Charlie Hong Kong

I enjoy Charlie Hong Kong's. I regularly get take-out to bring home as the seating is limited. There are a few indoor seats around the window with stools but the rest of the seating is more outdoors (even though it is enclosed).

I like the Spicy Dan Noodles although I never find them spicy. This dish has a combination of egg-free noodles with a good amount of fresh veggies. The Gado Gado is another favorite. It's always hard to choose which one I want.

The restaurant is vegan-friendly with many different choices.

First off, let me say - I am a vegan food snob. That being said, I've been to Charlie Honk Kongs a half dozen times, each time with lower expectations than the last, and each time I was disappointed. First off, the food isn't great, but it's not bad either. It actually did remind me a lot of the crappy noodle stands you find all over the coast in tourist places throughout Thailand. Like those places, your vegan options are very limited, and even those could be better cooked. Veggies were always greasy and usually over steamed(or stirfried), and the tofu(one of the only meat alternatives for vegans) was barely cooked, lacking in flavor. I always get a bit peeved when I go to a restaurant where meat eaters have 4 to 6 ormore main dish options and I have 1.
All in all, I would not recomend this place, not when there are a half dozen better options in Santa Cruz for similar style foods. But, like I said, I am a vegan food snob.
Updated from previous review on Wednesday December 29, 2010

Stand in line, and when your number is called be prepared for a treat: real fresh veggies (kale, other greens) mixed in with spicy sauces atop brown rice or noodles. Fresh springrolls worth driving for.
Now zip up your parka,sit down at one of the communally shared outside picnic tables,say hi to your new neighbors, & bask under the heatlamps as you savor your meal.

loved the quick, scrappy ambiance here--lots of counters, casual energy, great place to go alone. Also, I loved the mysteriously swirly (smoked?) thinly-sliced tofu that came on top of my chili noodle salad. However, that dish overall didn't satisfy me; the dressing was kind of unbalanced in the direction of chili and citrus. So I ordered another dish, and it was out of this world: Indonesian Gado Gado. A rich, black bean/peanut sauce on top of some amazing seasonal vegetables (chard and mushrooms predominated) with brown rice. Damn, they nailed that dish--go and try it!

Not very vegan-friendly and the food was not great. I asked for a dish without chicken and they still put chicken in it.
Very small with limited and only outdoor seating (chilly at night). But the food is cheap, and the place is open until 11pm.

I've not felt the need to return.

I love that you can add and substitute items to any dish. Good atmosphere and good prices.