Local Foods: For Vegetarians, Vegans AND Meat Eaters

Great vegan food in Houston

Eating local can be great for a vegetarian. But what about when you are in Texas, land of the meat eater?

List of farmers at Local Foods

We 'discovered' a local chain in Houston, Local Foods. This is one of a long line of upgraded fast casual places, where you order at a counter and your food is delivered.

But Local Foods outshines its competition. It offers inventive soups, sandwiches and salads that will please a wide variety of people. And it has local beer.

What it doesn't have is hot coffee.  We were in Houston during a spell of a cold rain, and the nitro cold brew on tap just wasn't appealing. But everything else was spot on.

The delicious sides at Local Foods

We had the garden sammie, with brussels sprouts, avocado, hummus and pickled onions. You get 2 sides with it. We chose beets and chickpeas with cauliflower.

The other great vegetarian choice was vegan meat balls, made from mushrooms and pecans. It had a spicy tomato sauce. With it we had Tuscan Kale salad and a squash said with figs and carrots.

Vegan 'meat' ball sub

My meat eating brothers-in-law raved about their roast beef with curried cauliflower and turkey confit with brie.

Next time I have to try the vegan gumbo and vegan taco salad.

And the Cavo last with pomegranate. And the dinner vegan cheese steak.

Not a Black Sheep: the Standout Black Sheep Deli

Just some of the choices at Black Sheep Deli

The black sheep of the family is the odd member, but the Black Sheep Deli in Amherst, MA, stands out for its excellent vegetarian and vegan menu.

Vintage menu: prices current aren't much higher

Actually, it fits right into the Pioneer Valley, which is larded with meat free choices. Usually we stick to Northampton, one town over, but Amherst has a larger farmers market, on Saturdays, a great local bookstore, and easy access to nearby hiking trails.

It also has this casual deli, where you order at a counter. Sandwiches are huge, and there are gluten free options like big salads or gluten free bagels and breads.

The breakfast sandwich

For three of us, three sandwiches, including a smaller breakfast sandwich, was a feast. We could have ordered just half of one of the sandwiches, but we pigged (or tofu-ed) out.

Make your Own

The large menu has typical deli fare like tuna salad, and make your own options, but we stuck to the specialty sandwiches. Everything here is made from scratch, using local purveyors and farmers.

The Great Garlic

Vegetarian Specialties

There were so many to choose from, it was hard to decide. We went with the messy and delicious  Great Garlic, which was overstuffed with grilled portobellos, roasted eggplant and roasted red peppers, caramelized garlic and goat cheese, on a baguette

East Meets West

Vegan Specialities

We had the East Meets West, a yummy sandwich with roasted tofu, grated carrots and a peanut hoisin sauce.

Breakfast all day

Breakfast sandwiches are slightly smaller. We had the Florentine, a baked omelet with goat cheese, spinach, roasted red pepper and sun dried tomato pesto on excellent focaccia.

"Downtown" Amherst

We weren't crazy about the coffee; it was little weak for our industrial strength standards.

What else is there to do?

A weekend in New England has to include a hike, so we drove the snazzy Kia Optima hybrid I was testing to Mount Holyoke Range State Park in Hadley.

This Cafe is For You: Maplewood Kitchen and Bar

Quinoa cakes with poached eggs

My mother-in-law disparages restaurants she won't like by declaring, "that is not my kind of place." Maplewood Kitchen and Bar is firmly in that camp.

Which means that middle aged and millennial foodies will go gaga for it. At MKB, in downtown Cincinnati, you stand on line to order your food, but in a welcome twist, a hostess shows you to a table and a server delivers your food.

No need to split your group, with one person commandeering a table and fending off customers with food trays and looks of desperation.

Blond wood aesthetic

Food for all

But if Maplewood Kitchen and Bar is beyond the understanding of the Applebee's crowd, it is appealing to a broad base; food is fresh, organic and of the moment. It is vegetarian friendly, yet it has plenty of meat, along with  recognizable dishes like burgers, sandwiches and wraps.

Roasted mushroom toast

We were there for the more uncommon food, like the power bowl, which had quinoa and farro, poached eggs, beets, greens, corn, tomatoes and avocado. It was healthy and delicious. We also shared the quinoa cakes,  with poached eggs, tomato sauce and greens. It needed a hit of hot sauce, which was on the table.

MPK has avocado toast, of course. And though this version sounded great, with pistachios and local honey, we tried the roasted mushroom toast.

My mother in law would call this an open faced sandwich but I just call it scrumptious. It had caramelized onions, goat cheese and ricotta under a bed of tiny mushrooms.

Power bowl - powerfully good

Our friends had the chicken bowl and 'enlightened' Caesar, with kale and romaine, and they were happy, too.

What do you want to drink?

MPK has craft beer on tap, and cokctials made with fresh pressed juices. You can also have the juices with alcohol, of course.

The cafe has taps where you can help yourself to still or sparking water, with leon if you wish. There is even chilled or room temperature water on tap. My grandparents always espoused room temperature water, so they would have been happy.

If, of course, they were open minded enough to give Maplewood Kitchen and Bar a chance.

Over the Moon in Over-the-Rhine

The lovely sea bass at Salazar

You don't usually hear of James Beard award-winning chefs in Cincinnati, but Jose Salazar has planted his flag in the eponymous Salazar.

Cheers: Dokie's Trick

The restaurant, in the fast gentrifying Over-the-Rhine area of Cincinnati, has a small menu of perfectly executed dishes.

The broccoli 'nibble'

We tried two 'nibbles' - fried broccoli with yuzu aioli and an adorable fried oyster sandwich with kimchi on a tiny brioche roll. The sandwich, served on a wooden round, was delicious and easily split in two. And the broccoli was enough for four of us to have a healthy portion of caramelized yumminess.

Tiny oyster sandwich

My husband and I shared a starter of polenta, made with a vegetarian stock, and served with mushrooms and pickled veggies. It had an egg on top that dripped yolk over everything.

Local vendors

Salazar serves the excellent Blue Oven Bread from nearby Findlay Market. But it's $6 and comes with marrow butter. There are also BBQ pig ears. So this is definitely for adventurous eaters.

Spinach potato gratin

My husband loved his sea bass, with a potato puree and preserved Meyer lemon. I went pure vegetarian with a potato spinach gratin. It was full of flavor from the fiddlehead ferns and spring pea puree.

The cocktail list has unusual choices, like Dokie's Trick, which resembled a Manhattan, but had smoked ice. We also tried the Clarify It, a spicy cocktail with gin, green charteuse, basil, jalapeño, lime and calcified milk. That last ingredient threw me for a loop, but it was just the whey separated from the curd and added an intriguing note to a fabulous drink.

A nod to the past

Check out the bathroom, where there is a vintage photo of the grocery store that used to be here, and a current one, with the chef / owner standing in the same place the former owner stood.

Travel to Central and South America: Bogota Latin Bistro

BBQ tofu special

With one kid spending her junior year in Ecuador and another who studied in Chile, we have had more than the usual exposure to Central and South American cuisine. It seemed fitting, when our youngest went off to South America, that we revisit Bogota Latin Bistro.

Pom palm salad

This lively restaurant, which can get quite loud (blame the cocktail menu, which specializes mojitos and Caipirinhas by the pitcher) has a quieter enclosed backyard, where we ate the other night. And if you are not a rum fan, the Hendrick's mojito subs in gin, with the addition of elderflower liqueur. Lovely.

Not just rice and beans

I love rice and beans, but as a vegetarian, I eat this often. Here, you can go beyond that. Entrees come with two sides, including quinoa, kale with red onion, plantains, cabbage salad and cilantro mashed potatoes.  There are vegan beans or ones with pork. I've had all the vegetarian and vegan options over the years.

Chipotle corn crusted salmon 

There are arepas and empanadas, guacamole and ceviche to start. We shared a pom palm salad; hearts of palm with pomegranate seeds, avocado, mango and a mess of greens.

Gluten free? They've got you

Bogota has a dauntingly large menu, with its own vegetarian section, and vegan, vegetarian and gluten free options designated throughout. There are two dedicated gluten free fryers.

I usually have the quinoa cakes, a vegan take on crab cakes, with a spicy sauce, or the vegetarian plate: rice and beans, with threes sides. There are also vegetable tacos and grilled tofu.  I had a special of BBQ tofu since it was almost Labor Day.

There are also lots of fish options, from fish tacos to several preparations of salmon.  The chipotle corn crusted salmon was spicy and perfectly cooked.

Bring on the Veggies: Luxe Vegetarian at Nix

A winner: the shaved brussels sprouts

The beginning of the year is often a time of asceticism: after over-induluging at the holidays, people exercise more, go on a diet, drink less. So it was easy to convince my carnivore friends to try out the vegetarian Nix in Greenwich Village. This is not abstemious dining by any stretch (and there are wonderful, inventive cocktails) but they were trying to eat less meat and since it was my birthday, I got to choose the place.

Nix is owned by the same team behind Dovetail, but it's less formal and strictly meat-free. What it isn't is less expensive, because the sharing plates add up and before you know it, you've accumulated a hefty bill.

Michelin star

Nix was just awarded a Michelin star, which means reservations could be harder to come by. We made one four weeks before, but late January isn't really a big dining out time in New York.

This broccoli dish is off the menu

Dipping in

We started with the delicious tandoor bread and a couple of dips. The flatbread is delicious, but $6 for one is a bit steep. The labneh and red pepper walnut dip (Muhammara) were both quite tasty, but each dip is $5; 2 breads and 2 dips and you're already $22 in.

Drinks

Sunchoke salad, a lighter dish

Most of the cocktails are $14. We had a Nix martini, with vodka and thyme, the Honey Bee, with gin, sake, and Thai basil and the Albion, another gin drink on the rocks, with blackberries. All had just the right proportions and it was easy to order a second round. Wines start at $50 a bottle and quickly go up.

If you are avoiding alcohol entirely, there are homemade sodas: Pear & cardamom; Blackberry & juniper; and Mango & paprika.

The sharing economy

Shiitake cacio e pepe

Our server told us that 'chef recommends' 3-4 'lighter' sharing plates for a party of four, and 3-4 'bolder' plates. In other words, an appetizer and an entree per person. The lighter plates are $13-15 and the older are $16-30. We followed the numbers and while the flavors were exceptional, the portions were not really sharing size, and we joked that chef recommended you have a sandwich before coming. 

The only dish we didn't love was tofu-skin pockets filled with sweet potato and a tomatillo pepito salsa. But maybe we were just annoyed that the dish comes with three, so we were up-sold to a fourth. If the plates are for sharing, how many tables have three people? On the night we were there, not a single one.

But the roasted sunchokes with living greens were outstanding, as was a broccoli, cheese and peanut dish that is no longer on the menu.  We also had the jicama salad with blood orange. Our favorite lighter dish was the shaved brussels sprouts with almonds and cheese.

Service snafus

Artichokes with broccoli rabe

The plate sharing, unlike the sharing economy, leads to table overload; we got a glut of dishes all at once and were overwhelmed with dishes, our own plates, and serving spoons. But once we had each taken a little bit, busboys kept trying to whisk the half filled plates away. If you are the first person taking food from a sharing dish, you want to make sure everyone has, so you don't take enough, and then the next person takes even less; you need to go around a second time to finish the dish. But we felt we had to fight off the busboys and keep our plates.

The same thing happened with our $6 bread. We had one, ordered another and before we could finish it, someone had grabbed the plate away, along with our dips.

Swoon-worthy vegetarian food

On the other hand, we swooned over the shiitake cacce e pepe with polenta and the intoxicating braised cabbage with potato puree and truffles. I guarded these closely so we could savor every scrap.

If you are vegan, there is a separate menu. Some of the dishes,  like the 'bolder' Artichoke and broccoli rabe sauté, with preserved tomatoes, show up on both menus, but there are few extras on the vegan one. Since you rarely see broccoli rabe on a menu, we had to get it, and the bitterness of the greens played off the sweetness of the tomatoes. Plus, we got to ask my husband, Rob, "more broccoli, Rob?"

Because I loved so much of the food, I would definitely eat here again. I'd just make sure I had a hearty lunch beforehand.