As a vegetarian, I find it difficult to find a good place to eat that makes decent food without meat. I recently discovered a place called Elaine’s Café and Market located on the corner of 20th and G in downtown Bakersfield.
When I first walked in, my eyes were met with a quaint setup. The furnishings made it feel like an outdoor café, only indoors. There were shelves on one wall with various meat substitute products, some of which I had never seen before.
The lady behind the counter was friendly and explained the menu once she realized we had never been there before. Though the menu wasn’t large, it still offered some variety.
I ordered The Mediterranean, which consisted of hummus, creamy tzatziki sauce, sliced tomato and avocado and came with a tortilla made at the location. The hummus was wonderful. I suspect it was made there because it didn’t have the dry, processed taste that most commercial hummus has. The tzatziki sauce really complemented the hummus too. I used pieces of the tortilla to scoop up the hummus and tzatziki sauce. Though it was slightly messy that way, it was more enjoyable than using the fork. The meal was simple, but it was good, filling and relatively cheap.
We drank cold rose tea that had some apple juice added to it. I had never had rose tea before, but I’ll definitely have it again. I liked that it wasn’t syrupy like most iced teas I’ve had at restaurants. A drink can still be good without having such an overpowering taste.
My friend, who ordered the taco salad, also enjoyed his meal. The taco salad consisted of beans, rice, tomatoes, lettuce, cilantro, a ranch dressing, and avocado. The only problem he had was that he didn’t like dressing on his food, but that was the only problem. He just scooped it off.
The main employee was very attentive and came back many times to ask if we needed anything else. Toward the end of the meal, she brought us two complementary samples of a vegan ice cream she has developed. I had the mint, and my friend had the chocolate. I thought the meal was good, but the ice cream really made the meal fantastic.
As a vegetarian, I’ve tried pretty much every ice cream alternative out there. Nothing comes close to the real thing. Usually I’m left with a horrible aftertaste or a scoop of something that doesn’t taste like ice cream or anything occurring in nature.
This ice cream is the one exception I have found. Not only did my mint ice cream taste like peppermint, it had actual bits of peppermint in it. It also had a nice smooth consistency very similar to real ice cream. It didn’t leave any weird aftertaste, either.
Before we left, the main employee informed us that soon they would be expanding to include a little ice cream parlor next door. I’ll definitely be making a stop there. I recommend this place to anyone who doesn’t mind having a meal that consists of something other than processed food. To the carnivores out there who can’t fathom a meal without meat, I suggest trying the ice cream.