Teapot Vegetarian House

This recently relocated Capitol Hill restaurant charms with fountains, lotus-root chips, and pressed gluten.

Teapot Vegetarian House used to be further south on 15th Avenue; its current Capitol Hill location is much closer to the action. Seated by a little gurgling fountain and some faux nests that housed egg-shaped lights, my dining companion and I felt at peace amongst the goofy decor touches. And, likely because they don’t serve meat or animal products, there’s a kindhearted vibe that runs through the place. We started our experience with Asian Fries ($6.95): pretty pieces of lotus root that had been deep fried. They tasted a bit like French fries but had the consistency of water chestnuts, and they were addictive. On the cold night of our visit, we opted for reassuring noodles instead of Teapot’s notorious meat-inspired dishes, which use compressed mushrooms and wheat gluten in place of pork and beef. The dish we dug the most was the Singapore-style rice noodles ($7.95). Its skinny noodles were stir-fried with green onions, carrot strips, cabbage, mushrooms, fried tofu, and a wonderfully hot, cinnamon- tinged curry sauce that colored my wooden chopsticks yellow. Veggie chow mein ($6.95) boasted wide, thick noodles, and plenty more vegetables. After a second pot of Genmaicha tea, we felt full of energy and vigor. But don’t worry—we stopped ourselves from doing yoga moves on the floor.