Have Mercy

Yesterday, we received an email from Tyler Black, who far as we knew was still the executive chef of Mi Lah ("mercy"), the vegetarian/vegan spice express we had some nice things to say about back in December. "Hey, I just wanted you to know that I was unexpectedly fired from Mi Lah today, without warning or reason," Black said in his note. Hmm. Though some items at Mi Lah weren't so great (notably, the mushy sweet potato patties and mushier polenta cake that got lost on its way to the Shady Acres cafeteria), overall the menu was interesting and flavor-charged enough to make us not miss the meat. We still get a little misty over Black's grilled haloumi and green grape salad anointed with virgin oil and showered in fresh parsley. Simple, fresh, stellar. One of our favorite dishes of 2008.

A call in to Mi Lah owner Jason Lay hasn't been returned yet. Stay tuned for details.

Photo: Zagat