I’ve mentioned before that finding a good variety of veggie food can be difficult in Loudoun County, VA.  It gets trickier the further west you go.  Leesburg offers a few restaurants with a few veggie options, but nothing anywhere near an all-vegetarian restaurant.

Thankfully, there’s Xuan Saigon, Leesburg’s only Vietnamese restaurant, located on Fort Evans Road in the same shopping center as Anita’s (which is visible from business Route 7).  Their menu [PDF] [1] has a seemingly small vegetarian section, but there are other veggie options scattered throughout the menu, and all are quite good.

Chef Xuan Nguyen’s daughter-in-law is vegetarian (possibly vegan, I’m not sure) and helped to ensure that these dishes are made and served truly vegetarian.  They’re not made with fish sauce, which is comforting, and if they happen to bring you fish sauce as a side, you can ask that they bring out a tasty veggie sweet and sour sauce instead.

I’ve been to some Vietnamese restaurants that offer a “vegetarian pho,” but when grilled about the broth, they admit to using the same beef stock that they use for their beef pho.  Thankfully, this isn’t the case at Xuan Saigon.  Instead, their broth is a homemade veggie broth that’s simply delicious and compliments the full bowl of rice noodles, veggies, and lightly fried tofu.

The one appetizer that you simply have to try is the Ginger-Lime Tofu.  Every guest we’ve taken to the restaurant–including avowed tofu haters–has been amazed at the ginger-and-onion-topped crispy tofu.  It’s finished off in a nice sour-and-salty fashion with a dip in a lime juice, salt, and pepper mixture.  .  For every two people in your party, order one of these appetizers.

Last night while talking with our server (one of the chef/owner’s sons), he asked if I was vegan.  When I nodded a confirmation, he mentioned that they’ve just worked up a new dish that’s not on the menu, a vegan crepe stuffed with all sorts of veggies.  It sounds like banh xeo, which I’ve had homemade before, but never in a restaurant.  Let’s hope it makes it onto the menu soon.

Beyond the food, though, is the service.  Many of the people you’ll encounter are family members and Chef Xuan often comes out and greets diners during their meal.  She’s a kind, generous woman and it’s heartening to see her vision for a unique Vietnamese restaurant succeeding in Leesburg.

So, next time you’re shopping at the outlets or hanging out in Leesburg for some other reason, schedule some time in for a stop by Xuan Saigon.

[1] The menu on their web site seems to be a little out of date - the latest version of the menu has a few more options listed.

Out of curiosity today, I did a quick search of my alma mater’s dining services page to see how accommodating they are to vegetarians and vegans.  I wasn’t even a vegetarian when I was in college, so I have no recollection how it was back in the day, but I was happy to see that today, there are at least some good choices for vegans:

The Grill
offering All-American standards like hot dogs, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, or even grilled cheese and fries. Vegetarian or Vegan? Grab a veggie burger or soy chicken patty instead!

Top Hits
If you are looking for something made-to-order, this is the place for you. Top Hits provides you with a rotating schedule of our most popular made-to-order items, including omelets, crepes (made the vegan way), salads, and more!

The crepes, in particular, took me by surprise.  In addition, “The Bistro” has a “Vegan/Gluten Free Station.”  I can guarantee you, that wasn’t there ten years ago.

The catering arm of dining services also offers an impressive vegetarian selection and the college itself mentions the vegetarian and vegan options in their prospective students FAQ.

How does your alma mater/current/future school stack up?

(Edited to add: Just noticed that Gary has a couple of posts on the topic over at his blog. Read ‘em.)

Yesterday, Josh wrote to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Big Mac while recounting his own fast food experiences:

I used to have a job giving tours at the computer museum in Boston. There was a McDonalds downstairs right between us and where the Boston Tea Party ship (and annoying reenactments) were.

…

I used to eat at that McDonalds once a week or so. I was still a year away from going vegetarian at that point, but even then I knew McDonalds was a terrible place to get food. I’d be walking around monitoring one of the galleries or giving a tour thinking about where I was going to eat and invariably my brain would say “McDonalds!� Most days I’d give that cartoon bubble thought above my head the smackdown, but once a week or so I’d give in. I even felt sick before I got there and I knew I’d be dragging ass the rest of the day with all that grease and fat in my stomach. (I would add “death� to that list of things in my stomach, but at the time those thoughts were still in the murky unknown part of my brain trying to reach the surface.)

The one thing I always tell people after they find out that I’m vegan and say, “I could never do that!” is that I would regularly eat two (yes, two) Big Macs for dinner when I was in high school. Back then my metabolism was insane and I never topped 115 pounds.  I wasn’t exactly a football player.  I was barely a member of the bowling team.

As I was transitioning to vegetarianism, I had a set number of days a month where I’d have only meatless meals.  During those days, I always ended up going to Subway for lunch on my “vegetarian days.”  I honestly had no idea where else to go for a quick veggie meal in those days. 

After going veggie, I kept up with the occasional visit to Subway and even had a few BK Veggies when I was on the road during those first few years.

Today, though, I can honestly say I eat at a fast food restaurant maybe once a year.  And that would be a place like Subway during the most dire of situations (a 10pm, middle of nowhere, nothing else open, forgot to pack a Clif Bar, and have to to go the bathroom-type deal).  It’s kind of funny to look at the completely different mindsets of High School Ryan and Vegan Ryan even though I still feel like I’m pretty much the same person at my core.   I guess it’s like how your body regenerates all its cells every nine years — you’re technically a whole new person, yet you still feel like the same big collection of bio-junk you were back then.

Anyway, I’m glad to be done with fast food restaurants.  No more dealing with the funny smell that envelopes you after you’ve been in a Subway.  Or the employees not remembering to leave the mayo off of your BK Veggie (back when the burger itself was actually vegan, of course).  Or the sticky floors in McDonald’s bathrooms (actually, I still deal with that since that’s the sole reason I’ll go into a McDonald’s).

But there are so many people for whom fast food is still a way of life.  It seems so foreign to me now, but I remind myself that it’s just as foreign for others think about life without fast food.  It’s a tough gap to bridge without devoting some time and real effort, especially since there are no vegan fast food chains to help ease the transition.

Let’s hear from some long-time vegans: when was the last time you ate at a typical fast food joint?  Did you used to be a fast food junkie?

There’s not a vegetarian restaurant to be found near where I live or work.  Our county, despite being the richest in the country and one of the fastest growing, doesn’t have a single vegetarian (let alone vegan) eatery.  Sadly, much of the eastern part of the county has been strip-malled to death so there are Ruby Fridaybee’s everywhere.  Thankfully, there is a pretty good variety of veggie-friendly Vietnamese, Thai, India, and Mexican restaurants.

One of my favorite of these restaurants is A Taste of Burma in Sterling, VA.  It’s the relatively new sister establishment of the excellent Myanmar Restaurant in Falls Church, where my wife and I ate at frequently when we lived in the area.  Burmese cuisine, I’ve found, is unlike any other single cuisine in that area of the world.  Sure, it’s got touches of southeast Asian style as well as obvious Indian influence, but there are some recipes that seem to be wholly Burmese.

One of these is my new favorite dish, their Fermented Tea Leaf Salad.  The menu describes it as “pickled tea leaf, cabbage, tomatoes, sesame, peanuts, broad beans, lime juice, garlic chips, and seasoning.”  While the idea of eating a tea leaf salad may sound a little strange, let me assure you that it’s delicious.  I honestly cannot even find the words in my vocabulary to describe what the taste is like.  I can’t compare it to anything I’ve eaten before.  But, wow, is it good.

The restaurant itself is fast becoming my favorite place in the area to eat because it’s usually relatively empty (hopefully not a bad sign for the business, as two consecutive Thai restaurants in the same location went ouf of business in less than two years).  Initially, the service was kind of slow, but recently has picked up quite nicely.  The owner, the brother of Myanmar’s owner, is very friendly and sometimes brings out new non-menu items for me try.  His sister is vegetarian, so I’ve been told to rest easy that the vegetarian dishes really are (ie. no fish sauce).

If anyone’s ever out my way during the workweek and wants to meet up for lunch, let me know.  It’s not hard to convince me to make a trip there.

Now we all know about the farce that is non-dairy creamer, right?  For whatever reason, non-dairy creamer is allowed to contain, um, dairy.  Makes total sense.  Something silly about removing the fat and then, voila, it’s no longer dairy.  Uh-huh.

Well, The Consumerist has uncovered the ingredients that are part of Jamba Juice’s proprietary “non-dairy” formula:

Water, Grade A Nonfat Dried Milk, Grade A Whey, Grade A Whey Protein Concentrate, Splenda, Sodium Alginate, Maltodextrin, Pectin, Carrageenan, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Natural Flavor, Annatto.

Feel free to contact Jamba Juice and let them know that this ain’t cool.

Vegetarian House
22 NW Fourth Ave, Portland, OR (Chinatown)

During my recent trip to Portland, I had planned one evening to visit the Nova Queen Cafe. Before I left the hotel, I noticed that there were almost no references on the web to this restaurant except for Citysearch.com. I figured this wasn’t a good sign and, sure enough, the restaurant didn’t even exist (and if it did, it was a long time ago). So, I wandered around a bit, looking for another place to have dinner. I saw the gates to Chinatown and figured, “There’s gotta be something in there.” Indeed, the second restaurant I stumbled upon was Vegetarian House.

To start, I ordered some fried veggie shrimp. The breading was nice and while the shrimp were hot, they were kind of crunchy, like they weren’t cooked all the way through or thawed completely before frying. They tasted OK, but I’ve had better. I had some leftover and microwaved them the next day; they actually tasted better then.

For my main course, I ordered lemon glazed chicken. The glaze was so thick, it looked like a giant had sneezed on the chicken, but it actually tasted really good. It was one of those “it tastes better than it looks” moments. The chicken’s texture was a little spongier than other faux chicken I’ve had in restaurants, so I asked if they made it there. They used a prepared chicken, so I guess it’s just different than I’ve had before. I was told by the waitress, though, that they also have a chicken that’s “shaped like a chicken” and that that one has whey in it (though the owner said everything is vegan)… so, just ask before you order. None of the products have egg, so you just need to check on possible dairy.

The following day, a friend and I headed to have lunch at Tao of Tea, but decided against it when we were told we first had to pay $7 each for admission to the garden before getting food. We wound back up at the Vegetarian House where we had the buffet. It was slightly above average, with some tofu, fake beef, fried rice, and other Chinese buffet staples.

So, while the Vegetarian House isn’t the best place I’ve ever eaten, it was perfectly adequate. And two days in a row, it was in the right place at the right time.

Last night my wife and I ordered out for Chinese food. It’s not exactly a huge event, but considering it’s probably the first time in eight years that we’ve ordered out for Chinese, it felt pretty significant. Neither of us really care for most of what passes for Chinese food around here, especially when there are so many good Vietnamese and Thai places around. But, a new restaurant had opened and we were feeling lazy, so we gave it a shot.

The good part: they were happy to make sweet and sour tofu for Huyen even though it wasn’t explicitly on the menu. The not-so-good part: instead of giving me the vegetable/bean curd lettuce wrap that I ordered, they gave me Kung Pao Chicken. Yes, with real chicken. And I ate a piece.

Granted it was only the tiniest of pieces, about half the size of a pea, but I still felt all gaggy when my wife said definitively, “This is chicken.”

And this is the curse of mock meats — they’ve gotten so good, so convincing, that a trusting vegetarian may find themselves eating away at something they thing is just a really good seitan/soy imitation when, indeed, it’s flesh. It definitely makes me wary of ordering anything even semi-meatlike from any place that also serves the real thing.

I returned the chicken and got the proper food in return. Not much of an apology, though, just a “sorry for the trouble.” But this wasn’t a “you gave me the wrong sauce” problem, it was a “you gave me dead animal” problem. We won’t be ordering from there again (I’m forgiving of the occasional mistake made by my regular haunts but when it happens during my first visit, there’s no second chance). It’s kind of a shame because the food wasn’t totally awful.

Anyone else ever run into this problem? How did the restaurant resolve it?

I rarely eat in chain restaurants. Not just because the food is usually lame and inventive, but because I prefer to give my money to small, local businesses battling against the Evil Chains. But every so often, I have to eat a chain. Whether it’s because I’m eating out with friends or co-workers, it’s unavoidable. The best I can hope for is that we don’t wind up at Sweetwater Tavern (where, as one former co-worker put it, the only thing vegetarian there is the napkins).

Romano’s Macaroni Grill is one place I end up a few times a year. And, truth be told, it’s not that bad. Their peasant bread loaf (vegan!) is hella tasty and they actually offer up a decent selection of pastas, including whole wheat penne. A co-worker, though, told me that when he asked the local Macaroni Grill what was vegan, he was told that nothing was and that even the capellini pomodoro (basically pasta with fresh tomatoes) wasn’t vegan because they used chicken stock. This made me wonder… chicken stock in what part of the process? I don’t get it.

So, I e-mailed corporate to confirm that the local manager was just a dimwit and to get a full rundown of their vegan options. Here’s a trimmed version of their response (I took out the lacto-ovo stuff and just left in the vegan stuff):

October 18, 2005

Dear Mr. MacMichael,

Thank you very much for taking the time to send us an email and for your interest in Macaroni Grill. We do have several options available for vegetarians. Since there is no single vegetarian eating pattern, our company dietitian has compiled the list below of suggested menu options for various levels of vegetarian diets. Please be aware that none of our food items are certified vegetarian, however.

We hope that you will find the list below helpful during your next visit to our restaurant. If an item you desire does not appear on the list below, please keep in mind that our chefs will gladly try to accommodate your special dietary needs by custom-preparing a meal using any ingredients that we have available in our kitchen. Prior to placing your order, we strongly suggest that you speak with one of our managers about your dietary needs as they are happy to assist you with menu recommendations and to ensure that special attention is given to the preparation of your meal. Please be aware that many of our recipes contain meat, fish, egg and dairy products and normal kitchen operations involve the sharing of cooking and preparation areas, including common fryer oil. Therefore, it is possible for any of our food items to come into contact with animal products. Additionally, please be aware that our tomato sauce contains butter.

Based on our supplier ingredient information, the menu items you may consider are as follows:

Suggested Menu Options for Vegans (contain no meat, dairy or egg):

• Tomato Bruschetta - order with No Cheese
• House or Garden Salad - order with No Cheese or Croutons
• Salad Dressings: Balsamic Vinaigrette, Italian, Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette
• Capellini Pomodoro - available through February 2006
• Penne Arrabiatta - order with No Cheese; available through February 2006
• Any Pasta with Garlic and Oil

Should you have any additional concerns or inquiries regarding our menu items, please contact Melinda Safir in our food and beverage quality assurance department at 972/980-9917 or email her at Melinda.safir@brinker.com

Macaroni Grill
Guest Relations

Not bad. Though, while I’ve resigned myself to “regular” restaurants sharing preparation space, I am a bit bothered by the part that reads “including common fryer oil.” It’s unclear as to how much this would affect the items being ordered by vegans.

It should also be noted that since all of their pasta is vegan (it’s probably a safe bet that most chain pasta doesn’t contain egg since generally only fresh pasta does), they have a “build-your-own” option that lets you choose the vegetables and sauces to include. There are, indeed, quite a few vegan options at the Macaroni Grill.

Especially if they don’t use chicken stock in making their pasta.

I don’t eat at chain restaurants often. Once every few months, I’ll get something from Panera. If I’m on the road at 10pm and have no other choices, I’ll suck it up at go to a Subway. But, generally, I’ll stay away from chain food because nine times out of ten it sucks. And I’m not just talking from a vegan perspective, but from an overall perspective. There are those times, though, where it’s unavoidable, usually when eating out with a group, especially since I tend to avoid voicing my opinion too loudly when it comes to such things as deciding where to eat. Such was the case this weekend when I ate at IHOP.

Now, IHOP. It’s the International House of Pancakes. And while pancakes are fine for lacto-ovos, they ain’t kosher for vegans (well, they can be, but you know they’re not at IHOP). Still, though, I figured they’d have a few vegan options, even if I had to opt for a plate of fresh fruit.

Let me warn vegans even thinking for a second about eating there: IHOP does not have any fresh fruit. The closest thing they have is “fruit compote,” essentially “mushy fruit in heavy syrup.”

So, I had to made due with apple juice, fruit compote, and watery-grits-hold-the-butter-please (which they didn’t do the first time around). What a crappy meal.

Dearest IHOP, thanks for nothing, jerks. Would it kill you to have some fresh fruit?

Here’s the next in the series of very-late restaurant reviews from our trip to New York last month. I’m determined to get them all done before we go there again.

After we got our free tickets for the Upright Citizens Brigade show, we stopped by Home on 8th to grab a couple of appetizers for a snack before the show. The restaurant serves up standard Asian fare in a nice atmosphere, but also pimps a hefty vegetarian offering. The mock crispy chicken drumsticks caught Huyen’s eye, so we ordered one of them as well as a citrus beef skewer along with some green tea. They were short on wait staff (one waiter for the whole place) and, unfortunately, it showed. Our green teas seemed to be sweetened with honey, even though we specifically asked for no honey, which made them barely drinkable (have I mentioned recently that putting sweetener in your green tea is heresy?). Then, we were told that they had just run out of the drumsticks. Indeed, we saw another table get served the very last ones. So, we opted for some super-tiny spring rolls in addition to our beef skewer.

The skewer’s seasonings and seitan texture was just right while the spring rolls were fine, but unremarkable. The portions were small, but appropriate for appetizers.

For a quick stop in, we were pleased enough, though we’d really like to try that crispy chicken sometime…

Raw foodism stresses that for the most benefit from food, it should not be heated above a certain temperature (usually about 110 degrees) because that kills off nutrients and beneficial enzymes that aid in digestion. Whether that’s all true or not, I’m skeptical, but I’ve never had any real interest in raw foodism because it doesn’t provide any ethical benefits over veganism. That said, though, I’ve always been curious about raw food from a culinary perspective. Five years ago “raw food” meant crunchy broccoli to me. But now, I see restaurants and cookbooks sprouting up (har!) and I’ve gotten curious about what an experienced raw chef can do armed with only a dehydrator and food processor.

When we were in New York last week, we decided to go to one of New York’s several raw restaurants to get the full raw experience. Our attempt to visit one of Quintessence’s branches was foiled when we saw it had closed. The next night we were in the Union Square area and decided to stop by Pure Food and Wine, a raw food restaurant started by two formerly omnivorous chefs who were inspired after a visit to the aforementioned Quintessence. When we walked in, we felt a bit out of place… it feels like a very trendy restaurant (definitely not our normal scene). But, we figured, screw it… there were people there more dressed-down than us, so we were seated without any stares from fellow patrons.

Because Pure Food and Wine isn’t exactly a “cheap” restaurant, Huyen and I decided to split an appetizer, get separate entrees, split a dessert, and forego wine. It was a tough choice because the menu had some really outstanding sounding dishes. We settled on:

• Appetizer: Creamy Cauliflower Samosas with Banana Tamarind Sauce, mango chutney, Asian water spinach, and sake
• Entrees: Biryani and Coconut Curried Vegetables with cardamom and coriander spiced “rice” and hunza raisins and Zucchini and Golden Tomato Lasagna with Basil-Pistachio Pesto, sun-dried tomato sauce, and pignoli ricotta
• Dessert: Dark Chocolate Ganache Tart with black mint ice cream

The cauliflower samosas were made with an almost rice-paper-like wrapper that was just the right consistency (not too hard, not too most). The filling was absolutely delicious, with complex flavors rivaling the tastiest samosas I’ve ever eaten. Huyen’s eyes almost popped out of her head. She went from “notably skeptical” to “amazed” in one course. We couldn’t wait to try the rest.

Both entrees matched the samosas in terms of quality. The biryani was flavorful and a tad spicy without being hot. The balance of spices was just perfect and the textures were much more varied than the phrase “raw food” would have you expect. I savored every bite of the lasagna dish. The thinly sliced zucchini was a nice replacement for the standard pasta slices. The tomatoes were wonderfully fresh and flavorful, even in spring, and the pignoli (pine nut) ricotta was creamy, only slightly nutty, and a perfect compliment to the sun-dried tomato sauce. Needless to say that the pesto (a food that’s traditionally served raw) was flawless, given a nice twist by the use of pistachios.

At this point, we decided that if we lived in New York, we might go broke from going to Pure Food and Wine too frequently, since we’d surely bring every out-of-town friend there during their visit. But to be fully convinced, we had to try their dessert. After all, how could one make a chocolate ganache tart and a raw ice cream that were anywhere near as good as their gourmet baked counterparts?

Our minds were blown once again. The tart, made using Rapunzel cocoa, was rich and delicious. The small dollop of mint ice cream made from coconut beans and cashews had only a slight nutty flavor and was better than most processed vegan ice creams I’ve tried, let alone raw ice creams. A perfect finish to a perfect meal.

Seriously, this meal was wonderful from beginning to end. While our hostess scared us with her supermodel appearance and attire, our waitress couldn’t have been friendlier or more responsive to our questions. Huyen and I both left absolutely satiated and believers that raw food can be every bit the culinary experience any other gourmet cuisine can be.

Now, Pure Food and Wine ain’t exactly cheap. But, we cited this restaurant as the reason that we got an inexpensive hotel room: money’s better spent on food than on where you spend your unconscious hours. For the one appetizer, two entrees, and dessert, the total came to $94 after tip. We agreed as we headed out the door, it was worth every cent.

One criticism must be leveled, though: Pure Food and Wine isn’t 100% raw. Huyen complained that their bathroom sink’s cold water faucet didn’t work, so she had to deal with scorching hot water to wash her hands… water that was clearly above raw food’s upper-limit of 110 degrees. (Ba-dum-dum… I’ll be here all week, folks! Try the Brazil Nut Crusted Mushrooms!)

This is annoying: Subway’s Vegetarian & Seafood page features two seafood sandwiches, one vegetarian sandwich, and the “Cold Cut Combo” (sliced turkey bologna, turkey ham and turkey salami with your choice of vegetables, condiments, etc. served on freshly baked bread). It’s annoying enough that they lump vegetarian with seafood, but then adding a “Cold Cut Combo” that has nothing to do with anything (it’s a “local special”) on the same page really muddles things up.

And where the heck is the VeggieMax that the used to offer? It’s now called the Veggie Patty, but I can’t seem to find it on their web site. I visited a Subway the other night for the first time in well over a year (I instated a personal boycott when they were in bed with Atkins) and they couldn’t tell me what was in the Veggie Patty because they hadn’t saved any of the boxes the patties are shipped in. They literally showed me the patty to show me to see what was in it. “There are carrots in there, I think,” they told me. I ended up having their Veggie Delite with mustard, sans cheese.

To find anything remotely helpful for vegans, you’ve got to go to their “Ingredient Information for People with Food Allergies” PDF. The good news: all their bread is vegan, except for the ones whose names obviously indicate otherwise (”Italian Herbs and Cheese,” “Monterey Cheddar,” and “Parmesan Oregano”). Some sites I’ve seen have said that the wheat bread has honey added to it… not sure, though, since that’s not shown on the allergin chart. It gets a little trickier with their condoments and dressings, as the only vegan choices there are the yellow and brown mustard, oil and vinegar, and sweet onion sauce.

Subway seriously needs to get some faux meats in the mix. And a vegan saffron aioli. Hey, I can dream, right?

Just got word in the comments of this entry from Cynthia that one of my favorite restaurants, the Singapore Vegetarian Restaurant in Cherry Hill, NJ is closing this weekend. I’m assuming it has to do with the simple case of “not enough business.” Every time I ate there, the place was almost completely empty. When I was there a year ago with my parents, the owner told me that they were considering adding some meat-based dishes to the menu in an attempt to drum up business. Guess it didn’t work.

So, I’m bummed. But my parents are coming in town this weekend and I tried to convince my mom to pick up some of their great yam-based shrimp one last time on their way down.

Update: Cynthia has given me some new information on the closing:

They will be closing for good this Sunday, January 16. However, the good news is that they are not closing due to lack of business. I don’t know if you know this, but there are 2 Singapore restaurants - the one in Cherry Hill, and another in China Town in Philly. Both are run by one family, and both locations require a lot of work. They’ve decided to close this branch, so they can dedicate all their efforts to the one in China Town. Apparently the problem isn’t too little business - but too much!

 

Though this is a great relief to me (i also thought they were closing for lack of business), my friends and i are still heartbroken. This is the second vegan restaurant to close in Cherry Hill in 2 years (there was another called Evergreen that was really nice, but it was no Singapore), and it just stinks that the final great vegan local for us is going to be across the bridge. Why must Philly get everything wonderful! They already have Kingdom of Vegetarians, sheesh!

…

Next time you are in Cherry Hill, I’d reccommend the trip to the Singapore in China Town though. It is really nice, and if the owner is there (which he usually is) he almost always brings extra food to the tables! Also, he said that with the extra time, his family will be able to come up with new dishes, which is pretty exciting!

I live in Northern Virginia, but don’t really get into DC very often. And when I do, I don’t often have time to visit any of the vegetarian restaurants in the city (though I have been to the excellent Soul Vegetarian a few times). A couple of weeks ago, though, I was fortunate enough to finally be able to stop by Sticky Fingers Bakery, a small vegan bakery just north of Dupont Circle.

I tried out a number of their goodies, including a fresh oatmeal-raisin cookie (tasty!), a half-price day-old cookie (pretty hard, but hey, half price), their creme-between-oatmeal cookies Cowvin Cookie (absolutely outstanding and sweet enough to make your teeth hurt), a muffin (great for breakfast the next day), and their soft serve ice cream (mmm… vegan soft serve). Interestingly, all that only came to $11. Eleven bucks for several days of sugary goodness? Not bad.

All of Sticky Fingers’ foods are 100% vegan and made with non-hydrogenated oils. Sweetening comes primarily from evaporated cane juice.

If you’re in the DC area, do yourself a favor and take the Metro to Dupont Circle, walk north to 1904 18th St NW, and get yourself some sweets. It’s well worth the trip.

(Sticky Fingers also does mail order for many of their items.)

Red Bamboo
140 W 4th St / New York, NY
Asian/Soul Food fusion (vegetarian, mostly vegan)

Seriously… “Asian/Soul Food Fusion?” But let me tell you: it works.

Red Bamboo was started by the son of the owner of Vegetarian Paradise just down the block (a restaurant that is the favorite of reggae singer Tony Rebel when he’s in town). Their menu is heavy on the mock meat, including many variations of mock fish dishes ranging from Cajun Fried Shrimp to Maryland Fried Scallops.

Before heading to Red Bamboo, I stopped by Moo Shoes, where I was given a very explicit recommendation: “Have the chicken parmesan. And, trust me, don’t skip dessert.”

The chicken parmesan lunch platter ($7.95) gives you a number of appetizer options. I went with the Jerk Spiced Seitan on a skewer. Very, very tasty with just enough spice to deliver a kick but avoid the runny-nose syndrome I get with ultra-spicy foods. The main course, though, was the piece de resistance.

Holy freaking crap.

Allow me to reiterate, slightly louder: HOLY FREAKING CRAP.

Perhaps one of the most “real” tasting mock meat dishes I’ve ever had, this chicken had the consistency and flavor of the best white meat chicken I’d ever eaten. The sauce was delicious and the parmesan and mozzarella cheeses (both vegan, though you can also get them in dairy and soy-cheese-with-casein versions… but trust me, you don’t need to) were melty and flavorful. I literally wimpered as I took the first bite. It was that good.

I had a cranberry-orange juice to drink, which was fine.

After I finished the main part of my meal, I was ready for dessert. After all, I was told not to skip it by the MooShoes girl. I had to order it, right? Unfortunately, their cakes had not yet arrived for the day, so I was stuck with the soy ice cream. But, it was really good soy ice cream. I had the mint chocolate chip—which was actually green!—and definitely hit the spot. The “one scoop” serving was actually closer to three scoops.

As I finished off my ice cream, the cakes were delivered. I started drooling even though my stomach was definitely full. So, I ordered a piece of Oreo Cheesecake (vegan, of course) to go and split it the following night with Huyen. Ain’t I nice?

The cheesecake was damn fine and right up there with the one I had from the Chicago Diner. Perfection.

As if you couldn’t guess, I highly recommend Red Bamboo. Next visit to New York, I’m going to go back and try out some of their fake fish. And another dessert, of course.

I’m going to be in the Big Apple next week for a few days. Can I tell you that I’m seriously excited? This is my first time in NY in four years, which is entirely too long between visits. While I’m pretty booked up for the trip and while I do have a pretty good idea of where I’d like to eat, can anyone suggest any veggie places in New York that I’ve got to try?

I may also have time for a small meetup, if anyone’s interested.

(As a side note, if you’re into reggae, you’ll definitely want to come to B.B. King’s on Monday the 15th. Or, if you’ve got some extra dough, the Nassau Coliseum on the 14th.)

I had a great trip to Seattle last week. Lots of good people and good food.

I mentioned Cyber-Dogs in the previous entry, but another place I enjoyed was the (not-fully-vegetarian) Ballet. Here’s my review, with more reviews on the way.

I’ve long said that while there are amazing meatless sausages and hamburgers and chicken and on and on and on, all of the meatless hot dogs I’ve tasted—and I’ve tried all the major brands—have fallen short of the real things in terms of taste and texture. And most of them have a funny smell, too. I started to think that there was no such thing as a really good veggie hot dog.

I’m happy to report I was wrong. Unfortunately, I had to come to Seattle to find that out.

After getting into town last night at about 8:30, I called over to Cyber-Dogs, located just three blocks from where I’m staying. I figured they might be closing soon if there weren’t already. Fortuantely, they’re open until midnight every night, so I wandered over there for a second dinner (the one on the plane wasn’t terribly satisfying).

On a recommendation from an employee, I ordered the El Bandido with chili, vegan cheese, and avocado on a 7-grain roll. Let me tell you, folks: this hot dog was some good eats. The dog itself wasn’t an uncomfortable chewy texture and didn’t have the funny aftertaste. It was how I remember hot dogs. The chili was also quite good and piled high on the dog and it all equaled up to one heck of a meal.

On my way out, I chatted with the awesome Russian woman (Tania?) who runs the joint. She convinced me to buy a vegan cookie she had made (damn fine!) and told me about her hope to open up a bakery in Rosslyn that sells a wider variety of vegan baked goods.

Be sure to schedule a visit if you’re in the area. It’s well worth it (and you get 20 minutes of computer time for free if you order some food).

This week’s “Ask Tom” (that’s Tom Sietsema, restaurant critic) feature in the Washington Post has an interesting question with regards to how he rates restaurants and how a particular restaurant’s rating is affected by their willingness and ability to deal with vegetarian requests.

Washington, D.C.: Hey Tom: Do you ever include a vegetarian companion, or request a veggy option, while reviewing a restaurant? It seems to me that the way a chef deals with a vegetarian customer can be a good, shorthand way to distinguish good kitchens from truly great ones. Many very expensive places can muster only some variation of pasta primavera or a mix of their side dishes for the evening. Truly great places (I’m remembering specific meals at The Inn, Elysium, La Grenouille in NYC) see it as a challenge and often devise something so wonderful that other diners leave wishing they had ordered a veggy option. Should a kitchen get the coveted 4th star if they lack the flexibility and imagination to cook something amazing without meat or fish?

Tom Sietsema: I eat from the full range of a restaurant’s menu, so if there are vegetarian options available, chances are, I’ll try them. All the restaurants that I consider to be worthy of four stars can do amazing things without meat or fish.

“All the restaurants that I consider to be worthy of four stars can do amazing things without meat or fish.” I like that.

The Times-Union (Albany, NY) has quite a story titled “The Moosewood effect that covers Moosewood Restaurant’s history and philosophy. For related reading, see Vegetarian Times’ April 2003 feature about Moosewood’s 30th Anniversary (lots of good recipes and pictures are included in the VT article).

The Times-Union article mentions Moosewood’s new book Moosewood Restaurant Celebrates: Festive Meals for Holidays and Special Occasions, due out on September 23, which looks to be another good addition to the Moosewood catalog.

The Los Angeles Times ran a nice piece a few weeks back titled “Vegan cuisine gets innovative and delicious spin,” that discusses how chefs are more in tune with vegan cooking with fresh ingredients.

Vegan cuisine has adopted a more progressive attitude. Making pretend “lamb chops” or using vegetable ingredients to mimic other animal-based foods is passe. Chefs are maximizing fresh produce with simple dressings and purees, and creating beautiful plates of artfully combined ingredients. Eric Tucker at Millennium in San Francisco has helped make vegan home cooking more interesting, too.

Recipes for “Roasted Beets Napoleon with Cumin, Heirloom Tomatoes, and Avocado,” “Sushi-Rice Risotto in Tomato Cups with Black Olive Soy Sauce,” and “Caramelized Fig Cake with Lemon Anglaise.”

I (finally) scanned in the menu for Singapore Vegetarian Restaurant and added it to my original post. Take a look and tell me you’re not feeling hungry all of a sudden…

After visiting my family in New Jersey on Father’s Day weekend, my wife and I stopped off at Singapore Vegetarian Restaurant in Cherry Hill, NJ (they also have a Philadelphia location). I ate there about nine months earlier and was dying to order some more of their faux shrimp. After my second visit, I can say that Singapore is a simply amazing restaurant and my wife, who isn’t vegetarian, agrees.

Singapore serves up a kosher vegan menu that can only be described as “extensive.” Do this: imagine a full service Chinese restaurant that has a couple hundred options on their menu… beef, pork, chicken, seafood. Now take that menu and you know what they serve at Singapore. Over 150 vegetarian options are offered including Kung Pao Chicken, Lychee Crispy Duck, Pork Ribs, Sizzling Seafood Delight, Beef with Satay Sauce, and Roast Pork with Black Bean Sauce.

During my first visit, I had pineapple chicken and split a plate of shrimp with a friend. The chicken was very good, but the shrimp were unbelievable. The “meat” slightly resembled shrimp, looking a little more like crab meat, and though the taste was close to shrimp it wasn’t exactly the same. But you know what: it tasted a hell of a lot better than I remember shrimp tasting. Apparently, the fake shrimp are made from a combination of tofu, seitan, honiaku (?), potato, carrot, and yam, and despite how weird that sounds, you’d be totally blown away by these delights.

This time around, I ordered the Golden Lion’s Head lunch special with miso soup. I didn’t quite know what to expect from the Golden Lion’s Head, but it sounded so good: golden mushrooms, tofu, five spice bean curd and tofu skin, and a Peking ginger sauce. Man oh man… good stuff. The sauce wasn’t too thick, like some Chinese sauces tend to be…. a wonderful texture and complex blend of flavors. My wife had the Seafood Combination lunch special (which included the shrimp!) and shark fin soup. We ended up ordering another plate of shrimp to go and it was a good addition to our lunches over the next few days.

If you’re travelling route 295 in New Jersey, I encourage you to take exit 32 and stop by Singapore for an excellent meal. They don’t have a web site (this one doesn’t really count), so here’s some information from their menu:

Singapore Kosher Vegetarian Restaurant, located in The Centrum Shoppes, 219-H Berlin Rd, Cherry Hill, NJ 08034 (856-795-0188). They’re open every day except Tuesday. Their Philadelphia location is at 1006 Race Street (215-922-3288).

And here are some scans of the menu:

• Cover
• Page 1
• Page 2
• Page 3
• Page 4
• Page 5

Chefs Bite Back: In Some Cases, the Customer Isn’t Always Right

This Washington Post article discusses how some chefs won’t change their dishes at the request of a patron, whether it’s for dietary reasons or simple preference. Though the article doesn’t mention vegetarians, this is something that we deal with anytime we’re eating out at a non-veggie restaurant.

I’m of the mindset that if you’re extremely picky (close-minded) about your food and how it’s served, you shouldn’t be eating at a restaurant. Especially nice ones. If you have well-trained chefs, trust their taste and try what they has to offer. At the same time, I also believe that chefs should have a little bit of flexibility, when it’s reasonable.

For instance, if a dish comes with a meat side, then it’s not unreasonable for a vegetarian patron to request a vegetable side in its place. It won’t ruin a dish’s artistic integrity, it’ll please the patron, and it has the added benefit of saving the restaurant money (a bowl of lightly seasoned steamed broccoli will be cheaper than almost any meat-centric side).

As vegetarians, though, I think we need to be conscious of how we come off when we visit a restaurant. It’s one thing to ask whether a particular dish is cooked with chicken broth, it’s quite another to ask a chef to replace the chicken broth with vegetable broth, leave out the Worcestershire sauce, and add tofu in place of chicken chunks. I also don’t think it’s reasonable to ask that your meal be cooked on a surface separate from where meat is cooked… again, if you’re worried so much about personal purity or unavoidable traces, you probably shouldn’t be eating at a restaurant that serves meat. Of course, that’s also a compelling argument for supporting vegetarian restaurants… these things aren’t nearly as much of an issue.

Yes, restaurants and businesses in general strive to be customer-centric. However, visits to restaurants are more enjoyable when the customers themselves aren’t too customer-centric. As vegetarians, we’re automatically labeled by many as a hassle not worth dealing with (remember this article where chef Anthony Bourdain referred to vegans as “a persistent irritant to any chef worth a damn”?). It’s in our best interest to be friendly—not confrontational—and flexible without compromising our beliefs.

My wife and I just got back from Chicago, where we were for Paul and Jeani’s wedding. I was itching to try out some new veggie restaurants in the Windy City, and Huyen indulged me.

One night, we made a trip to the Chicago Diner on North Halstead. I’ve gotta say: if I lived anywhere within driving distance, I’d spend entirely too much time and money there. With some incredible diner-type fare and highly respected vegan desserts, it looks like it’d be hard to go wrong with anything on the menu. The seitan cheesesteak I ordered was quite good, though I would have gone a little lighter on the seitan and a little heavier on the soy cheese (it’s now casein-free soy cheese, though regular dairy cheddar cheese is also offered). Huyen enjoyed her salad, though the baked tofu was a bit bland. Where the Chicago Diner really shines, though, is with their desserts. When Veg Blog visitors and meat-eating friends raved about their vegan cakes, I had to satisfy my own curiosity. The Diner had just sold out of their Cookies and Cream cake, so I settled for my second choice: chocolate chip tofu cheesecake.

Oh. My. God.

Let me tell you: as a big fan of cheescake, I was worried this would be dry and bland like the tofu-based pumpkin pie I tried at another veggie restaurant. That wasn’t the case at all with the Diner’s cheesecake: it was beyond good. It absolutely tasted like the best cheesecake I ever had and had no “funny” taste or dry texture whatsoever. I’m convinced that the most hardcore dairy lover wouldn’t even realize the cheesecake was vegan. The only thing I wish now is that I had sprung for a whole cake rather than just a slice. I’m not sure if their cookbook has a recipe for it, but I’m willing to buy a copy to find out.

Needless to say, next time I make it to Chi-town, the Diner is a guaranteed repeat visit.

While leafing through the excellent debut issue of Herbivore Magazine and saw an ad for a vegan bed and breakfast that was—gasp!—in central Virginia (about three hours from where I live) called The White Pig. Everything looks excellent, from the accomodations to the web site down to the food.

Coincidentally, today the Washington Post featured The Sweet Thyme Inn, a vegan B&B in West Virginia.

Most bed and breakfasts are more than happy to accomodate vegetarians and vegans, but it’s pretty rare to come across ones that incorporate a vegan lifestyle into the bed and breakfast culture.

I’ll be heading to Chicago in May with my wife for a certain somebody’s wedding, and as with any visit to a new town, I like to plan ahead. One of the most enjoyable parts of planning a trip is looking at what restaurants are available and regular people’s opinions on them. Today, via , I stumbled upon Vegan in Chicago which covers not only strictly vegetarian restaurants in Chicago and the surrounding suburbs, but eateries that serve very good vegan dishes as part of a “regular” menu. It looks to be nice and thorough and I can’t wait to try some of these places out.

Any favorites among Chicago-based readers that you can share?

Update: Marla of Vegan Street pointed me towards their Vegan Dining in Chicago feature, whichis chock full of reviews of veggie-only restaurants. Thanks, Marla!

Friday night, Alex took me to a vegan restaurant I had read about before, but had never visited: Soul Vegetarian on Georgia Ave in DC (not far from Howard University). With 17 locations around the world (including Israel, Ghana, St. Croix, and England), Soul Vegetarian is the largest vegetarian restaurant chain in the world and is based on the diet of the African Hebrew Israelites of Jerusalem.

The menu offers a variety of meat-substitute dishes, vegetables, soy shakes, and desserts. I had the steak and cheese (wheat protein with sauteed peppers, onions, and soy cheese on a pita), sides of collard greens and broccoli with a peanut butter soy shake. The peanut butter shake may have been a mistake, but the sandwich and sides made up for it. I was totally filled, which is kind of a shame because I would have liked to try one of their desserts. Alex is a big fan of their macaroni and cheese and their gyro, which comes complete with vegan tzatziki sauce.

Other locations in the United States include Cleveland Heights, Chicago, and Atlanta.

I recently subscribed to the excellent Satya Magazine, a New York-based publication that focuses on “vegetarianism, envrionmentalism, animal advocacy, and social justice.” I won’t go into too much detail about the magazine now (I’ll save that for another entry), but I found a mention of a restaurant in New York City that sounds like absolute heaven: the Veg-City Diner.

This may be the first all-vegetarian diner (and very vegan friendly) diner ever. And it’s not just a typical vegetarian resturant wrapped in a Silver Diner shell, but an actual New York City diner that was taken over and still serves “diner food.” I wondered not long ago why no one had created a good faux Philly Cheesesteak yet… well, they have and you can get it at the diner. Check out their menu: “Suna Melt” (a faux tuna melt, obviously), meat loaf, Phony Island Corn Dog, Virginia Baked Sham, vegan pancakes, milkshakes (with soy milkshakes as an option)… sounds incredible! While many of the foods aren’t vegan-safe, the menu is well-marked and apparently the waitstaff is knowledgable about the food they serve.

You can see a May 2001 review of the diner by Satya Magazine. Given my obsession with diners, there’s no doubt this will be my first stop during my next trip to NYC.

In March, Burger King debuted the BK Veggie, a vegan burger served on a nearly-vegan bun (there are trace amounts of dairy). Burger King promised that the burger would be microwaved by request for those that didn’t want their burger grilled with the meat burgers and that the low-fat mayonnaise could be left off. It was the first move by a national fast food chain (other than Subway) to offer a healthier, vegetarian product for their customers.

A day or two after the burger debuted, I stopped by a Burger King for the first time in years to show my support and do my duty as a prolific (hah!) vegetarian web site host. I had read on Vegan.com that some people had trouble getting their burgers microwaved, being downright refused by some Burger King employees, so I crossed my fingers when I placed my order. “A BK veggie with no mayo, and could you microwave that instead of grilling it?” There was a look of confusion on the employee’s face as we struggled back-and-forth to communicate. I was served my burger and was pleased to see that there was no mayo. The burger itself was good, but I noticed that it had grillmarks on it. I figured that the burgers shipped that way, with faux-grill marks to make it look more authentic. I was wrong: Erik Marcus told me that his BK Veggie burgers had no grill marks. Apparently, I received a burger that was grilled and then microwaved. Plus, I found out a month later that the Burger King fries, which used to be vegetarian-safe, now contain chicken flavoring.

Not exactly a successful first outing.

Last weekend, though, I gave it another shot. My wife and I were on the road past 11pm and were looking for some food. Burger King was the only place open at any of the rest stops, so I decided to give the BK Veggie another shot, figuring that a few months after the product launched, employees would be well-versed in its preparation. This time around, they microwaved it (no grill marks!), as I requested, but they fumbled by putting mayo on, despite my request otherwise. I took my burger back up to the counter and they redid it for me but, unfortunately, simply threw away the other burger. To top it off, the employee had no idea how long to microwave the burger. The discussion I heard in the back went like this: “He wants it microwaved instead of on the grill.” “Microwaved? How long do you microwave one of these things?” “5 minutes, I guess.” “5 minutes!? Are you kidding me?” I hoped that they’d figure it out—apparently one minute will do the job—but they didn’t: the burger was an overheated hockey puck.

While I haven’t exactly had a lot of success with my own ordering of the BK Veggie, I still support the idea of a veggie burger at fast food restaurants and I like the fact that Burger King continues to prominently advertise their BK Veggie alongside their other burgers. McDonald’s now offers a vegan burger on a whole wheat bun in Canada, and hopefully they will follow Burger King’s lead in making a vegetarian option available to their American customers as well.

I eat fast food extremely rarely, but I think that tasty vegetarian options at national fast food spots can do only good in advancing the cause of healthier eating and vegetarianism. Lord knows we’d have a healthier country if everyone ordered a BK Veggie instead of a Double Whopper with Cheese.

Related Links

BK Veggie Nutritional Info:
with low-fat mayo
without mayo
(for comparison: a Double Whopper with the works)
Some nutritional comparisons to blow your mind.

Burger King Launches First-ever Veggie Burger with the Great Taste of Flame-broiling
BK’s press release.

My First BK Veggie
Vegan.com’s Erik Marcus discusses the surreal experience of his first meal at a fast food restaurant in 15 years, and more specifically, his thoughts on the BK Veggie burger.

Vegetarians Have It Our Way at Burger King
PETA’s promotion of the BK Veggie.

Last night, Huyen and I went to Eden Center in Falls Church, Virginia, a strip mall full of Vietnamese restaurants, grocery stores, jewelery stores, music and video stores, and more. It used to be known as “Little Saigon” and, indeed, Vietnamese come from long distances to visit the center. Think Chinatown for the Vietnamese.

Huyen is Vietnamese and we used to live close to the Eden Center, and it’s one of the things we’ve missed most about moving away from Falls Church. However, since we were in DC yesterday to volunteer for the end of the Cherry Blossom Festival, we decided to go to Eden for dinner.

We’d been to the Four Sisters Restaurant a number of times and the pho places don’t offer up vegetarian versions of their tasty beef soup, unfortunately, so we decided to try out one of the smaller restaurants with less visibility than some of the bigger eateries at Eden. We settled on Hung Long (you in the back, stop your snickering!). When we were seated, I was bit dismayed that their menu was entirely meat and seafood dishes with nary a single vegetarian option on the menu. However, I remembered hearing that almost any ethnic restaurant—Asian ones, in particular—will make vegetarian dishes on request. Sure enough, they were willing to.

I asked for a pretty straightforward dish that I usually order at other Vietnamese restaurants: rice with cooked vegetables and tofu. I also asked that they not use fish sauce (”Khong nuoc mam” in case you get a waiter that doesn’t speak good English), since fish sauce is often used in Southeast Asian dishes, including vegetarian ones. Don’t worry, though—a substitute can be made very easily and you don’t lose any of the flavor.

A side note… a couple of weeks ago I went to a Thai restaurant and ordered Vegetarian Pad Thai without the fish sauce. They brought me Pad Thai with no fish sauce, sure enough, but it had three giant shrimp sitting on top. They apologized profusely and fixed the mistake.

Anyway, back to last night’s dinner. The waiter nodded politely and said the vegetarian dish would be no problem.

A few minutes later, he brought out my dinner and it looked fabulous: rice on the side with broccoli, mushrooms, carrots, and small, perfectly fried chunks of tofu covered in a light-tasting soy sauce. It tasted just as good as it looked and I couldn’t believe that they wouldn’t offer this on their menu alongside their meat and seafood dishes. They charged me $6, the same price as a corresponding meat dish.

When I paid, my waiter asked, “So you eat only vegetables?” I nodded and he said, “That must be hard.” I responded that it’s not as hard as it might seem and he smiled. “You come back again. We’ll try something different next time.”

Sounds good to me.

Today I met up with Alex (who loves to see what’s he’s eaten posted on my blog) at the Sunflower Cafe, a vegetarian (95% vegan, actually) restaurant in Vienna, VA. We split an order of the fried “chicken,” which I had heard and read a lot about. Folks: it lives up to the hype. Though it’s a tad salty, this stuff has the consistency and flavor of fried chicken. From what I’ve read, this is what they recommend that the non-vegetarians start with.

Alex went on to order his usual: General Tso’s “Chicken.” It was excellent (as I stole a few from him). I decided to jump in feet first for my inaugural visit to the restaurant and got the Macrobiotic Tofu dish. Boy, that sounds appetizing, eh? It included a number of ingredients I didn’t recognize (but which were, fortunately, cross-referenced to an index in the back of the menu), but it turned out to be a good dish. I swear the tofu multiplied in front of my eyes, though. (More on macrobiotic cooking)

Of course, making the trip out to Vienna also meant I got to go to my favorite tea shop, the Coffee Caboodle and pick up a couple of new teas. I got some China Young Hyson green tea (which I’ve never tried before) and China White Mutan as well. I’m especially stoked about the new white tea, since I’ve only had Sow Mee and Silver Needle. My first cup of this $40/pound gem (I only got 1/4 pound, don’t worry) was, for lack of a better term, exquisite.

When I got home a few hours later, I was going to cook something up for dinner but felt lazy. Unfortunately, all the restaurants in my town were closed by 7pm, so I made a trip to the supermarket and tried out “Curried Tempeh and Rice” from Simply Vegan. Total preparation and cooking time was about 25 minutes and the end result was a chewy, flavorful (but not overpowering) blend of organic tempeh chunks and frozen peas stir-fried in olive oil, onion, tamari, curry powder, garlic powder, and freshly grated black pepper served over basmati rice.

Now that you know my full dining habits for the day… :)

I’ve also been experimenting a bit more, especially with pasta dishes. In the past week, I’ve had two improvised dishes making use of orzo, freshly grated Pecorino cheese, garlic (lots of garlic!), and various herbs and spices. One recipe was good enough that I submitted it to VegetarianRecipe.com. If it’s accepted, I’ll link up to it. Otherwise, I’ll post it here in a few days.

Last night I went to a hockey game with a group of people, and beforehand we all went to Fuddruckers. As you can imagine, it’s not exactly the most vegetarian-friendly place, but as long as a restaurant has salads, I’m fine.

Now, even when I ate meat, I went to a Fuddruckers and had a burger there that was, quite literally, the worst burger I’ve ever had in my life. I’m not exaggerating: 40% of the burger was fat. But, even with that experience, I hoped I could at least get a little something to eat.

So I notice that they had a “Portabella Mushroom Burger” available. Even though I had a whole Portabella the night before, I was going to get this. Now, even though every Portabella Mushroom burger I’ve ever gotten in a restaurant has no meat (it doesn’t need it if you get a nice huge ’shroom on there), I figured I’d better ask. I’m glad I did, because the woman who took my order looked at me like I was crazy. “No… it has beef…”

So I settled for a garden salad. Easy, right? I could have probably fixed one myself from the fixings bar in a couple minutes. However, even though I was the second person to order and I was the only one that didn’t order a burger, I was the last in our group of nine to get my dinner. We figured everyone there must have tripped out, “Boss! Someone just ordered a salad! What do we do?”

To top it off, the lettuce was brown and there were hardly any veggies. Yum.