The Undercover Vegetarian

The Undercover Vegetarian: Rustic Canyon

By Besha Rodell Thu., May 16 2013 at 9:00 AM
Categories: The Undercover Vegetarian

rustic-canyon-peas.jpg
Anne Fishbein
Roasted sugar snap peas at Rustic Canyon
Chef Jeremy Fox once presided over the most celebrated vegetarian menu in the country at Ubuntu in Napa. So now that he's taken the helm at Rustic Canyon in Santa Monica, it is no surprise that it's quite easy to eat incredibly well without meat at his current endeavor.

On the current menu, more than half of the "small plates" section celebrates the bounty of Southern California spring produce without a lick of meat. There are multiple salads, a chilled English pea and asparagus soup with ramps, fiddlehead ferns and nasturtiums, a plate that celebrates beets and another that celebrates burrata.

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The Undercover Vegetarian

The Undercover Vegetarian: Corazon y Miel

By Besha Rodell Fri., May 10 2013 at 7:18 AM
Categories: The Undercover Vegetarian

corazin-avocado.jpg
Anne Fishbein
Avocado Frito at Corazon y Miel
Corazon y Miel (subject of this week's restaurant review) is basically a meat-obsessed restaurant. There's a lot of pig parts, a lot of chicken bits. But it caters to vegetarians in that there's at least one starter and one (and sometimes two) entrees that are meat-free.

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The Undercover Vegetarian

The Undercover Vegetarian: Bludso's Bar and Que in Hollywood

By Besha Rodell Fri., May 3 2013 at 11:24 AM
Categories: The Undercover Vegetarian

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Anne Fishbein
Brisket at Bludso's in Hollywood
No.

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The Undercover Vegetarian

Hinoki and The Bird: If There's No Grilled Tofu Entree, Does That Mean It's Not Vegetarian Friendly?

By Besha Rodell Fri., Apr. 26 2013 at 10:54 AM
Categories: The Undercover Vegetarian

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Anne Fishbein
Roasted yam at Hinoki and The Bird
Hinoki and The Bird (the subject of this week's restaurant review) came up as a possible option for a group dinner I was trying to organize a few weeks back. The group included one vegetarian. "I think this will be a great option for a vegetarian eater," I proposed, noting that the menu had a whole section of the menu dedicated to vegetables and grains.

"She says if we go there she's not coming," the reply came. "It's one of those menus that says vegetables and grains but then there's bacon on the vegetables and grains."

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The Undercover Vegetarian

The Undercover Vegetarian: Allumette

By Besha Rodell Fri., Apr. 5 2013 at 9:59 AM
Categories: The Undercover Vegetarian

allumette-veg.jpg
Anne Fishbein
Carrot salad, sunchokes, radishes, pickled turnips, black carrot syrup; chef Miles Thompson at Allumette.

During my last visit to Allumette, the Echo Park restaurant featured in this week's restaurant review, there were exactly two meat-free items on the menu. Chef Miles Thompson serves a short, ever-changing menu, and there are times when I've seen perhaps one other salad on offer as well, but the brief version is: This is not a great restaurant for vegetarians.


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The Undercover Vegetarian

The Undercover Vegetarian: Bar Ama

By Besha Rodell Fri., Mar. 15 2013 at 6:00 AM
Categories: The Undercover Vegetarian

bar-ama-veg.jpg
Anne Fishbein
Cauliflower and cilantro pesto at Bar Ama.
When you think of Tex-Mex, you don't think much of vegetarian food. Unless you're one of those vegetarians who lives on 7-layer burritos from Taco Bell. Sure, there are cheese enchiladas, and queso dip, and guacamole. In fact, sometimes Mexican and Tex-Mex spots can be a respite for vegetarians -- you know there's going to be something on the menu that's meat-free, as long as cheesy fried cheese is acceptable as dinner.

Thankfully, at Bar Ama, Josef Centeno's new downtown homage to Tex-Mex (and the subject of this week's restaurant review), there no 7-layer burritos in site, and while drowning in cheese gloop is possible, it's in no way necessary for the meat-averse. In fact, much of the best eating here is vegetarian.

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The Undercover Vegetarian

The Undercover Vegetarian: Alma

By Besha Rodell Fri., Mar. 8 2013 at 10:30 AM
Categories: The Undercover Vegetarian

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Anne Fishbein
Broccoli and mushrooms at Alma
At Alma, the downtown restaurant owned by chef Ari Taymor (and the subject of this week's restaurant review), vegetarian options take up about a quarter to a third of the menu on any given night. The problem is that the menus are very short, so while there are certainly meat-free things you can eat, you should be excited by the idea of giving yourself over to this chef and his aesthetic rather than hope to come in and have a standard veggie plate.

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The Undercover Vegetarian

The Undercover Vegetarian: The Hart and the Hunter

By Besha Rodell Fri., Feb. 22 2013 at 11:03 AM
Categories: The Undercover Vegetarian

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Anne Fishbein
Pimento cheese at the Hart and the Hunter
While Southern food is known for its meaty aesthetic, it has always been more veggie-friendly than many cuisines, simply because of the number of vegetable sides -- that is, if there's no ham hock thrown in for flavor. One of the main traits of New Southern cooking is a ramping up of that reliance on vegetables, putting them front and center.

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The Undercover Vegetarian

The Undercover Vegetarian: The Parish

By Besha Rodell Fri., Feb. 8 2013 at 9:46 AM
Categories: The Undercover Vegetarian

parish-veg.jpg
Anne Fishbein
Beets with molasses yogurt and ancient grain granola at The Parish.
You might assume that The Parish, subject of this week's restaurant review, is a temple to meaty fatty things, being a gastropub and all. And you wouldn't be far off -- there are plenty of chicken livers and fried fish items and things made out of pig parts on this menu.

But there's also an obvious love and respect for vegetables, and even some of the best bar snacks here are vegetarian-friendly.

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The Undercover Vegetarian

The Undercover Vegetarian: Le Ka

By Besha Rodell Fri., Jan. 25 2013 at 6:56 AM
Categories: The Undercover Vegetarian

le-ka-veg.jpg
Anne Fishbein
Le Ka
It just so happens that my 9-year old son decided to be a vegetarian for the month of January, and it just so happens that the first restaurant we attempted to eat at after the no-meat rule took effect was Le Ka, the subject of this week's restaurant review.

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