The eyes of the vegetarian at our table beamed like those of a toddler poised to shred the wrapping paper off a present. We were at the new Oak Cliff location of Fort Worth-based Spiral Diner, and she could order absolutely anything off the vegan (as in, zero animal products) menu she wanted. Four pages of choices!

Photos by MIKE STONE/Special Contributor

Viva Las Migas is a tasty tofu scramble with potatoes, black beans, corn, avocado, red bell pepper, dairy-free sour cream and 'bacun' bits.

I'd eaten with her before at an Italian restaurant and remembered her searching, mildly frustrated expression then as she scanned the menu for a meatless risotto or pasta dish. As someone who went vegetarian for three years in the mid-'90s, I understood her excitement over Spiral Diner's arrival.

"The migas are amazing, and even my mother, who doesn't like anyone's potato salad but her own, likes this potato salad," noted the third person at our table, another ex-vegetarian and a veteran of the Fort Worth location.

Ultimately, though, we decided to be adventurous and try less-customary dishes. It wasn't the wisest decision. I watched the animated light in the vegetarian's eyes flicker on and off for the duration of the meal.

We started with bland hummus drastically in need of more tahini and lemon juice. Main courses turned out to be a procession of letdowns: Pasta primavera was dressed in a pasty marinara. Clumps of soy cheese on a veggie burger patty melt arrived barely warmed, and today's soy cheeses are absolutely capable of melting into an enjoyable ooze. The seasonings on the Jamaican Jerk BBQ sandwich tasted so much like mulling spices that we nicknamed it "the Christmas sandwich."

A sundae, made with nondairy soy-based ice cream, anchored by a warm, moist brownie buoyed our spirits.

But where had we gone wrong with the savory options? After two more visits, I'm not certain there's an easy answer to that question. More so than at other restaurants, a successful meal at Spiral Diner depends on individual predilections and careful combing of the many offerings.

One recommendation: Take the diner in the restaurant's name seriously but with an open mind. This is a casual restaurant that serves laid-back, inexpensive food. (Oh, how I dream of the day when an ambitious, upscale vegetarian restaurant opens in Dallas.) You retrieve your own silverware and napkins from a stand, and you help yourself to all-natural Blue Sky brand drinks at the soda fountain. The servers are a generally efficient but chilled-out lot.

So what's standard fare at a diner? Egg dishes, for one. No eggs on a vegan menu, so tofu scramble steps up as an admirable substitute. The comforting mash is tinged yellow from turmeric and has the gentlest hint of curry powder. As my tablemate suggested, it forms a satisfying foundation to the Viva Las Migas, piled with potatoes, black beans, corn, avocado, red bell pepper, dairy-free sour cream and "bacun" bits, with a side of salsa as a crowning flourish.

A similar jumble is stuffed into an equally pleasing burritolike concoction called the Big Taquito. And as with all wraps and sandwiches, when the server asks you which side you'd like, absolutely choose that potato salad. It tingles with pickle relish and dill.

Spiral Diner's take on Americana chicken salad is a nifty approximation made from seitan (a meat substitute made of wheat gluten originally developed by Chinese Buddhists; the menu includes a handy-dandy glossary if these terms are foreign to you). It's gussied up with apples, pecans and dried cranberries in herbed mustard-mayo dressing, and its nicely toothy consistency works well either in sandwich form or as the centerpiece of a salad.

Choosing from the diner angle doesn't always hold up, though: One rarely finds quinoa at a roadside joint. A spherical, squiggly cored grain that rose to prominence among the health food set in the '90s, quinoa can have an unexpectedly sexy texture, and Spiral Diner pulls it off. Its Mexican quinoa is downright creamy. Cumin and other spices assuage the bitterness that quinoa can sometimes have.

If you're already into that grain, or curious about it, try Ramsey's Perfect Protein Platter. A mixture of quinoa and black beans sautéed with salsa and served with a few slices of avocado and a side of tahini, it is not a pretty plate of grub. But once it reaches your taste buds, it becomes the swan of vegetarian comfort food.

Salads, all busy with ingredients, are fine, middle-of-the-road specimens – neither particularly daring in composition nor insulting to those who follow a plant-based diet. Among the salad dressings, go for the lively agave-mustard or the voluptuous spicy ranch. Unless you're a raw foods purist, avoid the raw walnut dressing, which smells and tastes more like straight vinegar than vinaigrette.

In line with the primavera, none of the pasta entrees particularly impressed. Sketti and Meatballs includes a skimpy amount of soy-based meatballs and more of that flat marinara, and the red coconut curry sauce over noodles and vegetables is too safe. A heavier pounce of red curry paste or even more stand-alone lemon grass or ginger would lift its listless flavors.

Should you find yourself in the company of a die-hard carnivore who utters stereotypical mumblings about not finding anything he or she can eat here, call a server over pronto for a piece of pie. With its delicate crust and vivid fillings, Spiral's pie is just dang good. (And that soy-based whipped cream is eerily like the real McCoy.) If the pie is blueberry, take an extra piece home for breakfast the next day.

So given the ups and downs of the food, the amiably quirky servers, the groovy industrial setting and its overall modest but earnest aims, Spiral Diner feels like a two-star restaurant to me – solidly good.

But to Texas vegans starving for this kind of thing? For a place that not only caters respectfully to their diet but also provides enough variety that their omnivorous chums can find something to enjoy? Spiral Diner must feel like five-star heaven to them. Spiral Diner

{star}{star} (good)

Food {star}{star}

Service {star}{star}

Atmosphere {star}{star}

Price: $-$$ (appetizers $2.50 to $6.25, entree salads and sandwiches $3.75 to $7.95, hot entrees $7.25 to $9.95, desserts $1.75 to $5.25)

Address: 1101 N. Beckley Ave.

Phone: 214-948-4747

Web site: www.spiraldiner.com

Hours: Tuesday-Saturday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Credit cards: MC, V

Wheelchair accessible: Yes

Smoking area: No

Alcohol: None