veggieburgh

You know that great hole-in-the-wall ethnic place that you stumbled upon in an aging strip mall or on the edge of a sketchy neighborhood? The one that doesn’t look like much from the outside but has a certain homey charm from being family-run, and anyway the food is such a deal — big portions of authentic ethnic comfort-food — that’s it’s worth going out of your way? Tram’s Kitchen is one of those places. This Vietnamese diner has graced Penn Ave in Lawerenceville for about 10 years. It’s known to locals, and hasn’t escaped critical acclaim (several awards and favorable reviews are framed on the wall).

The decor is a little abrasive, with bright-patterned plastic tablecloths, plastic water cups, and an ATM machine, along with other features that appear to reach toward classiness, like mirrored sconces. But the smells are enticing and the staff is friendly and quick. The menu is very vegetarian friendly — most items have a choice of meat or tofu. The owner took our order and gave us recommendations on good vegetarian choices, which we followed.

We started with vegetarian spring rolls ($1.75 each). They were stuffed with tofu, fried tofu, cabbage, and rice noodles and came with a sweet dipping sauce topped with toasted peanuts. They were good, but suffered from the common spring roll affliction of being a little bland on the inside. We asked for hot tea and received large glasses of toasted corn tea, which was surprisingly tasty and went well with the food.

For entrees, we went with the Sate Soup, vegetarian ($5.95), and the Rice Noodle Lo Mein with tofu and veggies ($8.95). The soup contained broccoli, carrots, cucumber, fried tofu, rice noodles, and cabbage in a not-too-spicy yellow curry broth. It with a generous plate of fresh bean sprouts, Thai basil, and lime wedges to top it off. Overall, the flavor was excellent — rich and deep. The texture contrast between the bean sprouts and the cooked noodles and vegetables was very good. It made for an engaging, filling meal, which at that price is quite a deal.

The Lo Mein was similar to the soup but without the broth. The toasted sesame flavor on the noodles was pleasant but delicate. After a bite of the flavor-packed soup, the noodles tasted a little bland.

Overall, the food was very good, and the home-style family-run feel of the place is very appealing. Considering the low prices and expecting that we can find some more stand-out dishes on the menu, we give it 4 veggies.

[4 veggies]

Recommended dishes:

• Sate Soup, vegetarian
• toasted corn tea