Veg Out: Sampling Mi Luna's tasty tapas

By Abigail Dock     9/30/10 7:00pm

Upon entering Mi Luna, you are hit by a sheer wall of sound - the place reverberates with echoes of conversations, clinking of dishes from the kitchen and, above it all, the ever-present live music. Once seated, you have to shout across the table to be heard and calling a waiter over must be done through elaborate gesturing, as using your voice is almost ineffective. If you're looking for a quiet night out where you can sit and talk with friends, look elsewhere. But if you want great food at low prices, Mi Luna is the place to go.The menu is divided into cold and hot tapas dishes, with a small section at the bottom for paellas and rice dishes. Unfortunately, Mi Luna is not equipped with a separate vegetarian menu, forcing the vegetable-inclined to hunt through the menu for the veggie dishes. However, once found, there prove to be a good dozen vegetarian options with seven or eight vegan dishes as well - the beauty of Spanish cuisine being that it relies on olive oil far more than butter.

Of the cold dishes, the spinach with pine nuts and golden raisins stood out, with the nuts and raisins complementing, rather than overpowering, the complex spices in the spinach. The olives with garlic and peppers were unexceptional, though well-marinated; you could get a dish like that from any well-stocked grocery store olive bar. Likewise, the potatoes in garlic aioli tasted much like a generic potato salad that any college student could throw together, although it was done very well. However, these dishes were almost comforting in their predictable familiarity, as the other dishes were so wonderfully exotic as to overload the palette.

The hot dishes were fantastic. The mushrooms in garlic, onion, parsley and sherry were spicy and pungent, while the eggplant with fresh cilantro was melt-in-your-mouth tender. Each dish did exactly what tapas are supposed to do - thrill the taste buds and leave you wanting more. The only disappointing hot dish was the Spanish omelet, which was dry and bland. The final delight of the evening was the black and white bean soup, artfully presented as a silky smooth concoction. The purees were layered so that the white bean puree was on top and the black bean on the bottom. This parfait effect made the experience of eating fun as well as tasty.

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The ideal number of dishes to order is two to three per person, unless you're really starving. Not only does this give you plenty of food, but if you are vegetarian, it gets you out the door with a tab under $15, including tax and tip. Though the dishes are small, they are very filling, so it is best to take your time and enjoy them slowly while savoring the vibrant flavors and pretending you are eating in Seville or Madrid. The service is very speedy, but there is no rush for you to leave immediately after taking the last bite. The Mi Luna staff is happy to let you relax after a hard day of studying.

Mi Luna is not a perfect restaurant. If you want to be able to converse without shouting like you're at a football game, I would advise going elsewhere or at least sitting in the small outdoor seating area. The sound of the cars is not nearly as loud as the cacophony of people inside. Occasional dishes may be a bit ordinary, but everything will be good, and the best dishes are so wonderful you will remember them for a long time afterward. You may just find yourself coming back again and again for your favorite dishes.

Abigail Dock is a Jones College sophomore. Veg Out is a column reviewing vegetarian restaurants and their offerings.

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