On a recent busy Saturday afternoon, I took time to stop by a relaxing casual vegan spot.
Restaurant: Dandelion Community Café, Orlando, Florida
Dish: Ranch TLT with Loaded Potato Salad
Reading: The Bookshop on the Corner by Jenny Colgan
If you want to feel like you’re at home and just eating in the dining room while the rest of the family is nearby, head over to this unique place for a wide variety of vegan and plant-based treats and dishes.
Open the door and step right up to the counter. Place your order, serve yourself your drink, and wander into a little warren of rooms to find a place to perch.
I ordered the Ranch TLT on sourdough. You have an option of eight sides and I ordered the Loaded Potato Salad, though they all looked good. (Queso and chips? It’s vegan, so yeah!)
Of course, the very first thing you see, practically, is a glass case of pastries and you know they are all vegan so you drool a bit before placing your order. I succumbed and added a gooey looking Black Bean Brownie to my list, which I took home as a treat during the work week.
The wait wasn’t long and I had a book to read, as always, so I was happy. The faint scent of a mix of dried teas perfumed the air. I later discovered the source of the scent at the wall of jars of loose tea up near the kitchen.
The sandwich came with organic tempeh bacon with leaf lettuce, tomato, and ranch dressing, on sourdough bread. You have your choice of the sourdough or a rye bread.
I tried the potato salad first which was chock full of potatoes, red onion, fresh dill, tiny dices of celery, and the surprising addition of shredded carrots. It was nicely chilled. Every bite was crunchy and creamy.
The potatoes were neither too hard nor too soft, the carrots and celery added lots of pleasant crunch, and the fresh dill was easy to taste. There may also have been a touch of garlic powder or garlic salt. It was hard to stop eating it long enough to taste the sandwich.
I remember being a kid going to diners with my grandfather and I often ordered – or maybe he ordered for me – the BLT. This reminded me of that but with the added bonus of being plant-based. Each bite had a mix of all of the flavors.
The tempeh was warm, smoky, and thinly sliced. It was a good bacon-like consistency, too, not chewy like sometimes tempeh can be. I don’t know what other spices they used on the tempeh, but it was nicely balanced by the green leaf lettuce (always more lettuce-y than Iceberg and softer than Romaine) and the tomato slices, with a little bit of Ranch dressing spread on the lightly toasted bread. I actually would have liked way more Ranch, but it was still good.
If I’d ordered the rye bread option, which I might do next time, I would have wanted extra Ranch for sure. Rye can be a strong flavor.
The place is made up of breezy, sunny rooms in an old house. It wasn’t too crowded. The room I was in actually had five tables in it, which sounds like a lot but didn’t feel cramped. Plenty of places for a single diner to feel comfortable.
There’s also outside seating, which was nearly full despite the chilly air. There’s even a little park in what used to be the front side yard when it was a residence. Two young girls were having a picnic there.
A note about parking – I parked on the street a bit fearful of pulling into the tiny lot beside the house and having to back out of it were full.
Dandelion is a cozy cafe, with a busy, homey, family vibe. There may have been music playing at the front, but in the room I chose, I mostly heard the pleasant white noise of the window AC as well as nearby kitchen noises and the bell ringing every time the door opened. That might not sound as pleasant as it was.
You can chill or read or work or study here, too. I saw people doing all of that. There’s even a sitting room with a couch, arm chairs, and a piano.
Could I make this plant-based dish at home? Yes, the potato salad is a lot like my recipe only I’d need to add fresh dill and carrots. I think I could make the tempeh “bacon,” though it would probably need time to marinade to get the flavor. The other ingredients are easily found. If you get Tofutti and a plant-based milk, plus dried or fresh herbs, you can whip up a Ranch dressing pretty easily. But I don’t have quite the same vibe at home. I’ll be back.