OK, I am not going to say I am the best photographer in the world but my iPhone comes very handy when it comes to giving all of you a visual of what I experienced at what I thought would be a promising restaurant. For as long as I have been living in the area, Maya has been known in the vegan community for having the Fried Seitan “chicken” on the menu. Looking back, I regret not coming here sooner as by the time I did commit myself to going, they took this vegan legend off the menu (although they still advertise it on their website!). Looking at the photo above, this is what I was stuck with…Something swimming in oil (the fries were the least greasy!) and something I could have made at home and saved myself the nearly $20 they charge on the menu. They call this the Farro Bean Salad or something close to that name. It had some sort of rice (I guess that’s the Farro part?) and chickpeas with a hint of pesto. Personally, I liked the pesto part to the dish but it was just your typical pesto…nothing special. Overall, the food we had was good and there was a decent selection of vegan sides (or could be made vegan) to choose from. I would say my favorite side item was the sweet potato fries. They were perfectly crisp with just the right amount of salt. It just saddens me that the only main dishes to the menu that are remotely vegan were salads. The soups were not even close to vegetarian! On the bright side to my experience, the wait staff was very knowledgeable when it came to vegan options but not very knowledgeable when it came to customer service. We waited a long time to get a high chair (there were a few close by!) and it took forever to get lemon wedges despite asking them at least 2-3 times. Before you ask, the restaurant was far from busy the whole time we were there.
A friend of one of the cooks recently told me that they took the Seitan Fried “Chicken” off the menu because it took too long to make. Technically, Maya is considered a southern style restaurant (despite the name!) and if I remember correctly, all good southern food takes time to prepare. From the ribs, duck, and macaroni and cheese-in comparison, seitan should have been the least of their worries when it comes to preparation. Although we were happy with the vegan offerings they had (and appreciate the fact they actually had them!), it’s not enough to make it worth us visiting again. However, we might be swayed if they put the Seitan Fried “Chicken” back on the menu…and maybe a vegan soup 
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