The Laughing Seed

A few weekends ago Denny and I as well as several of his classmates in the Rec. and Leisure Department at UGA traveled up to Gerton, North Carolina to spend a few days in a rustic cabin. Gerton was beautiful; the tiny mountain town was brimming with fresh air and numerous wooded trials ripe for hiking. Gerton is also quite close to Asheville, home of The Laughing Seed. The Laughing Seed is a vegetarian restaurant that I’d heard great things about, so of course I had to try it.

Denny and I had scanned the menu as we were waiting to be seated, so we were able to order as soon as the waitress came to our table. I decided on the “Low Country Rollups” which is The Laughing Seed’s way of saying whole wheat rollups filled with tofu, a sweet and tangy barbeque sauce, and Monterey Jack cheese all baked together in the oven to perfection. Each rollup had been drizzled with tahini mustard sauce, and was served alongside brown rice and a salad. My salad dressing of choice was the mango-lime vinaigrette.

Words cannot describe how good my dish was. I don’t know what ingredients were used in my sweet yet tangy barbeque sauce, but it was definitely the star of the night. Without it the rollups would have been good, you can’t go too wrong with basic ingredients such as cheese, tofu, and tortillas. The addition of the all-star sauce brought the rollups from the “good” category, into another category of deliciousness epic heights above “good”. It may sound bizarre, but the sauce tasted vaguely of sweet ketchup. I think it was the sweet/salty combo that made the sauce so awesome. The portions of tofu, Montery Jack, and sauce used in the rollups all melded together nicely, no flavour outweighing another. My brown rice and salad were just that; brown rice and salad. The rice wasn’t overcooked or dry; the salad wasn’t wilted and had the perk of being aesthetically pleasing with it's array of colorful veggies. The dressing that I ordered, the mango-lime vinaigrette, was a little too creamy for my taste; I thought it would be more like balsamic vinaigrette, but boasted hints of mango and lime which were recognizable to the palate and not merely an afterthought of taste.

Denny ordered the Tico Burrito, which came stuffed with spiced tofu, mole sauce, brown rice, avocado, and Monterey Jack cheese. The burrito was bogged down underneath a river of salsa and feta cheese cilantro sour cream. Alongside this mammoth creation was lighter fare consisting of blue corn chips and salad.

I had a bite of the burrito and can report back that it tasted strongly of avocado. I only had one bite, so I don’t know if this was the case throughout the entire burrito, but avocado essence aside, it was a good, sturdy burrito. No complaints here, or from Denny who wolfed down the entire thing like it would be his last burrito EVER Denny let me in on a secret though, he liked my roll ups better, I’m telling you, you can’t loose with a sauce that tastes slightly of sweet ketchup. After our meals Denny was still hungry, and I was stuffed, as is usually the case. Letting my excited taste buds control my rational thought process, we decided on splitting an order of vegan chocolate ginger pound cake drizzled with ganache.

This cake did not disappoint. Moist, chocolaty, gingery, and nutty; how could it? Each bite of the cake promised all three aforementioned flavors, and the ganache was heaven; sweet without crossing the line into saccharine. The top of the cake was dotted with pieces of caramelized ginger, a scrumptious dessert I must say.

Would I go back? YES, as soon as I get a chance, the Laughing Seed and I will be reacquainted again. The food is truly delicious, and best of all you’re left with the feeling of being full, but not stuffed, one of the best feelings there is to have.