Let’s start with location. The one we went to was located on
30th street in the North Park, a business district. That said, it’s
street parking, but what can you expect at a downtown type of neighborhood?
Sipz is on the same block as sports bars and other restaurants that are
pleasing to the meat eater. But if you disregard the “Vegetarian” in the sign
and actually go inside, you won’t regret it. The place was chic and had a very
modern atmosphere. The service was of good quality. We got to experience it
during rush and calm rimes since we dined right before and during the dinner
rush. My friends were new to vegetarian restaurants and our waiter helped them
decide what to eat. The waiter was genuine with his suggestions based on your personal
food preferences and he didn’t push them to go for anything pricey; in fact,
our waiter kept telling us the better ways to order some things (i.e. Get a
FREE Mango Iced Tea with any entree paid for in cash, order a large option
instead and share because it’s much cheaper). That sold me right there. |
| Japanese Fire Noodlez (Mild-Medium) |
The menu was 100% vegetarian and I want to say about 40% was
vegan (plus gluten-free options). It consisted of Vietnamese, Chinese, Japanese and Thai dishes. What I
liked was how confident they were to write chicken or shrimp without quotations
because obviously you’d know this was vegetarian and the taste would be almost the
same. We ordered the Japanese Fire Noodlez and Tangy Orange Chicken to test out
the meat. The chicken tasted pretty good and was pretty damn close to the real
thing, but I guess the carnivore inside of me still knew it was imitation
chicken. That would also probably be due to the fact that I’ve grown familiar
to soy than tofu, that I recognized the difference in texture. Nevertheless,
the food was delightful. Their ‘no meat’ dishes are packed full of veggies,
like the Vietnamese Rice Noodle Soup we ordered, so I would so don’t fret about
ordering something with no meat. Pricing is reasonable - less than $20 a dish and
it’s a casual setting that happens to be located in a downtown-like neighborhood;
so several factors are put into price. But you get what you pay for, which is
good tasting vegetarian food for the healthy eater on a budget.
 |
| Vietnamese Rice Noodle Soup |
 |
| Tangy Orange Chicken |
Sipz was over all very good experience, even with figuring
in my preconceived ideas about vegan or vegetarian ‘meat’. Like what another
friend of mine who I was dining with said, the best vegetarian places are the
ones where you can leave without feeling totally bloated or bloated at all and
feeling good about yourself. Sipz did justice. I’d give it 4 out of 5 stars
only for it’s downtown location (parking), but Sipz is definitely a place for
healthy eating and happy dining :)
Sipz has 2 locations in San Diego (Neighborhoods: Clairemont and North Park)
www.sipz.com
