• 5
• Hole in the Wall

It's a small, unassuming building from the outside (to put it nicely), but once you get inside, it's a nice-looking place (still small). There are big picture of vegetables for decoration. The menu is entirely vegetarian. I'm not interested in mock meats, so I get typical tofu dishes and soups. The prices are not bad. An indication of quality at any ethnic restaurant is whether people of the appropriate ethnicity eat there, and there are almost always Chinese people at Yuan Fu when I go, frequently large families at the one big table in the center. The owner is usually there, and is very involved and friendly; she will converse in Chinese but certainly makes American customers feel welcome as well. Most of the standard Chinese tofu dishes are represented: Kung Pao, Home Style, Hunan, Ma Po, Budda's Delight etc. None of them are the best I've ever had, but all of them are good, and usually with very generous portions. They offer brown rice and do not charge extra for it like some places do. They have an excellent miso soup (and it's nice to be sure it's vegetarian). The sizzling rice soup was a bit of a surprise; basically a tomato base with lots of vegetables. My chief source of disappointment is that the spicy options aren't spicier (I like the hot stuff). I always feel good about eating here. Compared to the Vegetable Garden down the road, I'd say that of the two vegetarian Chinese places in the area, Yuan Fu is more Chinese (in terms of menu options and atmosphere) and Vegetable Garden is more health food oriented (with their macrobiotic options and some of their more creative vegetable entrees). Both are good, but if you told me I could only have one, I'd probably take Yuan Fu, by a hair. Fortunately, we don't have to make that choice.