In The Bowl Vegetarian Noodle Bistro

It was a drippy Thursday night. I got home late and cleaned my surprisingly messy apartment. It was 8:30 before I realized I was hungry. I have lived in this apartment since August and I have never ordered in. I decided to change that. Besides, I finally bought a microwave today and it should be put to work heating up left overs.

To find a restaurant near First Hill, I turned to Google (of course). After sifting through review after review, and calling a few restaurant that didn't deliver I found In The Bowl Vegetarian Noodle Bistro. In The Bowl is in Capitol Hill and sounded tasty and unique. I scanned the reviews for what to order because I didn't have a menu. I settled on something called Tac Team, an order of spring rolls and some soup. Everything I read said that In The Bowl is a restaurant that doesn't skimp on the spice so I scaled my typical 4 star down to a 2.

One of the things that makes In The Bowl unique is it's a completely vegetarian restaurant. But they go beyond tofu, they have vegetarian duck, chicken and beef! I'm a new vegetarian and haven't been very creative so far. I was really excited to see what "fake meat" tasted like.

The service was very fast. They told me, over the phone, that it would be there in about 40 minutes. I was surprised when someone buzzed my apartment twenty minutes later. The food was great. Faux Chicken doesn't taste like chicken... which I actually found comforting. It would be a little too weird if someone could make meatless chicken taste like chicken. It's very good though. I was glad I went with the 2 star, it was plenty spicy enough. The soup was delicious and there was a lot of it. It was full of fresh mushrooms, fried tofu, coconut milk and spices. I would order it again in a heartbeat. I'm not sure what it's called though, I had the woman add it to my order to reach the $20 delivery minimum. In fact, I ordered enough food to feed at least two people to reach that $20 minimum. On the plus side it saved me from eating a PB&J sandwich the next day.

My favorite part, aside from how fast the food got here, was the little (free!) desert added to my order. It's not very helpful that I don't know what it's called either. But I know it involved sweet red beans and some condensed milk (or cream or soy milk...?). And it was one of the best things I've ever tasted. They gave me two. Based on how much food I ordered they must have thought someone else was helping me. Yum! More free dessert for me!

I need to stop by and experience this restaurant in person, but if I want to eat in my sweats again and have someone else bring the yum right to my door their number is on my fridge.

Prices: Enjoy a full meal for under $10.
If you want delivery: muster up a big appetite or grab a friend, the minimum is $20.
Hours: Monday, Wednesday-Thursday 11:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m.
Friday and Saturday 11:00 a.m.-10:30 p.m.
Sunday 12:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m.
Address: 1554 E Olive Way, Seattle WA, 98102 (Capitol Hill)
Phone: (206) 568-2343