Cindy and I had made a few failed trips to Port Melbourne trying to revisit Bowl of Soul - failing to check their opening hours the first time and then finding them on summer holidays the second time. This time everything fell into place and we strolled up Bridge Street to an empty but open Bowl of Soul.
Things haven't changed much since our last visit - it's the same little space, with the same slightly weird palm tree on the wall. The menu has changed a little, with the two things we flagged in our earlier post (ribs and chips) no longer available.
Ah well. We happily made do with a burger apiece: a deluxe stake-out sandwich (chilli-rubbed, grilled soy-stake with tomato, lettuce, onions, Baja bbq sauce, mayo, fakin' bacon and cheese - $12.80) for me, and a Creole chic'n roll (Cajun-spiced soy chic'n, lettuce, tomato and lush lime-infused mayo - $10.80) for Cindy.
These were both pretty similar - loaded up with massive chunks of tomato and plenty of fresh lettuce, with variations on the fake-meat and sauce combo. Mine had a nicely smoked flavour (presumably from the bbq sauce), and was helped along by the salty fake-bacon. The 'steak' wasn't particularly exciting, but it added some meaty texture to the whole deal. Not bad. Cindy's chicken burger boasted a spicy crusted chic'n patty, a little mayo, and a generous smear of some kind of chutney.
We spent the whole meal eyeing off the dessert counter (which last time wowed us with chocolate-coated figs). This time it was brownies: a dark-chocolate, cranberry and raspberry brownie for me and a vegan peanut butter brownie for Cindy ($4 a pop). I loved my chocolate-berry delight but Cindy was a bit disappointed in hers - the texture was a bit off, lacking in any real cakiness. Something to work on.
We both really enjoyed our burgers - the buns and salad were super-fresh, filled with saucy goodness and deliciously filling. Having said that, they'd be pretty easy to replicate at home and might not justify the trip across town (maybe the hot dog does). If you were working in the vicinity it would be the lunch place of your dreams but when you live so close to the EBC, it takes a pretty great mock-meat to lure us outside the inner-north. It's worth noting that this is a very vegan-friendly establishment, with almost everything either vegan or vegan-convertible.
Read about our previous visit to Bowl of Soul here.
Update 10/5/10: Unfortunately, Bowl of Soul has closed down. Very disappointing. We didn't get across the river very much, but it was always a winner when we visited.
Things haven't changed much since our last visit - it's the same little space, with the same slightly weird palm tree on the wall. The menu has changed a little, with the two things we flagged in our earlier post (ribs and chips) no longer available.
Ah well. We happily made do with a burger apiece: a deluxe stake-out sandwich (chilli-rubbed, grilled soy-stake with tomato, lettuce, onions, Baja bbq sauce, mayo, fakin' bacon and cheese - $12.80) for me, and a Creole chic'n roll (Cajun-spiced soy chic'n, lettuce, tomato and lush lime-infused mayo - $10.80) for Cindy.These were both pretty similar - loaded up with massive chunks of tomato and plenty of fresh lettuce, with variations on the fake-meat and sauce combo. Mine had a nicely smoked flavour (presumably from the bbq sauce), and was helped along by the salty fake-bacon. The 'steak' wasn't particularly exciting, but it added some meaty texture to the whole deal. Not bad. Cindy's chicken burger boasted a spicy crusted chic'n patty, a little mayo, and a generous smear of some kind of chutney.
We spent the whole meal eyeing off the dessert counter (which last time wowed us with chocolate-coated figs). This time it was brownies: a dark-chocolate, cranberry and raspberry brownie for me and a vegan peanut butter brownie for Cindy ($4 a pop). I loved my chocolate-berry delight but Cindy was a bit disappointed in hers - the texture was a bit off, lacking in any real cakiness. Something to work on.We both really enjoyed our burgers - the buns and salad were super-fresh, filled with saucy goodness and deliciously filling. Having said that, they'd be pretty easy to replicate at home and might not justify the trip across town (maybe the hot dog does). If you were working in the vicinity it would be the lunch place of your dreams but when you live so close to the EBC, it takes a pretty great mock-meat to lure us outside the inner-north. It's worth noting that this is a very vegan-friendly establishment, with almost everything either vegan or vegan-convertible.
Read about our previous visit to Bowl of Soul here.
Update 10/5/10: Unfortunately, Bowl of Soul has closed down. Very disappointing. We didn't get across the river very much, but it was always a winner when we visited.
Chips - why would they discontinue the chips?
ReplyDeleteI heart bowl of soul.. I work near port melbourne and try to go at least once a week.. yeah their vegan brownies dont really make it.. but I had some of their vegan mango cheesecake last week that was off the hook...
ReplyDeleteI live in brunswick also.. I cant believe I havent been to the EBC on a monday night yet RETARDED... I'll go post haste...
must get out there and try it!
ReplyDeleteI'm as disappointed as you are, Lisa! I guess they were either too much effort or not selling enough.
ReplyDeleteCarla, we spied some of that cheesecake in the display case! I'll give it a go next time.
Pip, it's worth at least one visit. :-)