The Boyfriend (TB) and I had lunch today at In the Bowl Vegetarian Noodle Bistro. It was our first time there, but the restaurant has been around since some time in 2006.
Aptly name, In the Bowl offers all-vegetarian “Asia Pleasure” cuisine with a wide variety of noodle dishes. Our waitress assured me (twice) that everything is vegan.
The menu has several sections or “episodes”: Starters (appetizers), salad, soup, noodles, curry, fried rice, stir fry, accompany (side dishes), and, of course, beverages (non-alcoholic). The noodle, curry, fried rice, and stir fry episodes all come with dessert. Main dishes offer a choice of fresh tofu, fried tofu, or fake meat — chicken, beef, prawns, fish, or duck. Many of the noodle dishes have several noodles options to choose from — wide rice, small rice, tiny rice and bean vermicelli, clear mung bean, chow mein, or udon.
TB and I started with Thai Iced Tea and the Full-Filled Your Dreams appetizer — deep fried wonton wrappers filled with “meat” paste and vegan cream cheese, accompanied by sweet & sour sauce.
For a main dish, TB had the Tokyo Noodle: Udon noodles with ginger teriyaki sauce, carrot, green onion, bok choy, and cabbage with “chicken.” I had the the Yellow Curry Noodle Soup: Coconut milk, yellow curry paste, herbs & spices, cabbage, carrot, and potato with wide rice noodles and fried tofu.
The dessert was black sticky rice and corn, covered in a large dollop of coconut sauce.
TB and I both recommend In the Bowl and will definitely go back and try some other dishes. Delicious food, reasonable portion sizes, fast and friendly service, moderate prices (approximately $32 before tip).
A few important notes:
1. In the Bowl has signs on the walls warning that their spice scale is “hotter than usual” and you should take that into consideration when ordering. If you send food back because it’s too spicy, you’ll be charged for the “old” food and the replacement. TB and I were both happy with the spice levels for our food. TB enjoys spicy food and usually asks for spicy or very spicy (4 or 5 stars). I, however, am a spice wimp. TB ordered his Tokyo Noodle medium so that I could try it. Usually, “medium” means TB can’t even taste the spices, but this time he could. I tried a bite of TB’s dish and while I didn’t need a fire extinguisher, I don’t think I could have eaten very much at that spice level. I asked for mild (1 star) for my Yellow Curry Noodle Soup; it was very flavorful and not too spicy.
2. The restaurant is very small, with seating for about 20 people (8 tables seating 2 people each, plus 3 or 4 seats at the counter).
3. The most important note: Where to find them. In the Bowl is in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood at 1554 East Olive Way (the former Coffee Messiah location, if you were familiar with that place). Phone: 206-568-2343 or 206-860-4166. Hours: Noon – 9:30 p.m. every day. They don’t seem to have a Web site.
Happy Noodle Year!