vegan glory is bad ass. yeah, i know if you read my blog you are probably so sick of hearing about these thai vegan restaurants with the word “vegan” in their title by now…and as you know, i’ve got a love/hate relationship with these places. i hate the fact they are so predictable, and that 70% of their menu consists of lunch specials and salty noodle dishes…but i love, love, love the fact that they are everywhere and that sometimes they offer non-thai food that rivals that of the best of the best normal vegan restaurants. case in point, vegan glory. a great little gem located on beverly, this joint has a parking lot, ample seating and some surprisingly good…mexican food? yep. strange, but oh so true.

soy chicken burrito: served with chopped romaine lettuce, beans, rice, salsa, & vegan cheddar cheese in a flour tortilla. $7.95

i was totally reluctant to order this burrito. after hooking up with flore, and then hugo’s tacos, i felt i’d be unimpressed with any mex-food that the thai-inspired vegan glory had to offer. the burrito, however was flawless. it was huge, scrumptious, and full of fake meat along with beans, vegetables and VEGAN CHEESE! ok, so it wasn’t that melty…but it tasted awesome and after 30 seconds in the microwave, it was as ooooey and gooey as ever. wrapped up tightly in a thick, stretchy and thin flour tortilla, this sucker is easy to slice in half cleanly and split between two.

the soy chicken was especially tasty—not too sweet or salty, and it had no asian flavoring what-so-ever, which made it perfect for my burrito. plus, there was a controversy a while back about some of the thai-vegan places using NON-vegan ingredients in their soy chicken. but even amidst all the scandal, vegan glory was known as one of the places to be upfront and legit about the contents of its food. so even now, i just feel a little safer eating it.

adhering to its traditional thai roots, vegan glory still offers a wide array of curries, rice bowls and salty noodle dishes. of these, i recommend the pad thai with seitan.

pad thai with seitan: rice stick noodles stir fried with pad thai sauce, bean sprouts, and green onion, topped with crushed peanuts. $7.95

the pad thai consists of juicy slices of seitan atop thick, succulent noodles with the most delicious peanutty sauce. they even put on cabbage and carrot garnishes to make it look pretty & colorful too. sometimes the seitan at these thai places tastes kind of sugary or syrupy…not this stuff. this luscious wheat meat soaked up all the flavors of the dish: soy sauce, onions, peanuts and garlic. mmm.

and lastly, to start with, i suggest the freshy rolls. other than having a really cool name, they also taste great and are extremely light…so they won’t make you too full to enjoy your entree.

freshy rolls: thai spaghetti, soy chicken, romaine lettuce, bean sprouts, and fresh herbs, wrapped in rice paper and served with hoisin sauce. $7.95

these rolls prove that vegan glory knows how to wrap up more than just an awesome burrito. thin strips of soy chicken packed in over refreshing greens, all rolled up super tight in light rice wraps. the sauce is delicious too, although for me it needs to be spiced up a bit with some chili garlic. i suspect these would also make a pretty good, light meal if you are looking for something on the low-cal side.

yep, vegan glory is pretty awesome. i am still getting over the fact that i thoroughly enjoyed a burrito at a thai restaurant. wonder what else is hiding out in that menu…