Wow, we get a whole week?

This week is World Vegetarian Week, with a few places in Boston offering special menus. That is cool, but damn, I wish they offered those menus all the time!

It's a good excuse to take yourself out for a veggie dinner this week, though. I might have to take this opportunity to return to My Thai Cafe in Brookline, my favorite new restaurant, which I have still been unable to blog about because I just don't know how to express its sheer deliciousness. My other favorite place to celebrate World Vegetarian Week might be Ten Tables in JP, which has a vegetarian tasting menu every night, and where they ask you what you like and what ingredients you don't like when you order it.

I require my hummus to be extremely delicious

I was so disappointed to be disappointed by Cafe Jaffa, on Gloucester Street near the Pru. On the veggie friendly front, Cafe Jaffa passes muster, but on the actual tastiness front, not as much. Middle Eastern food is so naturally vegetarian friendly, and I was anticipating some delicious plateful of chickpea products, pickled things and fresh vegetables. I sort of got that, piecemail, but nothing about it was amazing.

I split the potato bourekas with my husband for an appetizer, and they weren't bad. I liked the texture and the sesame seeds on top of the little dough packets. But the flavor overall was bland. Then for dinner I ordered a falafel and hummus plate, which came with a salad and pita. I think I was expecting a plate with all that on it together, some kind of varied entree with nice garnishes. My salad came first though, and it was pretty good--a Greek salad with firm pickle slices and feta. Then my entree came, and it was just hummus and four falafel balls on a small appetizer plate, with a shared side of pita bread. So then I wished I had saved some salad and feta to mix with the hummus and put on a pita. The hummus was just OK, but not that flavorful, and same with the falafel, which was too oily and without a distinct flavor other than oil. The hummus was the biggest disappointment. I really think that homemade hummus, when it's the foundation of a vegetarian meal, should have great flavor and consistency (like Farm Grill Rotisserie's, for example). Cafe Jaffa's hummus had too much of one flavor--maybe cumin or red pepper--that overwhelmed it.

I left feeling full, but Cafe Jaffa fell short of what I had been craving.

Vintage's gnocchi is newfangled

UPDATE on 3/25: Apparently Vintage is now closed. It must have closed in the past week or so...one of my fellow Restaurant Week diners drove by over the weekend and saw it was closed, and read that the restaurant had financial troubles. Sad!



Veggie friendliness: Three out of five stars

I can't believe how much I enjoyed eating at a steakhouse, but my food was really, really good at Vintage, in West Roxbury. I went during Restaurant Week, and couldn't get anything on the RW menu because it was almost entirely meat-based (there was one good looking salad, but they don't let you order just one part of the RW menu). I ordered a basic salad to start, with Boston lettuce and a tangy dressing--so delicious and pretty too. There's only one vegetarian entree on the menu, and it's not specifically described--it's just called "for the vegetarians" or something like that. The night I went it was a gnocchi with caramelized onions, peppers and fontina cheese. It wasn't a traditional gnocchi in little dumpling shapes; it was gnocchi dough formed into two spirals with the vegetables and cheese wrapped up inside, with a dab of sauce on the plate. It was really delicious and the texture was also great. The "gnocchi" part of the spiral was a little grainy, almost like polenta.

Vintage is a really nice place; it still feels pretty new and the atmosphere is not very Route 1 at all. We had great service too -- no funny looks from the waiter when asking veggie questions. I don't know if I'd go back there for a non-RW dinner since it really is meat-focused, and it's also pretty expensive. My entree was of course much cheaper than steak, but still over $20. But if I was dragged there by steakhouse-loving friends, I wouldn't be too upset about it.

Nothing but side dishes at Sonsie

Veggie friendliness (at brunch, anyway): Two out of five stars

I got shot down by the waitress during brunch at Sonsie more than I liked. She told me that they didn't accept any substitutions on any dish, which immediately cut my options down. The side dishes I got were yummy, but it was frustrating not to be able to order any egg dishes at all. To be fair, they did offer French toast, which was vegetarian, and the huevos rancheros could be ordered without the sausage side -- but I’m always skeptical of the true vegetarian-ness of refried beans, and the eggs could only be made sunny side up (not even the way the eggs were cooked could be substituted), which I am not a fan of.

Anyway, I enjoyed the home fries immensely -- crisp with onion slices and plenty of salt. The yogurt with honey and granola was also very good, with chewy, probably homemade granola. The English muffin wasn’t that warm and by the time the butter finally arrived, it was too late for it to melt.

So, it was a nice place to be for Sunday brunch, but sadly lacking in veggie friendliness. I had better luck there another time for drinks and appetizers, so I think I'll stick to the later-in-the-day Sonsie.

Asian dishes to keep vegetarians warm all winter

Bibimpop at Village Sushi

Village Sushi is one of our Roslindale staples -- always good for a last-minute dinner out and great for sushi takeout too. I finally tried a non-sushi item off their extensive menu recently -- the vegetarian bibimbop in a hot pot (the hot pot version is an extremely-worth-it extra $3). I love all things crunchy, and the rice gets cooked to the bottom of the hot pot, and forms a crunchy crust, and then you stir it and more parts get crunchy...mmm. The rice also has tofu, mushrooms, daikon radish, sprouts and possibly another vegetable I can't remember. All good things, and with a red spicy sauce on the side that really makes the dish's flavor. The bibimbops all come with an egg on top, and warning -- it's eggy. I had to do some quick yolk containment with my spoon and Brian's help so it wouldn't get on everything. I really don't think there's going to be anything better on cold nights this winter than this dish. The hot pot keeps it all so warm till the last bite, and I actually felt overheated when I finished eating -- no small feat for me between November and March around here.

Ramen at Wagamama

Wagamama recently opened in Faneuil Hall, and I think it's the best and most veggie-friendly sit-down restaurant in that immediate area. The first time I ate at a Wagamama was 10+ years ago, in London, and it was this total veggie zen moment for me. It was probably the first place I had eaten out as a vegetarian that had multiple meat-free dishes marked on the menu, and definitely the best noodles I'd had up till that point. The first time I ate at the Boston one, a few months ago, I was disappointed -- but things like that are hardly ever as yummy as you remember. Especially 10 years later, and not in London.

Anyway, it's been freezing here this week -- very much soup weather. I'd only had ramen once before, at this place in Denver, and I loved it. I hadn't come across ramen anywhere in Boston though. But Wagamama serves ramen, and the vegetarian version at Wagamama really warmed me up the other night. The broth had a pretty mild flavor, with a touch of soy sauce and sesame oil. The tofu was excellent, nice and browned, and the scallions, leeks and bean sprouts added crunch. The enormous bowl came with an oversized, bamboo-handled spoon, which held a huge slurp of soup in each bite. (It might have ruined me for other utensils, though. I want to eat everything with a giant spoon.) The wheat noodles weren't so flavorful, but all in all this was a perfect vegetarian meal for a cold and windy night in Boston. It made me warm on the inside.

A vegetarian sandwich without even a trace of hummus

I know, it's a little hard to imagine. I love vegetarian sandwiches with hummus, of course, with some cheddar cheese and a bunch of veggies. However, it's a really nice change to have a vegetarian sandwich that's different from the usual and that you probably wouldn't (or couldn't) make at home.

I got the "Elephant Walking on Eggs" sandwich at Parish Cafe, on Boylston Street near Arlington. It's filled with a fluffy omelette that hardly tastes eggy at all--my favorite kind of eggs. It tastes more like the shredded vegetables and salty goat cheese that make up the omelette. And the buttered crusty-outside-soft-inside baguette is a yummy counterpart that made this sandwich a hearty dinner. The chef at Elephant Walk created this veggie gem (apparently chefs from other Boston restaurants invent the sandwiches on Parish Cafe's menu), and I think I like Elephant Walk's cuisine better in sandwich form than I did when I ate there.

The one other veggie sandwich, which my friend ordered, did indeed have hummus, but a nice twist in a white bean variety.

We shared the vegetable potsticker appetizer -- also excellent with the simple, salty kind of soy dipping sauce that I always find really satisfying, with bits of something (garlic? ginger? scallions?) floating in it. The other vegetarian app was corn cakes. The atmosphere is bar-like, and the restaurant is a busy place where you'll be cozied up to the next table. I don't really know how much fancy sandwiches should cost, but $20 each covered the bill and tip, which seemed reasonable. The Parish Cafe has a good drink menu too, though we skipped drinks to be totally clearheaded at our next destination--the Tori Amos show at the Orpheum. My not-eggy egg sandwich was ideal fuel for the following few hours of Tori adoration.

The joy of tofu

I've been vegetarian a long time, but it's still taken a lot of dietary evolving for me to put those words together. It wasn't long ago that I wouldn't have even been able to conceive of "joy" followed by "tofu." However, I have come to appreciate the bean curd beast, especially since moving to Boston.

Here are my top three tofu choices, in Boston/Cambridge:

1. At Pho and I, on Huntington Ave. near Symphony Hall. Pho and I's fried rice comes with perfectly sized, perfectly crispy and flavorful chunks of tofu. The tofu chunks are about the size of ice cubes, so you can eat them in one bite, and the inside is just as yummy as the fried outside -- no bland mealiness to be found.


2. In the salad bar at the Whole Foods on Cambridge Street near MGH. They offer amazing sesame tofu in the salad bar. It's the only tofu I can actually eat cold. It has the best firm texture and a sweetish flavor, with tons of sesame seeds and scallion pieces. It's perfect on a basic salad with some kind of light soy dressing.


3. At Anise in Kendall Square, near the Landmark theater. Anise's Sichuan-style flower tofu appetizer is sort of soupy (spoon definitely required), with silken tofu and little crunchy bits on top. This makes the top three primarily because it made me appreciate silken tofu, which is a huge feat. The spicy saucy stuff and the crunchy bits with the smooth tofu--mmm. It's a delectable combination.

(Totally off the tofu topic: the green beans entree at Anise is wonderful.)


Bonus (but definitely not in Boston): The best tofu ever is actually at a Thai place way the hell up in New Hampshire -- Spicy Lime, on the side of the White Mountain Highway in North Conway. The tofu in the noodle/veggie/cashew sauce dish I had actually rendered me speechless while I was eating it. I felt so sad when it was all gone. It was fried, so it had a nice crispy outside, but the inside had great flavor and texture, like it had been marinated just right. The waiter was also really nice when I wanted to mix up sauces and noodles vs. rice to make the concoction I ended up with. It was probably two years ago that I ate there, and I like to dream up possible weekend trips around another dinner at Spicy Lime.

Restaurant review: Delfino

I am a little afraid to gush about Delfino, because it is so delicious and close to my house, and I want to keep it a delicious secret. But really, everyone should eat at this fantastic Italian restaurant in Roslindale Square. The bread alone, served when you sit down and dipped in their olive oil, is enough to make me weak in the knees.

The vegetable antipasto appetizer is very share-able for a group, but plan ahead to save some bread to dip in the cheesy olive-y oil that's left on the plate. The best appetizer, I think, is the broccoli rabe sauteed with garlic and olive oil. It's just a plateful of perfectly cooked greens in perfect oil. For this, too, ration your bread, because the oil left at the end is superb. To avoid any too-much-of-a-good-thing syndrome, I like to share this app too.

There are probably four or five vegetarian pasta entrees on Delfino's menu at any time, since they change their menu slightly every few months. My favorite standby is pasta puttanesca with no anchovies. That's followed closely by pasta rounds, which are like manicotti tipped on their side in a puddle of tomato sauce. After that, when I'm trying to mix it up a little, I go for the ricotta gnocchi in whatever vegetarian incarnation is on the menu.

OK, so I have obviously eaten at Delfino many, many times...but after lots of happy meals, I can honestly say they've earned their five stars with consistently flavorful and satisfying (pants-expanding) food. The only negative last time was a probably new waitress who wasn't as helpful as other waitstaff usually are in making slight changes to dishes -- anchovy-free puttanesca or leaving tomatoes out of a dish.

Orinoco flow

Not really a full-on review, just a recommendation for a place to try -- Orinoco: A Latin Kitchen. This cute-as-a-button corner spot in the South End (on Shawmut) comes complete with cute-as-a-button waitstaff. I arrived on Friday night in a group of four and all the inside tables had just been filled, but we were allowed to sit and order food at the bar counter. (There was also outdoor seating, but one of our party was without jacket.) Most of the options, which sounded capital-D Delicious, were animal-flesh-based, but there are several vegetarian arepas ("traditional Venezuelan grilled corn pocket sandwiches"), and the verde empanada, which I ordered, was simply scrumptious -- filled with wild mushrooms and other delights, and served with a fabulous salad. I supplemented with a side of rice and smoky, smoky black beans and it was a perfect light dinner. This would be a good spot to try with your non-veg friends. (Warning: You WILL get Enya stuck in your head.)

Restaurant review: Bar Lola

Veggie friendliness: Three stars

So this place is sort of a faint imitation of Newbury Street restaurant Tapeo, both in food and decor. Bar Lola is a few blocks over on Commonwealth, and it offers a smaller version of Tapeo's menu. The two restaurants are really very similar, though Bar Lola has fewer veggie options than Tapeo. It still has the basics, though--cheesey vegetable puffs, the classic Spanish tortilla (omelette), cold artichoke hearts and roasted peppers, and warm potatoes with garlic and olive oil. Bar Lola also had a dish of roasted vegetables and mini veggie-stuffed cannelloni in a tomato-cheese sauce.

The tapas satisfied me, for the most part, and there were enough vegetarian options to provide a good variety for dinner. A few dishes, though -- the roasted vegetable and tortilla -- were so salty that my mouth felt almost turned inside out. I love salty food, too, so I think the salt level must really have been overboard.

A group of us shared the chocolate torte dessert, which was so rich. The dark chocolate part was almost as solid as a bar of chocolate, and the white chocolate top was light and creamy. Just a few bites was enough. Bar Lola's sangria was fine, though unmemorable and without any fruit in it -- according to the waiter, the restaurant was completely out of fruit.

Restaurant review: M.J. O'Connor's

Veggie friendliness: One star

This pub near Park Plaza is great for group gatherings, drinks outings and watching the game. Not so much for the vegetarian crowd, however. This is a strictly salad-and-french-fries establishment, and the salad I had wasn't even that tasty. The lemon-basil vinaigrette mostly just tasted like oil and some of the lettuce was suspicously on the verge of not-so-freshness.

The french fries with curry sauce were yummy, though, and there was also a cheddar cheese sauce option with the fries. I think this is a good place to satisfy a french fry craving and have a beer, and meet up with friends, since the restaurant is enormous and well situated. Otherwise, though, eat dinner elsewhere. Also, the service was barely passable.

Summer harvest in the city

Roslindale Square hosts a modest farmer's market every Saturday during the summer and into early fall. I usually walk over there, or at least pass through, when I'm home on a Saturday. The highlight of the farmer's market (aside from the live jazz band that plays there from time to time, and Boschetto's pizza) are the shaded crates of fruits and vegetables from a suburban farm stand. MacArthur Farm pulls up their truck every week and brings us city folk all kinds of fresh produce, lots of the veggies with dirt still on them, which I love. Today the ripe tomatoes filled several big crates -- they were huge, and uniformly red, with some cracked and overflowing with sticky juice and seeds. The cucumbers were the biggest I've seen there all summer.

Brookwood Community Farm, a new (that I've noticed, anyway) farmer's market participant had a table set up today. They sold colorful heirloom tomatoes and exquisite, shiny little peppers of many varieties -- this list of vegetables covers their offerings. The Black Cherry tomatoes looked like red grapes on steroids, and the Sun Golds were teeny. I added to my veggie loot with a few of Brookwood's tomatoes. The guy working the table explained Brookwood's scheme -- the recently started farm near the Blue Hills sells shares to stakeholders, who then get a box of vegetables each week during growing season.

Here's what I did with the tomatoes for dinner:


Just olive oil, red wine vinegar, basil from our Boston Organics box, parsley, salt and pepper, and slivers (sort of thick slivers) of Parmesan on top.

This fleeting harvest always feels to me like a harbinger of the dreary, flavorful-tomato-free New England winter to come. I know, we still have all of wonderful fall with pumpkins and apples, and I bet even another few weeks of these perfectly juicy tomatoes--but this tomato bounty is so precious when I think of waiting a whole year before tasting such late-summer deliciousness again.

In the zon

Another good veggie-friendly restaurant in Jamaica Plain: Zon's. It has a cozy-hip-romantic atmosphere and is relatively inexpensive (relative to Ten Tables, I guess; entrees under $20). I dined here last night and must admit I shared a non-veg special with my main squeeze -- salmon with grilled asparagus, horseradish cream sauce and tomato-basil risotto. (The risotto would have made a great dish on its own. YUM.) But Zon's always offers a couple of delectable vegetarian options -- last night they had an eggplant parmesan dish with spinach that sounded great. I've also had a kind of veggie sampling plate there with little grain cakes and sauces and things. The comfort food contingent is high -- try the homemade potato chips with onion dip app or the ice cream sandwiches for dessert (both cookies and ice cream homemade).

Only drawback to this place is they don't have a liquor license, but if you aren't in the mood for beer or wine they offer a selection of wacky liqueur-based bevs like the "Venetian spritzer" -- Campari and prosecco. Bitterlicious.

Restaurant review: Ten Tables

Veggie friendliness: Four (out of five) stars

My disclaimer about Ten Tables is that I've only been there on one of their fixed-menu nights, which they have once a week. I didn't see a regular menu when I was there. But everything I had was excellent, and I got an extremely veggie-friendly vibe from the whole experience. I've also heard that they have a vegetarian fixed-price menu available every night in addition to the regular menu, which is very cool.

I'm usually wary of fixed menus, since my biggest restaurant fear is being brought unspecified plates of things. There's too much mushroom risk involved. But at Ten Tables, the waiter actually asked me what ingredients I didn't like, and if there was something special I was in the mood for. That is serious veggie friendliness, and personalized dishes just taste that much better. I got four courses in all: a salad with jicama and other crunchy parts; a pretty carrot risotto; a crispy and cheesy potato galette; and a caramel-y fruity dessert. It was satisfying, and it was actually fun to get four different surprise courses without fear of mushrooms.

This place feels fancy, like we could have been celebrating an anniversary, but the price was decent--I think it was a $35 set price for the food and wine too.

So, four stars to Ten Tables, and a place I'll definitely go back to.