Drunken Noodle

If you were sad when Coconut Midtown closed, cheer up. It's back, with a different name, Drunken Noodle, and a slightly different menu.

I stopped in for lunch last week. The menu had a helpful "V" next to all the dishes that can be made vegan, which made ordering very easy. I looked at the appetizer listings, hoping to get the vegan cream cheese wontons that Coconut Midtown used to offer. Unfortunately, they are not available at Drunken Noodle.

So I went straight to the entrees and decided to order the pad thai with tofu. The plate of food that came out of the kitchen looked like enough to feed a family of four for a week, so it's probably just as well that I didn't get an appetizer. The pad thai was delicious -- rice noodles, bean sprouts, carrots, broccoli, tofu, and peanuts. It was still good the next day when I had the leftovers.

Drunken Noodle is located at 2502 J Street, at the same place where Coconut Midtown used to be, and their phone number is 916-447-1855. Their website address is http://drunkenthai.com/, and their Facebook page can be found at https://www.facebook.com/DrunkenNoodleMidtown/?hc_ref=ARRCNm6sS6ae4riR0HzdughsUoBN8pE0ToCXI3V0mOVsOQm5mLtKKE2nBuyUfcbLw4M&fref=nf. The restaurant is open Monday through Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and from 4:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. It's open Saturday and Sunday from noon until 9:00 p.m.

Oakhaus

My friend Deborah and I had lunch at Oakhaus in Oak Park last week. This restaurant opened about three months ago on Broadway near 34th Street, but this was my first visit.

I didn't see anything specifically vegan on the menu, but there were some items that were easily veganizable. For starters, they have a Tofurkey Beer Brat option for their sausage plate or sausage sandwich, although they were out of Tofurkey on the day I visited. Instead, I ordered the veggie sandwich, with no cheese or aioli. What remained was an open-faced sandwich consisting of a house roll, asparagus, squash, and olive tapenade. I thought the tapenade really made this sandwich.

Deborah chose to veganize the Greek sandwich by leaving off the feta cheese. This sandwich included tomato, red bell pepper, red onion, cucumber, olives, and oregano vinaigrette, served on a  torpedo roll.

Oakhaus is located at 3413 Broadway, and their phone number is 916-376-7694. Their website address is http://www.oakhaussac.com/home.html, and their Facebook page can be found at https://www.facebook.com/Oakhaus-904377243035413/?ref=br_rs. Their hours aren't listed on their website or their Facebook page, but they open at 11:30 a.m. and, according to Yelp, they close at 9:00 p.m. Yelp also says they are closed Mondays and Tuesdays.