Telegraph Station’s Vegan Selections

Posted by The Editorial Desk / Friday, June 24th, 2011

Neither my sister nor I had ever eaten vegan before, so after hearing about the Compassion Over Killing Benefit Day, we knew we had to check it out (plus I didn’t have the stomach space to try everything, so two stomachs are better than one). We ended ordering the spicy beef Asian lettuce wraps, the vegan “beef” banh mi, and the veg-chicken sliders with guacamole.

Our favorite dish was the veg-chicken sliders with guacamole. The “chicken” looked dry, but it was far from it. The “chicken” was well seasoned and the homemade guacamole was delicious. Overall, the whole slider was extremely flavorful.

The next dish we received was the vegan “beef” banh mi. My sister and I were at first a bit reluctant to pay $7.50 for a banh mi since we’re used to getting them for three bucks at Eden Center, but we had to try it to see how well it matched up against a traditional Vietnamese sandwich shop. How did it compare? Not too shabby. The bread isn’t as crunchy as the baguettes used in Vietnamese shops, so it its better for anyone who has weaker or more sensitive teeth. The first bite into the sandwich was very flavorful, but also a tad bit too salty for my tastes. The carrots are sweet, but are hard to taste since they’re cut so thin. And be careful, the jalapeno slices in there are extremely hot.

The last dish to arrive was the spicy beef Asian lettuce wraps. It seems like the same beef used for the banh mi is also used for the lettuce wraps, except the beef in the lettuce wraps were moderately spicier. The lettuce helped balance out the saltiness of the beef and complimented each other quite well. The peanut sauce was sweet and delicious. My only comment is that we should have asked for a spoon since every time we dipped our lettuce wrap into the sauce, the Vermicelli noodles and carrots would stick to the sauce and fall out of our wrap.

After my sister and I finished our delicious meal, I had a chat with Chef Adam Jirgl and Chef Jens Pedersen. When asked as to why they decided to get involved with Compassion Over Killing, Jirgl responded that his brother’s roommate back in college, Aashish Bhimani, helped him network with Compassion Over Killing. Bhimani is very involved in Compassion Over Killing, is also a vegan, and helped introduce Jirgl and Pedersen to many different vegan dishes.

This is actually the second time that Telegraph Station has participated in C.O.K. Benefit Day. The first time time around, Jirgl states that they had vegan burritos.  In fact, as you saw from their menu, they love to make vegan dishes inspired by many different places. They have Asian, Southwest, and Latino vegan selections.

After today, Jirgl and Pedersen will have to make, in my opinion, a tough decision as they are only planning to add three vegan items to their permanent menu. So far they know that the vegan “beef” banh mi will be one of those that will be permanent, since it is their most popular item, which only leaves two slots remaining.

Telegraph Station has only been open for about six months making it a fairly new restaurant and it has been serving vegan food for only two and a half months. Jirgl and Pedersen have big plans for vegan dishes though. They both love the challenge of making vegan dishes that vegan and non-vegan eaters can both enjoy (for which I can account for since I’m not a vegan, but I loved their dishes). As the season changes, they hope to have seasonal vegan dishes such as stew during the winter and lighter items, such as their seasonal summer salad, for the summer.

Pedersen also made a note that vegan dishes are extremely healthy, have lower cholesterol, and instead of dieting on rice crackers, people on diets eat quality food. The duo have no problem attracting a healthier crowd to try their vegan dishes as their offerings of freshly squeezed juice and non-dairy based smoothies already draw in awesome customers.

I asked if they would ever decide to become a completely vegan restaurant. Just as I finished asking, a customer came into the restaurant asking, “What do I have to do around here to get a dead animal on my plate?” Jirgl and Pedersen chuckled and said probably not since the majority of their clientele still love meat.

When asked if they would plan to venture into vegan seafood? “Not in the near future,” Jirgl replied. Instead, they would like to focus on their current vegan meats and hopefully expand the same concept of vegan dishes and healthy food into more restaurants.

For those who are interested at dining at Telegraph Station, they have specials every Thursday through Sunday and have a live band every Friday and Saturday night.

Telegraph Station
5735 Telegraph Road
Alexandria, VA 22303
703-373-3376

- Mai Nguyen

Tags: Alexandria, Compassion Over Killing, Gut Check, Mai Nguyen, Northern Virginia, Northern Virginia Magazine, NoVA, Telegraph Station, vegan