Testing Madison's newest meat facsimiles on little kids at The Green Owl Café

At Madison's brand-new The Green Owl Café (1970 Atwood Ave., 608-285-5290), only vegan and vegetarian dishes grace the menu, but proprietor Jennie Capellaro's culinary wizardry cleverly apes the animal kingdom with an array of substitute meats. The A.V. Club took a group of kids in to see if they could tell the difference between these resourceful creations and real beast-flesh.

Vegetarian Italian "beef" sandwich
Adults will know right away that this isn't a real Italian-beef sandwich: The bread roll isn’t spongy and rapidly dissolving. Slices of cooked seitan (wheat gluten) form a simulacrum of seasoned shredded beef, and light vegetarian gravy replaces the jus.
Verdict: The nuances of expected liquid content on a per-sandwich basis aren't well-established with young children, and all three kids were fooled by the faux beef, thanks in part to its cunning giardiniera topping.

Spaghetti and "meatball"
As in the old song, one lonely "meatball"—actually a ball of what appeared to be mushrooms and bulgur—rests atop creamy noodles with tangy marinara sauce. The pasta itself was gobbled up right quick.
Verdict: "This meatball tastes weird," the 6-year-old on our panel complained.

Jackfruit "BBQ" sandwich
Young jackfruit (an Asian mulberry-like tree) emulates the pulled pork in a sandwich served with tangy barbecue sauce. The reaction from our market-research group was to eat it unquestioningly.
Verdict: "How does it taste?" "Tastes great." "Well, does it taste like pork?" "Pork?" (A blank look). It appears that this one was so far off, the question didn't even make sense to a kid.

Chili-cheese hot dog
This dog, smothered in a rich vegan chili and shredded Wisconsin cheese, was administered to all three kids, each one professing knowledge of ballpark franks.
Verdict: The tykes had no idea it wasn't a real hot dog, made from tofu instead of the usual pig detritus.