Best Lunch Ever... Sort Of.

Ah, the Golden Temple- Birmingham's bastion to bohemianism. Where else in this city can you get a vegan burrito, a Hansen's all-natural apple soda, an eight dollar smoothie, a pack of Tofutti Cuties, a pound of dried burdock root, a bar of Dr. Bronner's soap, an autobiography of purported avatar Sathya Sai Baba, a statue of Isis (or the Venus of Willendorf, for that matter), a bottle of holy water, a t-shirt that says "We All Live In a Yellow Butterbean," and a copy of Hinduism Magazine all under one roof? I find it completely amazing the way that it has thrived in this dying land for over thirty-five years.

Today I dined there for lunch (they're not open for dinner). I had the pita bread pizza, a bowl of black bean chili, and a mint tea. If I may say so, it was superb. The personal-size pizza, which was a toasted pita bread with organic pizza sauce, vegan cheese, spinach, and fresh vegetables, was one of the best pies I have ever had, bar none. I had a very hard time believing it was made with vegan cheese because- get this- it was fully melted. All the way. It tasted like regular cheese. The black bean chili was also very good- not spicy at all, but thickened with what I can only guess was TVP (I would have thought it was ground beef) and served with organic corn chips.

Afterwards I did some shopping at their store. My first inclination was "only to look around," but when I saw the dried herbs I had to indulge myself. I picked up some burdock root, milk thistle seeds, and dandelion root, and also some very gourmet loose green tea. Herbs are so inexpensive when you buy them in bulk; I saw the prices on the pre-bagged herbal teas and made the decision to try my hand at making my own tea.

While I am on this diet, I will probably be frequenting this place pretty often.