South Asian inspired dishes like Vegetable Biryani and Tandoori Mushroom O Paneer Wrap to more American dishes like Vegetable Lasagna and Tex Mex Veggie Burgers. I ordered Red Curry Noodles ($8.95, "Otarian Carbon Saving 1.05kg"), and less than a minute later, my order arrived in an adorably sustainable container. The 'noodles' were disappointingly similar to spaghetti. Fortunately it was not too mushy, but with a bland flavor of curry, this was at the same level as Danku's airplane food. It takes a lot of effort to make bland curry.

I may consider trying other dishes here, but it is about $2-$3 more overpriced than it should, and I would much rather go to a regular deli and order a veggie sandwich. It is sad to see another conceptually wonderful vegetarian restaurant failing during its execution. Can anyone please get this right? We really need a good vegetarian fast food restaurant in Midtown.

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