If you’re looking for phenonemal vegan cuisine at a decent price, look no further than Horizon’s New Vegan Cuisine on 7th Street, between South and Bainbridge Streets, in South Philly.

In the late ’90s/early ’00s, I tried the vegetarian life and was rather successful at it for almost 5 years. Even though I was eating “hand to mouth” (thanks to low income), I managed to subsist on an ovo-lacto vegetarian diet and not crave meat (often).  However, in 2002, while working for a cafe/catering company in Reading, PA, the lure of their famous chicken salad (which many customers raved about) did me in!  After hearing “This is the best chicken salad I’ve ever had” countless times, I succumbed to its gloriousness.  It was indeed very, very tasty.  The rest, as they say, is history: I’ve been a meat-eater ever since.

While I’m not vegetarian right now, to this day, I can certainly appreciate a meatless meal. So last Friday a small group of friends went to Horizon’s to help celebrate our vegan friend Todd’s birthday.  This didn’t bother me.  In fact, I was looking forward to trying bonafide “vegan cuisine” as I had little clue (besides tofu and tempeh) what constituted such fare.

Much to our group’s delight, we found everything well prepared, nicely presented, and downright scrumptious. I don’t think I could go back to the vegetarian lifestyle again, nor subscribe to a strictly vegan diet, but I certainly didn’t miss meat or animal products here. From the appetizers to the main courses, everybody was quite pleased with their meals.

I started with the Chantrelle & Corn Chowder: it was light, flavorful, and simply delicious. It was quite a generous bowl, but I made handiwork of it.  As if by sheer determination, I reserved my appetite for my main course: the Pacific Rim Grilled Tofu. Delicately prepared with a spicy glaze, the abundant grilled tofu square sat on a bed of seared sushi rice with a cucumber gazpacho under that.  On top, a dollop of edamame puree and shitake yakimono.   A wildly successful, flavorful, and well-seasoned dish that stimulated the taste buds!   If I hadn’t been full, I would have gladly eaten more.  (Though I did sample my friend Mirimah’s Five Mushroom dish and concurred it was absolutely amazing!)

Whether you are vegetarian/vegan or not, as long as you’re not craving meat, you’re sure to find something tasty and substantial at Horizon’s.

I’ll give this 4.5 Noms. It would have gotten 5 Noms, but we had some minor service issues.

Horizon’s New Vegan Cuisine
611 S. 7th Street
215-923-6117

Marilyn Johnson

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