Confounding name, delicious food
Most days, being vegan means being creative with food items gathered, prepared and consumed. And even more, one must be creative when dining out at restaurant — especially in a barely urban context like central Illinois. To me, this poses a challenge, but never a hardship. Most people question what a vegan is supposed to eat; many cannot possibly figure out how to eat a deliciously satisfying meal beyond the realm of meat, cheese, eggs or other animal products.
I would venture to guess that more would eat even just a semi-vegan diet if they were only aware of the possibilities for delightful food. Thus, I have come to share my experiences with finding and creating vegan meals in Champaign-Urbana.
I have decided to begin with House of Gourmet Chinese and Thai Restaurant. If you are a student, it is conveniently located near the quad on Daniel and Sixth. I will voice my love for this little establishment until the day I die. In fact, I am certain I will crave it's cuisine long after I have graduated and left Champaign. The first time I visited this gem was shortly after going vegan. I had never really noticed the restaurant nestled between Espresso Royale and what remains of C.O. Daniels. It's not beautiful, but the food is outstanding and owner is one of the sweetest women I have ever had the pleasure to meet. She will remember you every time you return.
From the beginning, my choice has always been the Broccoli Tofu in Peanut Sauce with steamed rice. I have never strayed from this dish despite several other vegetarian options on the menu. The price is affordable and the food is absolutely divine. The portions are large as with a lot of Asian restaurants on campus, but the ratio of sauce to rice to broccoli is consistently outstanding. One is never left wanting for any of them.
My suggestion is this: overlook the building's slightly eccentric aesthetics and stop in to try this dish. I guarantee you will be both surprised and pleasurably satiated.
General Disclaimer: The foods featured in this article are vegan to the best of the author's knowledge. If you follow the vegan diet strictly, always ask before trying the recommended dishes.
9 comments
RS
As a relatively recent convert, I very much look forward to dining at this restaurant, and to the rest of your series! An excellent, marvelous idea…thank you!
When I was an undergrad, I too occasionally had enough money for a cheap greasy spoon (chopstick) meal.
On those occasions, I felt mildly celebratory about not boiling or microwaving my own dinner.
It looks like this meal came in Styrofoam, with a plastic fork.
There are a few people in these towns who live outside the Lincoln-to-Neil box, and have the means to afford restaurants with ceramic dishware.
Should we look here for food? Are there nuances to these dishes unavailable elsewhere in town?
Would you recommend it for omnivores?
It’s mediocre—not bad, but pretty much standard campus fare. “Plastic fork cuisine” is pretty apt. I have no experience searching for food from a vegan perspective, but for omnivores (or even vegetarians), I’d say there are at least five better Chinese and Thai places around town, maybe more.
I wouldn’t be too quick to discount this place simply based on its location or plastic eating utensils. I’ve been told that this place is one of the more authentic Chinese restaurants in town by a couple of different people who would know. That’s not to say that authenticity means everyone will enjoy it. There are a lot of folks who prefer more Americanized versions of foreign cuisine.
I’ve never eaten here but another “plastic fork” restaurant on (gasp!) Green Street is Mandarin Wok which may have the most expansive menu of any Chinese restaurant in town. Lai-Lai wok across the street may come close, but if you want intestine, bamboo fungus, or just your regular General Tso’s, Mandarin Wok has it all. I really appreciate being able to sample a wider range of what Chinese cuisine has to offer rather than just the usual dishes you can find on Chinese menus around town, regardless of what they serve the food on.
You can look at the campustown location of this restaurant as an indicator of crappy fast food, or you can look at it as being close to the epicenter for the numerous foreign students working at the University and looking for familiar food from home.
Andrea Antulov
After seeing the documentary “Food Inc.” I may never eat meat that’s not local again, and am seriously considering the vegan option. Check it out.
Like Jason, I’ve been told by people who would know that HoG and Tang Dynasty are the most authentic Chinese food restaurants in town. One woman described HoG as “home cooking.” Its tofu Pad Thai is perfection.
Jason is also spot on that Mandarin Wok is fucking great, and also has many vegetarian/vegan dishes from which to choose.
Mary
I love that dish and the woman who works there is SO friendly and accomodating. The place has no curb appeal, but I heard someone talking about it in one of my classes and have been going there frequently ever since.
TheKnife
I’ve been visiting this restaurant for many years since a Chinese friend of mine recommended it to me, and it gets my thumbs up.
As others have said, the owner is incredibly nice, and she remembers you even if you drop by only a few times.
Their combo meals are great. You get an entree with rice (white or fried), your choice of eggroll or spring roll, and a can of soda or hot or cold tea for about $6.50. They have literally hundreds of menu items printed on pages stuck to every flat surface in the restaurant. Are you a connoisseur of whole fried fish with spicy pig kidney sauce and fragrant fungus? They’ve got it.
Also check out their bubble tea and smoothies; a very close second to Evo, but HoGCaTR’s are $2 (~50%) less, and they don’t leave you waiting for 10 minutes like Evo does almost every time.
There’s many cons (No curb appeal, often busy during lunch/dinner, no bathrooms, sometimes you get styrofoam/plastic plates and utensils) but the food is very good.
I still can’t figure out how they decide if you get styrofoam plates or the fancier asian-decorated plastic, it seems random.
I get a much more “homey” feeling from Home of Gourmet than any other asian restaurant in town. It’s almost like you’re being invited into the owner’s home (with open arms) every time you stop by for a meal.
The food is very good, only a close second to Cravings, however it also costs about $1-$2 more per meal than Cravings.
They have discounts and frequent diner cards that earn you a free meal every 10th visit, and some kind of plan where you pay $100 up front and you get about $150 worth of credit, stored in a notebook by the cash register. I’m not totally clear on that, but it’s worth looking into if you’ll eat there often.
If you can afford the couple bucks extra, you’ll find a much more inviting atmosphere and more food choices than you can shake a chopstick at.
BJ
Apparently the restaurant name is so “confounding” that the article author incorrectly calls it House of Gourmet… rather than Home of Gourmet…
Remember, a house is not a home…
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Love CSR. Apart from making my way through the regular roasts in 1/2 pound increments, I also like to pick up some of the little sample packets of the flavored stuff for when the lady and I feel like getting crazy. Sticky Bun is pretty nice.
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Pamela - Are the roasteries in Seattle as clean as CSR? It always disturbs me a little that it is so clean in there.