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| Broad Street! |
It's admittedly been a few weeks since we visited Govinda's, but I still dream about the meal I got there. So you can already tell this review is off to a good start. Even more awesome, this was our last stop west of Broad! Block-wise, we are about halfway done, but restaurant-wise might be another story, since once we enter "historic" South Street, there are restaurants galore. But we shall persevere! And to all you nay-sayers out there, we will finish our epic quest.
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| doesn't it look cozy? |
I had heard a lot about Govinda's - mostly that it's a great vegetarian spot in the city. We arrived and it wasn't too busy, a few tables eating and only one or two people ahead of us in line. The inside is interesting - the counter where you order is in one room, which is very much like your local, greasy pizza joint with a few tables, a view of the food prep station and an overall vibe of being a bit run-down but at the same time very welcoming. Somewhere you'd go to hang out when you had nothing better to do, or if you couldn't decide where you wanted to eat so you'd go to the local spot that you know is always consistent. The other dining area, which consisted of several tables, was decorated like a stripped down version of a fancy room in your grandmother's mansion-like home. And that's also not a bad thing. Are these descriptions even making any sense? They make total sense in my mind. Maybe I have a weird concept of reality. But hopefully someone out there can read that description and picture exactly what I mean in their mind. And if that's you, dear reader, maybe we should be best friends.
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| so delicious. wow. |
Anyways, FOOD! Everything sounded appetizing, but since I've been on a gravy kick lately I decided to go for the vegetarian pepper steak hoagie with mozzarella and veggie gravy. We decided we'd each order a sandwich and have half, so Sandya ordered the Golden Tofu hoagie, which was stuffed with rice and curry sauce. The veggie gravy was heavenly. The sesame hoagie roll was of the highest quality. The soy pepper steak was so flavorful and had a great texture, I didn't even notice it was fake meat. And I don't even like steak. I would highly recommend this sandwich to anyone, vegetarian or not. You can even order vegan "cheese" if you want to go that route. After such tastiness, the Golden Tofu wrap was less impressive. It was still a solid meal, but not nearly as flavorful. I guess part of that is because we didn't get the spicy sauce on it because I am a wimp, but I don't think much can compete with gravy. Guys, gravy is really delicious. We also got an order of fries, which were fried to perfection but could have used a little more seasoning. I somehow ended up with a free samosa, because Sandya ordered one and I guess they thought I ordered one too or they were being nice. It was your standard samosa. I enjoyed eating it.
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| fried to perfection indeed. |
Apparently Govinda's is well known for its faux hoagies - I can understand why. We didn't get the chicken cheesesteak one, but I would be willing to venture there again, to both try that and divulge in another pepper steak hoagie.
Now that we've completed the western part of our journey, stay tuned for a recap of west South Street, plus an entire week of daily posts as we take on a restaurant-a-day challenge for one week!
Govinda's Gourmet Vegetarian
1400 South Street
Philadelphia, PA
(215) 985-9303
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