Lentils As Anything is an amazing not-for-profit restaurant with
a “pay as you feel” philosophy where YOU decide what you pay at the end of the
visit. There’s a box by the door where you deposit money – or not – as you see
fit. It’s largely staffed by volunteers and much of it is run as a
vegan/vegetarian buffet-style fill your plate up as much as you want and go
back for seconds if you wish kind of place.
I’ve visited three of the Lentils restaurants – St. Kilda,
the Convent at Abbotsford, and Footscray and have enjoyed myself at each. While
all three are great, I must admit though that the Abbotsford location has a
special place in my heart. It’s spacious, full of good food, staffed by lovely
people, and there are random times of drumming and music. The atmosphere is
really relaxed and you can find yourself spending all night there with not a
care in the world and the people who come traipsing in are a motley crew of
hippies, bikers, goths, punks, hipsters, preppies, homeless, whatever. It doesn’t
seem to matter what your station in life or what you look like – there’s a
place (and a plate!) for you there. Lentils also does breakfast off a menu (I
quite liked the poached eggs on toast but found the fruit porridge a bit bland)
and have an assortment of drinks as well (coffee, juice, tea, hot chocolate, etc.)
and a variety of desserts that change depending on who’s in back cooking for
the day (I loved the chocolate-dipped apples but find the vegan cakes to be somewhat unappetizing). Lunch and dinner usually involves salads, rice, various veggie curries, daal, soup, and other veggie-type dishes that change daily ranging from potato balls to savory (and sweet) pancakes. Yum!
All in all it’s a wonderful experience for a good cause and
it’s completely up to you to decide what that experience was worth. If you can’t
pay today – no worries – come back another time when you’re more flush with
cash; no one will look twice. It’s not a big deal. As the website says, “We want to develop and encourage ideals of trust, generosity and
respect. We provide food to countless people without drawing attention to their
financial circumstances and encourage the interaction and involvement from
people from all walks of life.”
Now that’s what I call good eats! For
more info, check out the website here: http://www.lentilasanything.com/
Happy feasting.
