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• Pitfalls of eating at a mixed restaurant

After reading good reviews about the restaurant and reading the menu near its entrance which listed many items as vegetarian or vegan, or could be made vegetarian or vegan, decided to give it a try. Ordered a Pad Thai and emphasized 'vegan' which my companion heard and the wait person wrote something on her pad after hearing 'vegan.' Minutes later it was served. Before eating I noticed that some parts of it looked like egg (original dish contains egg) so I picked it up and gave it to my companion who confirmed it was egg. The wait person offered to take it back and offer me the vegan version but I decided to go to Sativa Studio Café across the street which serves only vegetarian cuisine and had a very satisfying lunch. The restaurant seemed trendy and saw many people, mostly foreigners, dining at it. The prices seemed high (the Pad Thai/Tai was priced at $5.75, about the same I pay for in Oakland, CA, USA) compared to places in Quito where I paid $3 or less for most vegetarian set lunches but might be on par with other nearby restaurants. One reviewer had mentioned that her/his Pad Thai had lots of vegetables but my case those vegetables were invisible. Perhaps they were below the starchy whitish stuff that was visible. Its apparent popularity shows that it has food many people like but as a vegan I have the suspicion that even its kitchen will be not so serious about food contamination issues. Thanks for Sativa which in spite of its limited menu serves only vegetarian cuisine, a supermarket on the next street parallel to its street, a farmers' market (Wednesday and Sunday) a few blocks away, and a few other veg-friendly stores, makes it quite easy for me to avoid mixed food places like Casa Hood entirely in future. Updated from previous review on Monday July 28, 2014 Updated from previous review on Monday July 28, 2014