With four pages of vegetarian selections, Trang offers enough variety to blast the boredom out of your basic vegetarian diet and even titillate the taste buds of the most bloodthirsty meat eater. Our favorite is stir-fried tofu with its refreshing, slightly sweet sauce, fresh herbs and noodles always perfectly cooked and never mushy. Served in a big bowl, it´s enough for two meals, but it´s so good we always eat it all. Other stand-outs are the papaya salad tossed with a spicy, tangy sauce; the hearty, rich Southern vegetarian soup with sweet potato, pumpkin and peanuts in coconut juice; and vegan curry stew with tofu, carrots and potatoes in coconut milk flavored with curry and lemongrass. We also like the vegetarian happy pancake, a rice flour crepe filled with tofu, bean sprouts and mushrooms, fried and served with crunchy cucumber and iceberg lettuce and fresh herbs and a savory, piquant brown sauce. Yeah, they´ve got plenty of meat on the menu too, but with vegetarian food this good, why not give our furry friends a break and try something new? You´ll maybe feel virtuous enough to treat yourself to Trang´s magnificent fried banana. It´s rolled in coconut, browned and topped with coconut tapioca and crushed peanuts. Plus, the servers are incredibly nice (and efficient) — and the place has a quiet ambiance and tranquil vibe that´ll knead the stress right out of your troubled soul.
Trang Viet Cuisine, 1524 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa, 813-979-1464.
This article appears in Sep 22-28, 2004.