It is kind of silly to assign politics to restaurants or diets. But Cha-Ya, a relatively new Japanese restaurant serving only vegan food, struck us as a magnet for people left of the Kucinic wing of the Democrat party. Maybe Green party supporters or unrepentant Chomskyists. Or just basic wanna-be commune-living combi-driving Berkeleyans, as Cha-Ya is the sister restaurant of the similarly named Shattuck Ave eatery. Of course, this being SF, the place is packed.
Indeed, a young lady was reading Failed States: The Abuse of Power and the Assault on Democracy one night, and we had to admit: with its mostly white walls, blonde hardwood floor and table tops, Cha-Ya is a clean, well-lighted place. The high organically shaped counter facing the window is ideal for solo dining with a good read.
A clean, well-lighted place brings us naturally to For Whom The Bell Tolls, as, like Maria after an intimate encounter with Robert Jordan, we felt the earth shake. Unfortunately, it wasn't due to the satisfaction of our carnal desires, can't be in a vegan place, could it? It just so happened that the earth literally shook, 4.4 on the Richter scale in Santa Rosa.
But it did spell out the question for us: is the food really this good, or was this just another quake? The answer is: pretty good, so that we even forget that no animal product was involved. You know, there are vegetarian restaurants which serve you meatless meatloafs made of tofurkey, and you think: this ain't right. Cha-Ya does not even pretend to replace meat, and just does its own thing, traditional Japanese way. For us, it's ideal: we are not conscious of eschewing meat, we're just enjoying a fine meal. Perchance he for whom this dishes is served is so satiated, as that he knows not it is meatless. We feel the same in South Indian restaurants (say, Udupi Palace) where the novelty (to us) of the cuisine hides the fact that it's vegetarian.
* Punch line of a Rhymes with Orange cartoon last week
Enough blabbering: let's complete this discussion with pictures. The good light to read the book also allows us to take reasonably resemblant pictures. Today, we're serving you the SFist equivalent of the plastic sushi and noodles display outside of every Japanese restaurant, but Cha-Ya.
Senroppon salad ($5.75), shredded vegetables include daikon, turnip, cucumber, carrots and radish, plus pine nuts and a light vinaigrette. The texture is super fresh, but this is way too healthy for us.
Moon Garden ($8.25), a tofu custard topped with, among others, broccoli, carrots, snow peas, zucchini, gingko nuts. The smooth creamy texture went down easily, but we did recall that Ame's version included lobster meat, which did not hurt the dish.
Tochi natsu ($7.00), eggplant stuffed with satsuma potato, corn, carrots, then the all thing tempura'd. The sticky molasse-like sauce was not necessary, this was good on its own.
Cha-Ya roll ($7.25). We refuse to order veggie nigiri, but this roll from the sushi menu did fine without the fish: filled with avocado, yam and carrots, then dipped in the tempura fryer.
Hangetsu ($7.25). Portobello mushroom. This is another item fried tempura-style, and we advise you to pay attention, as meatless as it is, fried stuff gets heavy on the stomach eventually. The mushroom stayed firm, and Cha-Ya in general manages to keep disparate ingredients texturally intact. The kiwi sauce, an acidic foil to the oily fried stuff, could be satisfactorily replaced with pico de gallo. If only tomato was part of the Japanese tradition!
Vege-Tofy curry, served on top of soba noodles ($8.50). This supposedly is a Cha-Ya favorite, but the overly salty curry was one of the few disappointment we had at Cha-Ya.
Fried banana always tastes good, but it's better with butter (all dessert $4.25). The green stuff is not the kiwi sauce anymore, but green tea sauce, and it is not chocolate syrup, but azuki bean sauce.
Chocolate cake, good, but not as yummy as when animals are killed for it.
Tempura ($8.25) of melting eggplant, snappy green beans, kabocha pumpkin, mushrooms, yam, carrots, broccoli, each ingredient perfectly fried until cooked to its own requirement.
Cha-Ya delight ($8.25). Ingredients that should be familiar by now (ok, the menu lists: atsuage tofu, carrots, kabocha, broccoli, cauliflower, lotus root, zucchini, snap peas, snow peas, hijiki, shiitake, croccolini, picked burdock and daikon, and kaiware, whatever that last one is) on a bed of brown rice. This was a delight indeed.
Taku-Sui ($7.75), a soup of vegetables in a light miso broth with the same vegetables, plus silver noodles, and pot stickers. The pot stickers fell apart, but the vegetables were not mushy at all, each was dropped in the pot just at the right time to reach the table with its own personality.
We were not wowed by the desserts the first time, but the second, oh my, oh my. The vegan ice cream was absolutely delicious, and so was the oshiruko, a bowl of mochi drowned in the azuki bean syrup.
You can combine most of the entrees in pairs, toss in an extra buck, and get a fresh sunomono (cucumber shavings salad), a bowl of miso and a bowl of rice.
Cha-Ya
762 Valencia @19th
252-7825
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Nice pics. I am also a carnivore but this place has appeal. Clean flavors, artful presentations, etc.
Cedric, wow! This is the most thorough post I have ever read on the SFist. Le kudos to you.
Now I bet after all that vegan food you are ready for a burger at Darla's or the Tempest Bar.
Wow, my blog was linked by SFist!
I don't know how I missed this post before, because I am always on the lookout for more vegan restaurants.
Thanks for the useful review! Now I know where we're having dinner tomorrow night.