The Internet is overflowing with recommendations and opinions on food, so why would one read this column? To begin, sites like Yelp end up having insanely tight ratings distributions, where almost every restaurant scores between three and four stars, obviating the utility of the artificially-precise five-star rating system; even Alinea, number seven on the S. Pellegrino World’s 50 Best Restaurants list, only scores four and a half stars on Yelp.

Furthermore, underlying the narrow distributions is a skewed mix of contributions from occasional bloggers who only voice their opinion to express their five-star love or one-star disappointment. The result is basically a blanket “moderate” recommendation for every restaurant emerging from the balanced set of extremist reviews – an unhelpful resource for anyone looking for something new. Accordingly, as part of my first review at the official beginning of this column, I have decided to switch to a simpler, actionable rating system with three choices: “Definitely worth trying;” “Don’t bother;” and “Middle of the road.”

Good eats!

About six months ago, Alice Liang, the wife of the owner of Garden Fresh in Mountain View, decided to grow the business and open a new location in Palo Alto. Garden Fresh serves vegan Chinese food, an interesting take on an otherwise pork-heavy tradition. Less than one percent of the United States considers itself vegan, so the expansion seems to suggest that the food would compensate for an otherwise tiny target demographic.

The restaurant itself is inviting but underwhelming. It seats just over 30 if you are willing to get cozy with the table next to you. The atmosphere lends itself to a lunch spot, as the décor and dense table arrangement aren’t geared to long, relaxing dinners. And there is also a bit of a frenzied vibe as Alice is forced to play hostess, waitress, cashier and owner/manager simultaneously.

There are some dishes, though, that really stand out through the mediocrity of the surroundings. Specifically, the “General’s Veggie Chicken” was a beautiful balance of sweet and spicy. Also, the “Orange Veggie Beef,” made from shitake mushrooms, was an incredibly high-fidelity impersonation of beef with a wonderful flavor.

On the other hand, there were some dishes that should just be avoided. The biggest offender was the “Grilled Veggie Salmon” that had a taste and texture comparable to but less pleasing than gefilte fish, a traditional Jewish dish. The broth in the corn and tofu soup was also off. Even the side of brown rice seemed a bit undercooked.

Most dishes were somewhere in the middle and often had offsetting pros and cons. The “Basil Tempura” was flavorful, but the texture was too monotonous to compose a complete entrée. The scallion pancakes had a good crunch but lacked the complexity to be interesting once the tempura crisp lost its heat. Likewise, the hot and sour soup was relatively standard, and the “Basil Mu Shu Rolls,” one of the few dishes on the menu that was not fried or doused in sauce, were not particularly flavorful.

If you’re a vegetarian or vegan, you’ll be delighted by some of the flavor profiles Garden Fresh has to offer; considering the relatively limited set of options available to this cohort, Garden Fresh would have to be considered “Definitely worth trying.” But for the rest of us, it’s not a particularly healthy trade-off for animal-derived ingredients, nor are the dishes unique; they are, after all, knock-offs of typical Chinese dishes. Garden Fresh is more like “Middle of the road.”