Meatless Monday: Mermaid Tavern

In a perfect world, I figure there must be an endless supply of truffle fries and pints. At the Mermaid Tavern, it's a perfect world, indeed.

Tucked off Nebraska Avenue in Tampa, this sea & ship themed tavern offers a cozy spot to grab a drink, but also has an extensive meatless menu, packed with taste and creativity. We opted to try a variety of the menu, starting with the truffle fries. They're gluten-free, as well as vegan, and are reason enough to stop by this Seminole Heights gem.

They're crunchy, delicious and quite frankly, some of the best fries we've ever had. Yeah, we just said that.

But, in the true style of a Meatless Monday, we could stop there. Opting for their F**k Monsanto Salad (yes, that's its real name), which is loaded with roast beet, asparagus, orange, feta, arugula, spent grain tabbouleh & a coriander vinaigrette, we also tried their Scratch Veggie Burger. And we'll speak in extremes again: the combination of spinach, parsnip puree and onion-tomato jam on sourdough bread made this burger easily one of the best we've tried in Tampa Bay.

It's hard to describe when a meal and the atmosphere are just plain awesome, because more often than not, the killer combo can be hard to find. But the Mermaid Tavern makes going meatless easy and actually really enjoyable. The combination of a dimly lit, turquoise decor with table lamps and a pub style ordering system, makes this spot not only a switch-up from your regular restaurant finds, but quite far from the sad salad you've got waiting in your fridge for you.