8(ate) Days as a Vegetarian

April 18, 2008

I’m a meat-eater.  It’s my omnivorous dilemma, being a meat eater and an animal lover at the same time.  Never eat meat, seafood or fowl?  That’s just not on my radar, but I do have concern for the humane treatment of animals.  I read “Skinny Bitch” (an inflammatory book insisting upon a vegetarian or vegan lifestyle), loved every profane word, absorbed into my soul the scary stuff on slaughterhouses, and tried almost every recommended vegan foodstuff.  Mock “riblets” for a faux fast-food sandwich or Buffalo “chicken-free” Chicken Wings anyone?  They’re not bad, but I’m not giving up meat, at least not permanently… 

For the last 8 days, I ate an entirely vegetarian diet – limited dairy (one egg and a small amount of fat-free Greek yogurt), no meat, fish or seafood, just vegetables.  I wanted to see what it was like to be vegetarian in seafood-loving, boudin-beloved, pork-packed New Orleans, and mostly, I wondered about vegetarian dining in restaurants. Can it be done well?  What are some of the great dishes to find around town and how accommodating are the chefs/restaurants?  The answer may come as a surprise.

Forget eating a salad at every meal, everywhere you go, that’s boring, but just in case, I stopped in to Whole Foods Market to stock my fridge.  After picking up fresh vegetables and a few frozen items, I headed to “Prepared Foods” to see what was in the case.  Prepared Foods at Whole Foods is hit and miss for carnivores and vegetarians alike.  The vegetable offerings tend to be the better choices, even if some of the compositions lack discernable flavors, or had no seasoning.  The first day I stumbled upon “Cracklin’ Cauliflower,” a salad of curry powder-tossed, dark-roasted cauliflower florets, peas, red onion, and bits of fennel.  Surprise, this dish is well-spiced, properly seasoned, and addictive.  I’m busted when a friend catches me sitting in my car finishing off the small container of cauliflower…and I haven’t yet left the Whole Foods garage; I haven’t even started my car.  Later I tear into a hefty rectangle of grilled extra-firm tofu in a Sweet-Spicy Chile sauce.  It has a nice “meaty” texture and grilled flavor that’s enlivened by the sauce, but it not changing my life.  Whole Foods Market is a bastion to vegetarianism.   The options endless, wild, delicious and pricey; my grocery bills were about double the norm, but worth it.

Breakfast is pretty easy if you eat eggs; I ate one during my vegetarian week.  The California Benedict at Panola Street Café subs tomato for Canadian bacon in a fresh-classic preparation.  Avocado slices add richness atop the poached egg, as if the buttery Hollandaise isn’t quite enough.  It’s a good comforting brunch dish - deep, creamy, and filling. 

Another morning, I stared at Stein’s blackboard menu until I came up with a raw vegetable-topped, toasted pumpernickel bagel.  Not bad, not great either.  I could have asked for a swipe of carrot-flecked veggie cream cheese; it’s nice and would have made for a better bagel breakfast. 

Sucre’s flaky croissants, especially the one stuffed with a bit of cheese and oven-roasted tomatoes, made me cry tears of joy.  All the pastries are lovely, brilliant in fact, but “limited dairy” does not mean a daily dose of glistening, buttery, house-made croissants from Sucre’s pastry geniuses.     

Lunch is my favorite meal so I’m hoping for some big choices and plenty of creative options.  I once tried Burger King’s veggie burger and gagged.  My sister recently ordered a veggie burger from In-N-Out burger and got a white bun with tomato and lettuce as her lunch.  That’s it.  No veggie patty, just lettuce and tomato on a bun; In-N-Out’s statement on vegetarianism.  As a consequence, I’ve not been keen on veggie burgers until a friend tipped me off to “a good one” at Houston’s.  It’s pretty hard to keep me from ordering the fresh grilled artichokes at Houston’s, so I got an order just in case the burger didn’t work out.  Houston’s “House-Made Veggie Burger” is a blend of brown rice, black beans and oat bran with sweet soy and melted Jack cheese.  It’s fantastic, meaty, if you will, and goes on the “will eat again” list along with a side of grilled artichokes.   

At Rio Mar I filled up lusciously on marinated olives, fried yucca with herby chimichurri and a cold, crunchy, Avocado Caesar Salad.  The kitchen kindly accommodated my meatless requests, but watching fellow diners dig into mussels and chorizo or a juicy hunk of hanger steak was not easy.  Several glasses of a spritzy white wine helped immensely.   Over at Bennachin, the Quarter’s West African restaurant, Akara (black-eyed pea fritters) and a tangy tomato jam make for a killer po-boy, and I could eat the intriguingly spiced sautéed greens called Jama-Jama, for every meal.

More tasty vegetarians eats on my plate this week included meat-less tacos from Juan’s Flying Burrito; Vegetable Spring Rolls and sautéed Chinese Broccoli (Gai Lan) laced with sesame oil and soy sauce from Royal China; Lebanon’s massive Sautéed Vegetable Plate – a giant mound of olive oil sautéed eggplant, onions, carrots, tomatoes, squash, cauliflower, broccoli, red, yellow and green peppers over a bed of basmati rice, blanketed with feta and mozzarella cheeses and oven-baked melty and golden; Pineapple pizza from Theo’s; vegetarian Pho studded with squares of fried tofu at Pho Tau Bay; and Tofu with mixed vegetable stir-fry at Korea House.

Truth be told, I barely broke the surface of vegetarian dining, but I didn’t find many vegetarian versions of local favorites either – only the Gumbo Shop seemed to hit the spot with their vegetarian red beans studded with smoked mushrooms in place of the ham seasoning and they also do a mean meatless green gumbo.  Diners won’t find Tofu-laya or Soyrizo stuffed peppers anywhere, but there are plenty of creative meatless dishes, mostly from ethnic restaurants. 

New Orleans loves its traditions and traditionally meaty foods, but never let it be said that being a vegetarian is impossible here.  The truth is that eating vegetarian and eating well is a big easy.