Summer rolls ($3.75), an intriguing yin-yang of hot and sweet sensations, is available at lunch or dinner, and is one of the best appetizers I've had this year. Resembling spring rolls, these are filled with vegetables and serrano chiles, and served with a maple sauce dotted with pistachios.
A grilled mushroom salad ($5) brought a heap of earthy mushrooms on a bed of cooked greens in a pool of gingered dressing. Cubes of grilled tofu decorated the rim of the plate; while they looked pretty, tofu is a taste I doubt I'll ever acquire.
Two sumptuous scoops of lentil-walnut pate ($4), served with toasted multi- grain bread rubbed with garlic, had a taste and texture almost identical to chopped liver. A crunchy, colorful tomato-cucumber-corn salad filled out this generous plate, as did some pale, undistinguished organic tomato slices.
Cold sesame noodles ($4.50), a light tossing of lo mein noodles, sesame seeds, cucumber and bean sprouts, is large enough to satisfy a small appetite as a main course.
A shrimp stir-fry over brown rice ($12) was a special the night we visited; I spotted one as we entered and it beckoned. The portion was so large that I ended up taking home part of the dish, which included a half-dozen large grilled shrimp, broccoli, snow peas, carrots and sweet red pepper.
Seitan - a/k/a "wheat meat," because it is grain-derived - is a dead ringer for ham when it is hickory-smoked. It is devilishly good when Essene combines it with a thick tomato gravy and serves it over penne pasta ($9), and tosses in some broccoli sauteed with garlic for good measure.
