Bluff City Vegan Eats: Tonica

Last week, I made plans to catch up with some former coworkers, and we decided to check out Tonica — a new Spanish tapas place in the Evergreen neighborhood. I'd just made tapas — potatoes bravas and espinacas con garbanzos — at home last week, and so I guess I've been on a bit of a tapas kick. I just love a snacky meal that pairs well with wine or cocktails. 

Tonica, as the name implies, specializes in gin and tonics, and they have several variations. But I went with the Ginraw, their classic gin and tonic. A friend of mine on Facebook asked why there were raisins in my drink! Ha! Those are juniper berries! This was a fine gin and tonic, by the way.

I scanned the menu at Tonica before we went and saw several options that looked vegan. And I double checked with my server before ordering the Pan con Tomate. My server said it was "100% vegan." Yay! This traditional dish features baguette toasted with olive oil and topped with tomato sauce. The tomato sauce was garlicky and delicious.

I should point out that, after posting this on IG, one commenter said she'd also inquired about this dish and was told it contains eggs. But I cannot imagine where the eggs would factor in. So I'll certainly double check before ordering it again, but I'm very certain, after eating this, that it was indeed vegan.

Another dish my server confirmed to be vegan was the Espinacas con Garbanzos, or chickpeas and spinach. This is another simple dish made with chickpeas, spinach, and garlic. I'd recently made this at home, but theirs was better. 

I spied several other potentially vegan dishes on the menu, so I can't wait to go back and try those!