A Vegan Tiki Bar Proves Seattle 'Has Outgrown' Fake Meat

Welcome back to Week in Reviews. Seattle's food critics recently visited No Bones Beach Club and Chili's South Indian Restaurant. Here's what they had to say:

BALLARD—In her latest for Seattle Weekly, Nicole Sprinkle is pleasantly surprised by vegan Tiki bar No Bones Beach Club, a place that proves "our culinary culture—particularly in Seattle—has outgrown" the need for restaurants "to try to make plant-based proteins taste like meat":

It started with the eggplant fries (from the Bar Snacks part of the menu), which are better than those at Poppy (Poppy, I still love you). They're battered in rice panko, which produces a crust to die for yet allows the warmth and sweetness of the yielding eggplant to emerge.

UNIVERSITY DISTRICT—The Stranger's Angela Garbes visits the "bigger and better" reincarnation of Seattle's only Southern Indian-focused eatery, Chili's South Indian Restaurant, which closed for six months last year before reopening eight blocks away. She advises diners to skip the "ultimately forgettable" lunch buffet in favor of dinner, as the restaurant begins serving its signature regional fare after 3:30 p.m.:

"The classic masala dosa ($8.99), a crepe wrapped around a dense pile of gently spiced potatoes, tinged a beautiful golden shade by turmeric, is as wonderful as ever. If you're craving a little more chili action, order the Mysore masala dosa ($8.99), named after the city of Mysuru, Karnataka, which comes with a layer of potent, technicolor-red hot sauce that will get your heart beating fast on the first bite."