Organic Dining at Dynamic Dish

Its been three years since my one and only trip to Sunflower Cafe, and I still have not let my wife hear the end of "tofu mock chicken" jokes. So she was quite surprised when I told her yesterday of my visit to Dynamic Dish- a mostly vegan, organic spot on Edgewood Ave, near Downtown.

Dynamic Dish is a sparesely decorated place with just four tables. It's mainly a lunch place, with dinners served only Thursday-Saturday. All the food is locally grown, and pretty much adheres to vegan preparation rules (although Georgia trout will be on the menu for Valentine's Day dinner). The menu changes everyday, although you will always find a soup, a salad, a sandwich and an entree. You would think this is not a place that a Steakhead like me would venture into, and for the most part, you are pretty much spot on. But two guys I work with have been raving about this place, and one in particular is a true Foodie, so I had to check it out.

My overall impression was actually quite positive. The soup was a Carrot soup with a hint of habanero. Now since Steakhead likes his spicy food, this was a big hit. The entree was called "Tea Space" Tofu Balls. Jeez, more tofu. I guess Tea Space was the name of a similar kind of place in Little Five Points back in the day, and one of the chefs there occasionally helps out at the Dish. I did try them, and since the tofu was all ground up, it didn't taste like it sounded (which to me was a ball of solid tofu). I still don't know if I could eat an entire meal of it though. I went with this mixed green salad with a kind of cheese that I never heard of and can't remember, and sunflower seeds.

Drinks are another area of challenge for me in a place like this. Of course I wasn't expecting Diet Coke, but my only choices were hot espresso or tea, carrot juice, ginger juice, apple juice or bottled water. So bottled water it was. But here's the rub- the small soup, the salad, and the bottled water came out to $12. I wouldn't have thought such healthy living would cost so much.

So, I think Dynamic Dish will probably do very well. They seem to have a strong following, and I think the whole "locally sourced" food concept will just get bigger (see the sales of the book Omnivore's Dilemma for further proof). One thing that I liked about it was even if you are not living this kind of lifestyle, you will likely find other things on the limited menu that are very good in their own right. In other words, its not like you have to eat tofu.

Steakhead Recommends- Yes, for those looking for a healthy alternative
Price: $$