News & Features Feedback
New This WeekAround TownMusicFilmArtTheaterNews & FeaturesFood & DrinkAstrology
  HOME
NEW THIS WEEK
EDITORS' PICKS
LISTINGS
NEWS & FEATURES
MUSIC
FILM
ART
BOOKS
THEATER
DANCE
TELEVISION
FOOD & DRINK
ARCHIVES
LETTERS
PERSONALS
CLASSIFIEDS
ADULT
ASTROLOGY
PHOENIX FORUM DOWNLOAD MP3s

  E-Mail This Article to a Friend
Veggie might
Forget bland tofu and sprouts; today’s vegetarian cuisine is colorful, intriguing, and best of all, delicious
BY TAMARA WIEDER

DON’T HAVE the time — or the cash — to try all the worthy vegetarian options at area restaurants? Doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy some fine veggie cuisine. The Boston Vegetarian Food Festival sets up shop at the Reggie Lewis Athletic Center (1350 Tremont Street, Boston, www.BostonVeg.org/foodfest) on Saturday, October 19 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The seventh annual event features food sampling, grocery- and natural-food-store exhibits, cooking demonstrations, educational exhibits, registered-dietitian consultants, and children’s activities. Best of all, the event — including food and parking — is free. Name a steak joint that can say that.

It’s a windy January night in New England. In the kitchen, my father has the wood stove going; my younger sister, outfitted in her favorite purple sweat suit, has placed herself and her picture book strategically in front of it. My mother corrals us toward the table, her potholdered hands clutching a large dish that’s just been pulled from the oven. Layered within it is a wealth of assorted chicken parts — wings, breasts, drumsticks — that send a warm, clinging smell shifting and sliding through the house. I peer into the dish as my mother raises a spoon to dole out my portion. The chicken, still bubbling in its juices from the heat of the oven, seems suddenly alive, breathing. I put a hand on my mother’s wrist.

"I don’t want that," I tell her, making my decision only after the words have left my lips. "I’m going to be a vegetarian."

I am nine years old.

FAST-FORWARD 21 years. I am, for better or worse, a non-meat-eater to this day, having had neither steak, chicken, nor Fenway frank for more than two decades. Physically, aside from an ongoing battle with mild anemia, I am no worse for the wear. Emotionally, though, vegetarianism can be a struggle: rarely does a week go by in which I’m not asked to explain why I became a vegetarian at age nine (I loved animals), why I continue to be a vegetarian at 30 (out of habit, mostly), and why I eat fish but no other meat (really, I have no good answer for this question. So don’t bother asking).

One thing I don’t have to worry about, though, is finding a good meal. No longer is vegetarian cuisine made up solely of tofu and bean sprouts. Today’s restaurants offer a wealth of culinary options for the vegetarian (or, in my case, "pescatarian"), from hearty soups and healthy salads to decadent entrées. Here, then, are some of my favorites.

VEGETARIAN TASTING menu at Oleana ($38; 134 Hampshire Street, Cambridge, 617-661-0505). Actually, just about anything is worth trying here; although Oleana has its share of meat options, this place offers myriad choices for vegetarians and pescatarians. A recent tasting started with a prêt-á-manger of spicy carrot purée and Egyptian spice mix with nuts and olive oil, Armenian bean-and-walnut pâté with homemade string cheese — you know you’ve found a truly original menu when it features homemade string cheese — and the restaurant’s signature deviled eggs with tuna and black olives. An antipasto of roasted beets and goat cheese, flageolet purée, pesto, and walnuts followed, with an eggplant soufflé coming next. Rounding out the list were ricotta-and-bread dumplings with porcini mushrooms and braised summer lettuces, and spicy fideos and chickpeas with Swiss chard and orange aïoli. These are not subtle tastes; chef Ana Sortun’s Mediterranean-influenced menu is full of complex flavors and bold spices — just what vegetarian cuisine of old was lacking.

Of course, vegetarians need not limit themselves to the veggie tasting menu here; we added to our list a tangy chopped-romaine-and-cucumber salad with Greek yogurt, dill, and walnuts ($7); a lovely, smooth green-tomato soup with summer savory and grilled haloumi cheese ($7); and a truly decadent plate piled high with seared rare tuna with red-pepper-walnut purée and red-lentil köfte ($23).

PAPPA AL POMODORO at Ristorante Toscano ($9; 47 Charles Street, Boston, 617-723-4090). There are plenty of things for vegetarians to like about this pretty Italian restaurant in the heart of Beacon Hill, but for this comfort-food-loving non-meat-eater, pappa al pomodoro — puréed tomato soup that uses bread as a thickener — makes a fine meal all on its own. Served hot or cold, the soup comes drizzled with owner Vinicio Paoli’s marvelous olive oil. Don’t even think of adding cheese; Vinicio won’t allow it.

NEARLY THE WHOLE damn menu at Pho République (1415 Washington Street, Boston, 617-262-0005). Sure, there are a handful of things we pescatarians have to avoid at this Vietnamese-French restaurant, and a few more that vegetarians will want to steer clear of. But this South End haven of hip boasts an awful lot of dishes that remind us that food can indeed be both Vietnamese and vegetarian — and supremely tasty, to boot. Start off with fresh summer rolls ($8), served with peanut dipping sauce. With their chewy rice-paper wrappers and vermicelli and vegetable fillings, Vietnamese summer rolls are one of my favorite vegetarian dishes, eaten as either an appetizer or a light entrée. If you’re a "true" vegetarian, try the vegetarian Rangoon spring rolls ($8); otherwise, go for the shrimp version ($8.50); both are served with sweet chili-plum dipping sauce. Pescatarians should also be sure not to miss the crispy tuna spring rolls ($9) filled with avocado, wasabi, and jasmine rice, or the pot of scallop-and-shrimp laksa ($18) — a classic Singaporean dish — with egg noodles and hot-and-sour coconut broth infused with lemongrass and kaffir lime; no one, whether vegetarian or not, should skip the side dish of broccoli and snow peas stir-fried with wild-mushroom wontons ($8). Other vegetarian-friendly sides include grilled asparagus with Chinese black-bean vinaigrette ($8), coconut jasmine rice ($3), and shallot mashed potatoes ($3).

It’s hard to find a restaurant that offers pho, the national dish of Vietnam, in a vegetarian incarnation ($14.50), so seize the opportunity here. Though purists will argue that it’s not really pho if it’s made with vegetable broth, we vegetarians have dealt with more irritating accusations than that, so soldier on and have your soup. Top your rice noodles and broth with shrimp or tofu rather than the traditional beef, and you’ve got a vegetarian’s dream. Also dreamlike are the wide, flat chow fun rice noodles served with a savory roasted-peanut sauce and topped with tofu or shrimp ($16).

THE SASHIMI BAR at Clio (Eliot Hotel, 370A Comm Ave, Boston, 617-536-7200). Non-fish-eaters can skip this one entirely, unless you want to pay a visit for the ambiance alone: the tiny downstairs room is a chic, cozy place to while away a few hours, and there are plenty of sake-based cocktails — try the Ginko-Bai, plum-infused sake with mountain peach and a sugared rim ($11) — to make you forget you can’t eat anything on the menu. For those of us who do partake of the treasures of the sea, however, Clio’s sashimi bar offers plenty of dishes that should, indeed, be treasured. Don’t come expecting your standard sushi-bar maki rolls; you won’t find any rice rolled into seaweed here. Instead, renowned chef Ken Oringer presents a whole new way to look at — and eat — raw fish. Try salmon tartare ($13), a mound of cubed Alaskan ivory salmon with avocado, gold beets, red ginger, and micro greens. Tiradito ($13) is a sashimi of red snapper served with orange, cilantro, and jalapeño. A hamachi salad ($15) is a tangy combination of several pieces of yellowtail sashimi, sweet-and-sour vinaigrette, heirloom tomatoes, and micro shiso. And you’d be wise not to skip the "yaki" toro ($15), two skewers of cooked choice tuna belly served with avocado, pea shoots, and Chinese black-bean vinaigrette. It’s an interesting twist on fatty tuna, a sushi favorite.

THREE-BEAN BURGER ($7) at Audubon Circle (838 Beacon Street, Boston, 617-421-1910). Any non-meat-eater will tell you that a good veggie burger is the crucial test a restaurant must pass in order to be considered vegetarian-friendly; Audubon clears the hurdle and then some. Forget dried-out hockey pucks or soggy mounds of assorted grains; Audubon’s version is a hearty, spicy meal of a burger, served with equally good roasted potatoes. Even meat-eaters have to admit that this one reverses any preconceived notions about bland vegetarian cuisine.

SMALL PLATES at Cuchi Cuchi (795 Main Street, Cambridge, 617-864-2929). There’s a whole section of the menu at Cuchi Cuchi given over to those of us in the non-meat-eating minority. I could plow through a whole vat of the stuffed small eggplant with tomato ragout, endive, and goat cheese ($9); likewise the Asian veggies and noodles with long beans, oyster mushrooms, corn, and lemongrass, among other ingredients ($8). A side of potatoes au gratin ($7) has all the requisite rich cheese and creamy potatoes. On the waterfront side of the menu, grilled lobster tail with vanilla beurre blanc and boursin-whipped mashed potatoes ($15) is decadent enough to be filling, but small enough not to leave lingering guilt over its ingestion; a Norwegian grilled salmon ($8) comes with two bright swaths of horseradish sauce in red and white. Among the other vegetarian-friendly options are Mexican deep-fried tomato with queso blanco, avocado, tomato, and salsa pico de gallo ($8); grilled cornbread with tomato, cucumber, gruyère cheese, and pesto, served as an open-face sandwich ($7); and grilled asparagus with red-pepper relish ($8). Whatever you order, wash it all down with one of Cuchi Cuchi’s unique — and suitably vegetarian — cocktails ($9); the strawberry-basil martini and blackberry cosmopolitan are but two of the options on its lengthy list.

VEGETARIAN/SEAFOOD tasting menu at Radius ($85; 8 High Street, Boston, 617-426-1234). Tasting menus don’t get any classier than what you’ll find at Radius, and the vegetarian tasting menu, which changes frequently, is no exception. Portions are small, but the list of courses is lengthy; the result is that one leaves feeling thoroughly satisfied, but not uncomfortably full. On a recent Saturday night, we started with an exquisite heirloom-tomato consommé, a light broth dotted with zucchini, red onion, basil, scallions, and chives. A chilled squid salad came with pineapple, red jalapeño, marinated shiitake mushrooms, and Thai basil. A flavorful, tempura-like crispy squash blossom stuffed with peppers and zucchini shared a plate with a tiny eggplant lasagna; an organic-beet salad was punched up with caramelized walnuts, goat cheese, and a sweet apple chip. A Chesapeake Bay soft-shell crab with marinated peppers, porcini mushrooms, and periwinkles — yes, periwinkles — rounded out the meal.

NIÇOISE SALAD at Zaftigs Delicatessen ($9.95; 335 Harvard Street, Brookline, 617-975-0075). It’s certainly not your standard deli fare, but don’t let that stop you from ordering this hearty salad. For thinking outside the culinary box, you’ll be rewarded with a heaping plateful of lettuce, green beans, potatoes, artichoke hearts, tuna, olives, and hearts of palm, all dressed up with a tangy vinaigrette.

Tamara Wieder can be reached at twieder[a]phx.com

Issue Date: October 17 - October 24, 2002
Back to the News & Features table of contents.
  E-Mail This Article to a Friend

home | feedback | about the phoenix | find the phoenix | advertising info | privacy policy | the masthead | work for us

 © 2002 Phoenix Media Communications Group