One gets the sense that the vegetarian Shire Cafe remains primarily for hobbitual customers. Unless you play “Magic: The Gathering” or decorate your apartment around a quasi-Celtic “Lord of the Rings” ethos, you may feel you are intruding on someone else’s turf.
But then the cafe owner smiles at you, and you taste what is offered, and you’re converted — even a grass-fed beef-eater, such as myself.
The Shire shares the expansive former church sanctuary of Arlington’s Alamo Building, jumbled together with the Mirkwood event venue, Misty Mountains Pub and an espresso stand. This can create some confusion about where to go; just grab a table and you’ll be fine.
The juxtaposition can also make table conversation virtually impossible on Friday and Saturday nights, when live concerts are held (expect a $5 cover unless you plan to eat and go). Our party of four found a table at the back and made do.
We started with the artichoke dip appetizer ($6.99), which was uber creamy, perhaps too creamy. A spoon for scooping would have helped; dipping the pita slices got more mayo than artichoke. After getting our fill of mayo taste, we left the rest.
A small staff works this kitchen, so service was a bit slow. But the entrees, when they arrived, were piping hot and quite good. And we had cool music to listen to.
My friend ordered the “happy” chicken parmesan sandwich ($8.99), which, like most menu items, can be made vegan. The Italian roll that contained the typical MorningStar Farms patty was the best part, she said. The marinara was tasty.
One of the few complaints we had was the difference in portion sizes.
Compared to the relatively small “chicken” sandwich, the chili burger ordered by my friend’s husband (also $8.99) was gargantuan, with leftovers to take home.
That burger was among the meal’s highlights. Homemade chili smothered a veggie patty over a hoagie, all of it topped with onions, cheddar and a healthy pile of jalapeño slices. “This is awesome,” was the reaction.
The Shire didn’t scrimp on the spice, either. By the end, his nose was running.
Rounding out the meal was my husband’s Savannah’s deluxe gyros ($10.99 for two, $7.99 for one), made with vegan meatballs, which he dubbed OK, and my enchilada plate ($9.99), which comes with three tortillas wrapped around vegan “meat” and beans, topped with salsa and sour cream. The plate satisfied my enchilada craving, but my hunch is they could stick with beans and no one would miss the pseudo-meat. I would have loved more of the homemade salsa, which was fresh and flavorful.
While the main parts of the meal were tasty, the accompanying sides — generic Kirkland-brand corn chips, blah fries — were disappointing and none of us bothered to finish them.
The menu is large and varied. Pizzas and calzones are $6.99 to $12.99. There also are salads and soups, and kid and breakfast menus, as well as an admirable beer list ($2 to $4).
Espresso offerings ($1.99 to $4.99) are made with Stanwood-based Black Swan coffee and served in deliciously large, handmade mugs.
Closing things out was dessert. We ordered a fairly crunchy pear cobbler ($5.99), which we recommend not ordering vegan — it needs the butter.
Stealing the show for our table was “quite possibly the most gluttonous dessert ever,” as my friend put it. The decadent chocolate panette ($8.99) is a brownie-type pastry hugged inside a buttery, flaky crust, drizzled with chocolate sauce and dotted with whipped cream.
The menu says it’s enough for two, but this dessert was massive enough for our table of four. Hello, sugar coma.
There is no lunch menu. On a return visit during daytime — at which the atmosphere was much more relaxed, with country music crooning from the stage’s giant speakers — I ordered the “happy” chicken burger ($8.99) and a cup of Black Swan coffee ($1.59). The portion-size complaint bit again. When you spend 10 bucks and leave hungry, it’s not a good thing.
Still, for the vegetarian in our dinner party, the final verdict was positive. It can be hard to find “good bar-food vegetarian,” he said. The Shire fills that need, particularly in Snohomish County, lending the agrarian north end some good “food and cheer and song.”
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