When I was just a little Food Snob, my mother served Hamburger Helper on a weekly basis. With zero culinary skills up her sleeve, the boxed meal was a quick, hot and easy meal to dish out to her three kids.
We hated it.
It didn’t have to be that way. I imagine that the first few times it was plopped in front of me, I may have even liked it. But after being given the same exact noodle and hamburg dish week after week, year after year, I still feel uneasy around ground beef.
Nonetheless, I ate it every single time. So did my brother and sister. We had no choice – it was Hamburger Helper or the highway.
Today, I know parents who serve each kid whatever tickles their fancy. While Mom and Dad may have steak and brussel sprouts for dinner, Junior has macaroni and cheese and Henrietta dines on SpaghettiOs.
I’m not judging parents for catering to their child’s every whim. Sometimes you have to because of dietary needs or for peace of mind, but my siblings and I grew up to be non-picky eaters.
Some of my self-proclaimed “picky eater” friends aren’t actually choosy because they don’t like certain foods, but rather because they refuse to try new things. Someone may not like the look of mushrooms, but can you really say you loathe them if you’ve never tried them?
This is why I love the idea behind Rasa’s Vegan Kitchen. Serving lunch Monday through Friday, the recently opened Rasa’s has a fixed menu for each day. For $7.50 (plus tax) you get a main course, salad, soup and dessert. The courses are prepared to complement one another, but a la cart is also available if you just want a small bite.
At Rasa’s, you can’t be fussy. If you go on a Wednesday, you better like layered split pea, millet and swiss chard casserole because that’s what’s served on Wednesdays.
In a world where chain restaurants have five-page menus, there’s something refreshing about not having to choose. It feels like a culinary adventure.
This could also be because of the type of food Rasa’s serves. Cook Rasa Silvera uses Puerto Rican and Venezuelan recipes to stay true to her Hispanic roots. Her partner in crime, Charles Latchis, likes to whip up Indian dishes. The combination and unique ingredients keeps things interesting. A restaurant that only served hamburgers with mustard on Mondays and pasta with tomato sauce on Fridays probably wouldn’t provide the same satisfaction. Rasa’s can get away with keeping things simple because dishes aren’t run-of-the-mill.
The four-course meal we got included crème de yucca and yam soup, quinoa with steamed vegetables, “Supreme Sabji” (green beans, potato and cauliflower in a tomato-fennel curry sauce) and fruit salad for dessert. The soup, main course and quinoa salad all packed loads of flavor and the fruit salad was a light sweet treat to balance out our hearty meal. All and all, not bad for $7.50. We left satisfied. I got to try dishes I had never had before, and I felt good about eating healthy.
Busy bees will be happy to know that the setup allows you to get in and out quickly. All the food is made fresh prior to the lunch rush. You pay first and then meet Rasa at the food table. Rasa then spoons out each dish and you chow down immediately.
There were a few downsides. The atmosphere is a little blah and felt reminiscent of a soup kitchen. Simple is good, but it bordered on gloomy. Charles did acknowledge this during our visit. He said they are planning to spruce the walls up with artwork to make the joint more welcoming.
Since we arrived at the tail-end of lunch, our food was no longer piping hot. The soup, although spicy, thick and flavorful, had a grittiness to it.
But these are things that can be fixed. Rasa’s has been open for a few months and has a two-person staff.
I’d try Rasa’s again. I still have four more meals to try. The plan is to change the menu up about every nine weeks to coincide with what’s fresh that season.
And although I’ll still eat my fancy French food or marvel over a menu with more than one dish, I hope to see more places like Rasa’s pop up. I like having the option of no option.
For more information about Rasa’s Vegan Kitchen, 55 S. Main St., visit rasasvegankitchen.weebly.com or call 715-1785.
