Vegetarian Vietnamese cuisine brings smiles at Happy Buddha

You really have to want to find Happy Buddha, but once you do you'll be all smiles.

For one thing, this cozy Vietnamese vegetarian eatery is tucked away in a nondescript building, sharing the space with a computer repair shop. Happy Buddha's parking lot is a bit confusing and it's hard to figure out which door to enter. The one in the front looks like you might be entering the computer store, but the door on the side doesn't really look like an entrance to a restaurant.

Actually, either door will get you there.

Of course, the main stumbling block isn't the location. Rather, it's the cuisine. Vietnamese? Vegetarian? Put the two of them together and it's a bit of a hard sell for many diners.

Don't let any of this stop you from giving this charming place a try. Opened in May 2010 by Sau Dang, a vegan, and her daughters Hoa and Dao Nguyen, the food at Happy Buddha is made fresh daily with an emphasis on lively, yet delicate, flavors. Many of the herbs and vegetables are grown in Dang's garden. Vietnamese food is traditionally considered the lighter of the Asian cuisines and Dang's interpretation of her homeland's fare is no exception.

“We are trying to stay true to the Vietnamese way,” said another daughter, Diep Nguyen. “We don't want to Americanize too much.” She said her mother believes in making homemade food with homegrown vegetables.

We started our dinner with spring rolls, cellophane noodles generously filled with tofu, carrot, mint, lettuce, bean sprouts and jicama. The house dipping sauce started light and vaguely sweet but finished with a mildly hot kick.

Next, we ordered soup, including the hot and sour with soy “meat” and dried black fungus, as well as the won ton soup studded with peas, jicama, tofu, radish and carrots. There was a little confusion here. The hot and sour soup came early in the meal as an appetizer-sized portion, while the won ton soup came later, as an entree in a large tureen. No worries as both were delicious. The hot and sour soup tasted mainly of mushrooms, with a much gentler flavoring than is customarily served in Asian restaurants. The won ton soup came loaded with veggies, cooked just the right side of crispy, as well as perfectly made wontons filled with soy meat and water chestnuts.

For our entree, we went with the combination fried noodles and the Vietnamese vegetable rice crepes. On the menu, both items claimed one sort or another of soy meat. The noodles had “ham,” “shrimp” and “chicken;” the crepes boasted soy “shrimp.” As a longtime vegetarian, I've never encountered soy meat that was made to look like the real thing. It was a bit unnerving as the shrimp really did look like shrimp and the ham like ham. These mock meats, however, taste pretty much the same as the other, which is to say, fairly unremarkable, yet they serve their purpose by adding some protein and meaty texture to the entrees.

For those on a gluten-free diet, most of the soy meat is gluten free.

The noodle dish needed a bit of the house sauce to liven it up, but the vegetables were cooked perfectly. The golden crepes were filled with the “shrimp,” tofu, jicama and bean sprouts. We had a bit of a language barrier when asking out how to tackle the crepes. Not quite sure of what to do with them as the delicate pancakes easily fall apart, we finally figured out you stuff the crepe in a piece of lettuce with a sprig of mint and a dollop of house sauce and eat it with your hands — a deliciously messy endeavor.

Of course, there is vegetarian pho on the menu. Pho, the noodle soup of Hanoi, is considered the national dish. Besides the vegetable pho, there is also a variation for carnivores with sliced beef, bean sprouts, lemon and bay leaves. Indeed, at the back of the menu, almost as an after thought, are dishes with real meat labeled “non vegetarian.” They include sauteed lemon grass chicken and grilled pork chops served with steamed rice.

Dessert choices included the traditional Vietnamese Dau Do Banh Lot, red beans, tapioca, jelly and coconut milk. We opted for the avocado shake and the banana bread. In keeping with the lightness of the cuisine, most Vietnamese desserts involve some sort of fruit. The avocado shake, made with avocado and condensed milk and blended with ice, was strangely addictive. Sweet, but not cloying, it was refreshing and full-bodied. The banana bread was more like a banana bread pudding, dense and rich and flavorful.

No alcohol is served here. You'll find tea, coffee and soft drinks.

Lower in fat with a reliance on fresh herbs and vegetables, the food here is healthy, tasty and prepared with great care. Getting to Happy Buddha may require a little bit of persistence on your part, but once you overcome the minor obstacles, you will be rewarded for your efforts.

Happy Buddha

<b>Where: </b>207 W. Northwest Hwy., Barrington, (847) 304-1472, <a href="http://www.buddhabuddha.net" target="_blank">buddhabuddha.net</a>

<b>Cuisine: </b>Vegetarian Vietnamese

<b>Setting: </b>Casual neighborhood restaurant with carryout

<b>Entrees: </b>$7.50 to $10

<b>Hours: </b>11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday; closed Sunday