Mr. Natural--A Review

I am not a stranger nor a hater to vegetarian cooking. As an ecstatic lover of vegetables I was enthused about trying Mr. Natural, a restaurant/bakery located on S. Lamar that I had heard good things about. I had envisioned an array of steaming hot, colorful vegetarian dishes, each one looking better than the last. What I failed to realize was that the cafeteria set up of the restaurant put a huge damper on my fantasy of this vegetarian cookery.

The cold, fluorescent interior is a bit deterring. In the left corner sits the food line and the menu. It was Mexican food day and the main course was a choice between  cheese enchiladas or picking from a tray of burrito halves, with the option of two sides. The laidback appearance afforded by a cafeteria environment is understandable, but the appearance of the food was not enticing. It seemed everything had been hurriedly prepared and chunked into a plastic tray to be put in a cooler, where countering my fantasy, nothing was steaming. The pintos looked like a brown, dour tasteless soup at the end of the line, the enchiladas sat squished together in a pale sauce without garnish. I supposed that to Mr. Natural, vegetarian cooking can not be decorated or pleasing to the eye. It says something that I opted to try one of the less expensive menu items--the veggie burger made with soy protein. My friend chose the BBQ burger.

It took a little too long to get our burgers to us, considering the place was more than half empty. They were finally brought out to us with a small side of tortilla chips and tiny cup of watery salsa. The burgers were sandwiched between toasted crusty pieces of wheat bread rather than the traditional buns and they seemed to be overflowing with sprouts, a favorite veggie of mine. The soy patty itself was seasoned well but it had been cooked too long; the edges were too crunchy and the patty seemed shrunken. Surprisingly, my friend's BBQ sandwich looked tasty, the big pieces of gloppy barbecued fake meat pouring out the sides. I liked the chewiness of the filling and its nondescript, sweet barbecue-y taste.

Maybe we went on an off day. Maybe I should have filled my plate with something off of the lunch line. Maybe I should give this place another shot because I know people who swear by Mr. Natural. Although, without a doubt, I'm sure I can make prettier and better tasting veggie dishes/salads/sandwiches sans the $7 price tag. Mr. Natural is probably a reliable place to go to for fast, healthy food on a lunch break. But if you are looking to be impressed by vegetarian cooking, it may be a better idea to find a vegetarian recipe and do it yourself.