Trumpet Blossom Cafe - YUM!

Dinner with a friend is always good for the soul.

When dinner with a friend is at a fabulous vegan restaurant like Trumpet Blossom Cafe, your soul gets to lean back and smile. At least that is what mine did.

My friend and I met up at Trumpet Blossom for food and conversation this past Thursday evening and were pleasantly surprised at the great atmosphere and steady flow of patrons arriving for dinner, drinks, or just to visit and catch up over appetizers. It always makes me happy to see people enjoying great vegan food.

Everything on the menu looked tasty and tempting with gluten free options marked clearly. We took quite a bit of time choosing our dinner selection. I finally decided on the classic, Tempeh Reuben and my friend went for the Sesame Shiitake Mushrooms and Potato Cakes. We were both wholeheartedly happy with our selections.

My favorite test of a vegan restaurant is to bring along a non-vegan to get their opinion. And the mushroom dish definitely passed the carnivore test. In fact, my friend attempted to eat every last morsel on her plate! The mushrooms were marinated and then sauteed to perfection. Locally sourced carrots and turnips garnished the dish adding a surprisingly complementary flavor (I am not usually a huge turnip fan.) Yes, I nibbled off of my friends plate just a little and am glad I did!

The Tempeh Reuben was served on fresh baked bread and was perfectly flavored. Crisp homemade sauerkraut and a tasty thousand island style dressing provided the perfect balance. I chose the sweet potato fries for my side and happily dipped them in the special sauce. Of course, I couldn't eat something like a reuben without making a mess, and I did finally give up eating it like a sandwich and just ate the second half with my fork. My appetite was fully sated, but I could not resist indulging in dessert.

We chose to split a piece of the chocolate cake with chocolate ganache drizzled with an orange sauce. I love the taste of orange and chocolate together. And the subtle citrus flavor made this dessert divine.

Trumpet Blossom boasts a full service bar with a great list of classic drinks that have a vegan twist. For example the White Russian has a splash of vanilla soy creamer. I went for a classic blended strawberry margarita. My drink was a little bit too strong, and not quite blended all of the way. It tasted to me like iced tequila. The waitress kindly added a little extra strawberry, but did not blend the drink anymore. So I had chunks of ice and strawberry. I know, you are probably rolling your eyes thinking, why didn't she just tip the drink back and smile? Well, sorry, I am a little bit picky and like my smooth blended margaritas.

However, next time, I am going to try the coffee martini. I can't remember the name of it, but it had coffee liqueur, chocolate and chocolate covered espresso beans in it. It sounded like the perfect drink for a Sunday Brunch to me! (By the way Trumpet Blossom is open for Brunch on the weekends!)

At the end of our meal, we got to chat with chef and owner, Katy Meyer. As one of the former owners of the Red Avocado Restaurant, Meyer has carried over some of the same strong ethical values from the former restaurant. You will find that meals are made from locally sourced organic foods whenever possible. Staff are paid fairly, with servers making minimum wage plus tips (practically unheard of in the restaurant industry!)

Trumpet Blossom Celebrates their one year anniversary open for business on April 20! Congrats on a year of great food Trumpet Blossom!!

Visit Trumpet Blossom at:
310 E Prentiss St, Iowa City, IA 52240
(319) 248-0077

Check out the menu online: www.trumpetblossom.com/
Like Trumpet Blossom on Facebook: www.facebook.com/TrumpetBlossomCafe