Instead I found:

and

I debated going to Safeway, but in a last-minute burst of bravery I decided to do something totally wild that I'd been meaning to work up to slowly:

"Vegetarian Restaurant" on Route 7, one such place, has always intrigued me on my drives to Trader Joe's. Housed in the angry-looking shell of what once was a Pizza Hut, it always looks dark, with only one or two cars in the parking lot. As you pass by, you think to yourself--what? Why is it just called "Vegetarian Restaurant?" How could it endure on a strip completely dominated by Central American chicken joints?
I did a little research. Turns out it's actually called Sunflower Vegetarian Restaurant--hence the big flower. It's the second of two SVR locations, and it only really looked dark because I was driving by the back entrance.
I heard wildly polarized reviews, which only racheted up my curiosity. On the one hand we had Tom Sietsema of the Post calling its sister location in Vienna "a trim vegetarian oasis...as cheerful as its name suggests"; on the other we had the look on my friend Julia's face when I mentioned I wanted to go. "Oh, God," she said. "Oh, God, oh God, get the avocado cheesecake, you'll see, it's just...it's just..." She shuddered.
I finally went tonight. And:
It's not dark and sinster inside. It's a different kind of creepy: Sunflower Baby Donald Duck Creepy.


That said:
The staff is kind, attentive, and patient. They ignored Matt's and my giggling, took our order, had it out in 8 minutes, ignored Matt turning green and me snapping pictures, refilled our drinks, brought out dessert, didn't make any noise about the amount of food we left on the plate, and thanked us as I snapped more pictures on the way out. We were more than a little obnoxious, but they were great.
THAT said:
This dish is called "Adventure of Tempeh Land":

And this happy little fellow is cold, wet, wobbly avocado-lemon pie:

Maybe we carnivores just don't get it, but as someone who eats at least 3 veggie burgers a week, I'd like to think I have some street cred with meat substitutes. Maybe Tempeh Land is just not the place to go here, and Tofu Land is way better. I'll never know. There are just too many other creepy restaurants on Route 7 calling my name. Onward!
Lol, Sunflower Satisfaction is where it's at. While I love the restaurant, I learned early that the desserts were ... to be avoided.
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