Embarking upon a Vegan Culinary Adventure in Old Town

Open any paper and you can find a critic reviewing the latest high end restaurants or some obscure hole in the wall but rarely will you find little more than a tag line at the end referring to their vegetarian or vegan offerings. That is all about to change. I have spent the last 10 years tasting my way around the country and world looking for the best vegan food and now fate has brought me to Old Town Alexandria. Whether you are vegan and looking for new places to try, a meat eater looking for a place where both you and your vegan/vegetarian friends can eat,  herbacurious (interested in herbivore foods and eating styles) or are trying to eat a little healthier, I have your back. One to two times a week I will be posting an in-depth review of great or not so great places to eat around the area. You can also find daily posts about restaurants and vegan products on my twitter feed , @veganfoodcritic, and face book page, Vegan Critic, feel free to post questions about products or ask for suggestions on where to eat.

It's getting hot outside and many of you, like me, would rather not turn on my oven. However I was still in the mood for warm food (salad weather is still to come) I thought I would try my luck with a little carry out spot - Asian Wok Cafe, located at 800 block of Washington St. and offers an extensive vegan and non vegan menu.  If you, like I, order from the comfort of your own home the first thing you will noticed is there stream lined web page and easy online ordering interface. I had the pleasure of trying Veggie Orange Beef, Veggie Chicken with Vegetables, and the Veggie Shrimp with Snow Peas. The dishes did not wow nor did they disappoint, if you are craving the flavors of Chinese food from that local stop when you were a kid Asian Wok Cafe will hit the spot.  Upon multiple returns be prepared for variation in the type of veggie protein used in your dishes. I have ordered Veggie chicken dishes on two occasions and have received a different type of protein on each.

All that considered I would recommend giving Asian Wok a try. It received high marks for a divers menu for both herbivores and omnivores. While you may be more amazed with the size of the menu than the flavors it will hit the spot and satisfy your crazing for Chinese while allowing you to dine in the comfort of your own home.

I give it and overall rating of 3.5 carrots out of 5 (my wife would give it a 4 due to the sheer excitement of so many vegan options)