When someone in SLO finds out you're vegan, the first thing they ask is usually, "Oh, have you been to Vraja's?" I usually respond with an eyeroll. Bitchy, I know, but I have some pretty strong negative associations with this place. Let me tell you my problems:
1. The Food. It all tastes the same. It is some combination of lentils, tomatoes, eggplant, rice, pastry-stuff, and seasonings. It tastes like something I might make with all of the random, cheap things in my cupboard. It's not bad. In fact, it would be great if it were some donation-based all-you-can-eat sort of thing. It reminds me of this $3 lunch Hare Krishna I used to go to when I was a poor college student.
2. The Price. These prices just don't make any sense. $6.50 for a samosa, but $5 for chutney? $5 for Mung Dal Soup? The ingredients are lentils and spices! Do you know how much that probably costs to make? I'm going to guess like, .40 cents per serving. That is a completely arbitrary guess, but I know the cost of those ingredients is SIGNIFICANTLY less than $5.00. There's just something about this warm and fuzzy hippie Hare Krishna vegan restaurant vastly overcharging people for 3rd world country food that really gets my goat.
3. The Service. The owner, Vraja, is as hot and cold as Katy Perry's pretend boyfriend (oh Grandma, you're so cool with your pop culture references). Sometimes she's this lovely, friendly, chatty Cathy. Other times she is unattentive and chaotic. I get some anxiety just being in that atmosphere. Also, I have waited for days to get my change back. Sometimes vegan restaurants or other "alternative" type businesses have a more relaxed way of running things, but they should still be treated as a legitimate business where the customer comes first.
Anywho, I don't like that this is the only all-vegan restaurant representing us vegan folks in this town. It does nothing good for the vegan reputation, with its underwhelming, overpriced food and crappy customer service. Here's hoping for more respectable vegan restaurants in SLO.
