True Bistro

          True Bistro is an upscale vegan restaurant in Somerville's Teele Square; I discovered it recently and I'm surprised it doesn't get more attention. I went with a friend for dinner, and we shared several of the salads and small plates. I'm not a vegan or even vegetarian, but I loved everything I tried and appreciated that most of the dishes felt light, flavorful, and healthy.

          We started with two salads; the first a fire roasted apricot with watercress, almond feta, pickled red onion and sumac. This was a perfect summer salad, and the almond feta had great texture and consistency. It was much creamier than regular feta, and I think I even liked it better.

          The Boston lettuce cups filled with roasted beets, smoked tofu, and cashew cheese felt a bit like a take on the classic wedge salad. The smoky tofu was amazing and if I hadn't known I would've sworn there was bacon in the dish.

          The sweet potato pave with quatre epices, mustard cream, and peppered pecans was my favorite. The sweet potato was caramelized on the bottom and the combination of the pecans was reminiscent of sweet potato and pecan pie. I could easily have eaten this for dessert!

 

          My friend's favorite dish was the smoky potato kale cake with cashew cheese, smoked tofu, romesco sauce, and fresh thyme. We almost didn't order this because we thought the potato dishes might be too similar, but we were glad we did. They were nothing alike, and this was savory while the sweet potato was sweet.

          The ravioli with roasted corn and poblano cream sauce was another perfect summer dish. The corn was sweet and flavorful, and the poblano cream sauce was surprisingly similar to alfredo with a bit of a kick.

          For dessert we shared three scoops of ice cream: maple walnut bourbon, salted caramel, and chocolate. This looked so good, we dived right in completely forgetting so snap a picture. My favorite was the maple walnut bourbon, and these tasted just like regular ice cream. If I hadn't known they were vegan, I never would've guessed.

          I recommend trying True Bistro whether you're vegan or not, as long as you appreciate fresh, seasonal, made from scratch food!