Great Sage - Vegan Restaurant in Clarksville, MD

The first time I visited Maryland, a friend took me out to dinner. Knowing I was vegetarian, she picked out the all-vegan Great Sage - and I loved every bite. So when I had the chance to bring Andy here, I was really pleased to return and see if it was still as good as I remembered.

We both ordered soup to start. I went for tomato and lentil, which was thick and hearty, while Andy had an oriental-style mushroom broth with a fantastic savoury flavour.

For main course, I had the "grown-up" mac'n'cheese, and Andy had the autumn chilli with cornbread (photo above). Ordering macaroni cheese in a vegan restaurant isn't the kind of thing I'd usually do, but because I'd been here before I decided to trust them. I wasn't disappointed. Although vegan cheese is never really all that cheesey, after a few weeks in the US I was more than happy to have something a bit lighter. The addition of vegetables to the macaroni was a nice touch, and the gratin topping was perfecty crunchy. Andy's chilli was lightly spiced, packed with beans and full of fresh coriander (cilantro). The cornbread was soft with just a slight crust, and the dish was also accompanied with wilted greens.

It's most unlike us to be too full for dessert, but somehow the Great Sage portions defeated us. It might have had something to do with the helping of sweet potato fries we'd decided to share....