Two restaurants for Boston vegetarians to daydream about

I know I'm supposed to be searching out good vegetarian eats here in Boston, but sometimes I have to take the show on the road. The show has been on the road a lot lately, and happily I had two transcendant veggie experiences out there. One was at Malabar in Santa Cruz, CA, and the other at Maoz in Philadelphia.

It's probably not really fair to wish Boston could have a Malabar, because Santa Cruz is such an absolute happy hippie land, but I can still dream. Malabar is completely vegetarian, with a really simple, nice Asian-ish interior. The menu is extensive, with a mix of Indian-type dishes as well as some Italian-style and American food. The Indian influence seemed strongest though: see, the five different kinds of kofta on the menu. We shared two appetizers, one a spring roll with watercress and crunchy spiced tempeh bits, and the other an avocado stuffed with a sort of pico de gallo. Both were incredible--the tempeh especially was unique, and memorable. I got garlic ravioli with fennel, spinach and walnuts. Everything was really fresh and the ravioli was definitely homemade. The entree that really blew me away, though, was Brian's pistachio kofta. The kofta nuggets were sort of barrel shaped, and really dense and chewy, covered with a thick nutty, creamy sauce. The taste was closest to Indian, but not exactly the usual malai kofta I've had. I was so, so full when we left this restaurant. Having more than one or two vegetarian options was actually pretty overwhelming--in a good way, of course.

Maoz, though, is a place that's totally easy to imagine in Boston--in Coolidge Corner, maybe, or JP, or even the Financial District. And, I just found out it's a chain. Franchise that, somebody, please! I was at the one on South Street in Philadelphia. It's a tiny falafel place that also serves Belgian french fries. The menu is really basic, with a few different sizes of falafel wraps and the fries. Then there's a counter area where you add your own toppings to the basic falafel, and with maybe five or six sauces to add. The pickles are wonderful, and there's a coleslaw-type salad, seasoned carrots, and some other yummy toppings I don't remember. Everything is cheap ($5 or $6 for a meal), fresh, hot and dee-licious. I've been there a few times, and this last visit I just got french fries and enjoyed every second of eating them. They come in a paper cone, like in actual Belgium, and Maoz has the mayonnaise-y Belgian sauce too, which I skipped in favor of extra salt. Such good stuff. Sigh. I wish it wasn't so far away. I'm thinking I could use maybe a twice-monthly dose of those fries.

Restaurant Review: Lolita

Veggie friendliness: Four (out of five) stars

Lolita is a fabulous Mexican bring-your-own-tequila restaurant in Philadelphia. It's funky Mexican, with sides like smoked hominy and green apple-grapefruit salsa, and plantain and thick corn chips alongside the jicama guacamole. It gets four stars for veggie friendliness primarily because there's an all-important asterisk at the end of many of the entrees, which means that pan-seared tofu can be substituted for the meat. This is key, because otherwise there aren't any meat- or fish-free options. The four stars are also for general deliciousness.

I got the tofu substituted for a duck dish, with jicama slaw and fried plantains on the side. The flavors were so interesting -- a little spicy, a little Caribbean -- and the tofu was nice and crispy on the outside and seasoned well. The fresh margarita mixes are phenomenal. The first time I went to Lolita a few years ago, we had a blood orange mix that I have actually craved many times since then. During the most recent visit, in August, the nightly mix was watermelon, which was also delicious with the brought-our-own tequila.

Brian and his sister got meaty things, so I didn't try anything other than the wicked yummy guacamole and my tofu entree. Brave Brian tried an appetizer with huitlacoche, a scary-looking corn fungus that I'd recently read about in Edible Boston--check out the summer cover for the picture. I know that fungus is technically vegetarian, but seriously--it has a life of its own (yes, I'm talking to you, Quorn).