"Chay Concept is an all-vegetarian Vietnamese restaurant that serves a couple of solid, but sort of forgettable dishes. Inside, you'll find soothing blue tones, comfortable wide velvet chairs, and huge windows for people watching, making for a peaceful lunch. The menu has several meat alternative twists on classics—but nothing mind-blowing. Unless you work nearby or need a quiet place after dealing with mall crowds, seek out some of the much better Vietnamese and vegetarian restaurants in the area. Food Rundown photo credit: Kayla Sager-Riley Vegetable Soup Starter A small bowl of complimentary vegan soup comes with your order during lunch hours. It’s a nice gift, but overwhelmingly flavored with white pepper. photo credit: Kayla Sager-Riley Phở Rolls The housemade soy beef in these wraps is delicious—coated in a sweet, sticky glaze that we'd happily eat on just about anything. But the loose rice roll wrapper is a structural liability. The moment you try to dip it in the vegan fish sauce, everything comes tumbling out. photo credit: Kayla Sager-Riley Caramelized Eggplant The presentation on this is beautiful. And the eggplant is nicely cooked and flavorful—we just wish there were more tofu and a little something extra to round it out. photo credit: Kayla Sager-Riley Pineapple Green Tea Warm, soothing, and comes in an adorable tea set that we’d like for our own cabinets. Not very pineapple-forward, but it’s fine. photo credit: Kayla Sager-Riley Egg Noodle Soup This is one of the few dishes that offers a meat alternative besides beef or tofu, and while the imitation duck looks surprisingly real, it doesn’t taste like much (whether that’s a pro or a con is up to you). It’s mostly just a spongy filler—we’d rather have tofu." - Kayla Sager-Riley
