Nacional 27

Paella for one at Nacional 27.

I was a little apprehensive to dine at Nacional 27 (325 W. Huron) earlier this month. Some friends from out of town had made reservations there to kick off Green River/St. Patrick's weekend on Friday, March 12. It's a hip restaurant and I had never been, so I decided to go anyway. Note: if a restaurant has margaritas or even mojitos on the menu, I can be persuaded regardless of food choices.

After checking over the menu I figured my best bet was the paella. The waitress, after reciting the specials for a solid 10 minutes, told me that because they did not have many vegetarian options she could let me have the paella for one, instead of the stated two-person minimum. I was pretty grateful for the accomodation. I asked the very knowledgable waitress for my usual requests: no cheese, no butter, no beef/chicken broth, etc. Then she asked "so you would like it vegan-style?" YES! Thank you awesome waitress and Nacional 27.

The vegetable paella is made up of roasted corn, peppers, chayote (squash), calabaza (another squash-y vegetable), orzo and green olives. Served piping hot. Also there was something leafy but I can't remember if it was basil or spinach. Either way, this was a delicious veggie dish at a decidedly meat-friendly restaurant.

Product of the day: Larabars. All of them. I had the cinnamon roll bar for breakfast this morning. Larabars have no added sugar, preservatives...nothing. These guys have quite a few calories and fat for a little snack, but they are just about right for a small meal or big snack, and the fat is mostly the good kind from walnuts. Walnuts are important for vegans because they are a good source of omega-3s, which we get less of than our fish-eating friends.