We were introduced to In the Bowl: Vegetarian Noodle Bistro on Capitol Hill a few days ago and have been planning our return ever since. New (to us anyway, apparently it's been around since at least February), In the Bowl is a welcome addition to the quick, cheap Asian-fare genre on The Hill. A bonus: It's all-veggie and every meal comes with Black Rice Pudding for dessert.

The restaurant is small, with an atmosphere reminiscent of an extremely packed New York City Chinatown place. About 15 tables are squeezed together and servers rush down a small aisle left between tables and counter where only two seats are crammed in next to a vast array of Styrofoam to-go containers. (Why, in this day and age, are those dam things still so pervasive?) The place is so tight that parties bigger than one have to enter one at a time, as each closes the door, steps aside and then re-opens the door for the next person if anyone is sitting at the counter or in the three chairs next to the entrance waiting for table or a to-go order.

The tightness isn't a bad thing though. It adds a liveliness that comes with only the best cheap eats, a type of restaurant near and dear to our hearts.

The best part of In the Bowl is the enormous array of all-vegetarian selections. The menu lists 23 different noodle dishes, almost all of which come with a choice of at least two noodle types, though many have four different noodle choices. (the most common choices are wide or small rice noodle, chow mein or udon.) Each dish also comes with your choice of "meat" including fresh or fried tofu, "chicken," "beef," "prawns," fish, or "duck."

Surprisingly, all the fake meat choices are actually quite good given that they're just soy products masquerading as meat and we're not the kind of vegetarian who is always looking for meat replacements. It's been a long while since we ate the real stuff, so we can't reliably compare the taste of fake beef to the taste of real beef. But standing on its own, "beef" has a nice, slightly sweet flavor resting underneath a skin of black pepper. It may or may not taste like cow, but it comes close enough to melting in our mouth to make the distinction unnecessary.

We had Spicy Noodle for lunch today ("beef" and chow mein). The whole bowl was a panoply of flavors and filled with well-cooked eggplant, broccoli, onions, peppers and carrots. The spices were mixed well and the burn of a three-star order was just enough to heighten all the dish's flavors which included the occasional blast of fresh ginger or garlic in the stray bite.

The only thing we can find to say against the place is about its asinine exhaust system which is set up to send a cool breeze diners no matter what the temperature is outside. The hot tea selections, which go beyond green and black, is recommended to combat chills.

In the Bowl is a great change of pace for those vegetarians sick of having only a few items on their local Asian restaurant menu, or anyone who is looking for a quick, cheap, good bite of well-prepared spicy food on Capitol Hill.

In The Bowl is located at 1554 E. Olive Way where Olive crosses Denny. They're open 11 am to 10 pm every day with delivery available from 11 am to 3 pm and again from 5 pm till close. Phone: 206-568-2343.