Coronavirus diary: Irregardless Cafe’s to-go options live up to its longstanding reputation

The undisputed hippie granddad of area restaurants, Irregardless Cafe opened in 1975 with an all-vegetarian menu and a cheeky, linguistically anti-establishment name. In spite of its off-the-beaten path location, Irregardless has continued to thrive for nearly half a century — including the mid-‘90s, when it rose from the ashes of a fire that closed if for nearly a year.

The restaurant’s enduring popularity can largely be chalked up to the fact that it has adapted as (apologies to Bob Dylan) the times they were a-changin’. Seafood, then chicken, and eventually red meat made their way onto the menu over the years, each addition broadening the restaurant’s fan base.

New management has also proven to be nimble in the face of the Coronavirus pandemic. (David Meeker and Lee Robinson bought the restaurant on New Year’s Day from co-founder Arthur Gordon.)

For starters, an already well-established catering operation made delivery a no-brainer. You can order delivery online, but it’s a good idea to call the restaurant to find out if you’re within the delivery area. (Pro tip: Whenever you call in and order directly from a restaurant, you’re saving it the often exorbitant fee it has to pay an outside delivery service.)

Irregardless also offers no-contact curbside pickup, which I took advantage of recently. When I pulled up in front of the restaurant — several minutes early, as it happened — I expected a wait. Instead, I didn’t even have to call the restaurant to let them know I had arrived. A staffer wearing a mask, who had apparently been watching for me, greeted me from the sidewalk. Then, after confirming my name (one of my fake restaurant critic names, that is) through the open passenger side window, she carefully placed my order onto the seat where I indicated.

My order covered the spectrum of the Irregardless offering, from vegan falafel croquettes to slow-cooked beef barbacoa. A salad with Irregardless’ famous lemon tahini dressing was a must, and it left me regretting that I hadn’t bought a pint of the dressing, which the restaurant began selling decades ago in response to popular demand.

Served on a cloud of cauliflower puree and accompanied by roasted asparagus and carrots, the falafel croquettes made for a light but satisfying main course. A vegan chile relleno, stuffed with Spanish ratatouille rice and draped over a black bean cake, was a more substantial alternative. Snappier, too, thanks to the tomatillo sauce that came with the dish.

But it was an entree special featuring succulent shreds of beef barbacoa, served with black beans and rice, that made this unrepentant beefeater most thankful for Irregardless’ varied offering.

A bottle of Bordeaux from the restaurant’s brief but varied (and half-price!) wine selection punched well above its $20 weight. And an apple crumb pie made me happy to know that the restaurant’s desserts still live up to their longstanding reputation as a sinful reward for a (mostly) virtuous meal.

Takeout Tales

I’ve invited readers to share their restaurant delivery and curbside pickup and experiences. That invitation still stands. Just email me at ggcox55@gmail.com, with a description of your experience. I’ll publish as many as I can in this space.

Like this one from Charlie M., who files a report from southern Wake County:

Garibaldi in Fuquay-Varina has done takeout since they opened, so they are pros at it. We got two eggplant parms, one with pasta and one with vegetables. Sauce on the side. They added two orders of their focaccia bread and some dipping oil.

Everything extremely well packaged: aluminum containers for easy reheating, cardboard pieces between items to avoid “smooshing,” sauce in easy to store plastic containers. And all delivered to the car in one large plastic bag. Everyone I saw had on masks and latex gloves, which I greatly appreciated. It all tasted awesome — and enough to feed four.

And this from David G., who also shares an excellent tip about ordering extra entrees for a future meal:

An ideal Friday or Saturday date night for me and my wife was to go out to dinner. Now that times have changed, we have tried to carry on with some normalcy and get dinner to go. We put on our favorite podcast and drive together to pick up the food.

We live in Apex, but most of our favorite restaurants are in downtown Raleigh or Durham. The 20-minute drive there and back has become a great time of conversation, usually provoked by what podcast we are listening to.

Of the several places we’ve tried, Stanbury is above and beyond the best we have had so far. The meals we have had from Stanbury we’re amazing! So good in fact that I had to order a couple extra entrees last time to heat up and eat over the weekend. I am thankful for the escape from reality that a great meal can comfortably give.

Irregardless Cafe & Catering

901 W. Morgan St, Raleigh

919-833-8898 or irregardless.com

This story was originally published May 10, 2020 at 10:30 AM with the headline "Coronavirus diary: Irregardless Cafe’s to-go options live up to its longstanding reputation."