FOOD

Veggies gone wild

Vegetarian fare has come a long way from rice and veggies; local restaurants offer taste and variety

Chase Anderson
Editor-in-Cheif

For vegetarians, the Seattle area is a pretty accommodating one. Meat joint or not, most restaurants have decent meat-free meals—even McDonald’s has its offerings. But the places that really put together the vegetarian feasts are, not surprisingly, those that specialize in them.

The Teapot is one of Seattle’s two vegetarian Chinese restaurants (Bamboo Garden is the other). For around $8 per huge entrée (which generally feed two), diners can experience pretty good chow mein, various vegetable concoctions, or fake meat specialties. While the tofu in place of meat won’t fool anyone, it is more than palatable in such dishes as almond-fried or sweet and sour “chicken.” The green apple iced tea is a must for even non-tea drinkers.

The Teapot is not only vegetarian, but also vegan (free of all animal products, including dairy and eggs) and certified Kosher (parve) as well. The restaurant is located on Capitol Hill, at 125 15th Ave. E.; 206-325-1010.

To impress a vegetarian date, there is no better choice than Madison Park’s Café Flora. Upscale vegetarian renditions of classic American dishes, such as the Portobella Wellington and a mushroom and onion French dip, are excellent. Original international fare, like Oaxaca Tacos, falafel and fennel, are specialties.

Wheat-free and vegan options are offered, and brunch is served on weekends. While Flora is not light on the budget (entrées generally are in the $12 to $16 range), the meals are filling and the experience is well worth the money on special occasions. A good selection of regional beer and wine and an extravagant dessert menu are also available. 2901 E. Madison St.; 206-325-9100.

For excellent American home cooking, there are two good choices. The Globe Café and Bakery has the best gravy-smothered vegan food in town, with vegan biscuits and gravy, open-faced tofu sandwiches and more (see Globe review below).

The Green Cat Café is known for great breakfast scrambles, available vegan (with tofu) or vegetarian (with egg). Their garlic toast and espresso drinks are good as well, and everything is fairly inexpensive. The café is a chill neighborhood hang out where people are (mostly) friendly and you can sit around and people-watch for quite a while. 1514 E. Olive Way (Capitol Hill); 206-726-8756.

The Seattle-area has loads more vegetarian and vegan eateries.

The Gravity Bar (415 Broadway E., in Broadway Market on Capitol Hill) has good burgers and an excellent, though pricey, juice bar.

For an extensive list of vegan and vegetarian restaurants, including non-vegetarian restaurants with good meat free food, visit http://vegseattle.com. New restaurants, tips, and news are listed there in a much less threatening manner than that which PETA is known for.

The Globe Café and Bakery
1531 14th Ave., Seattle

Jessica McDaniel
Copy Editor

Don’t let the piercing scare you; the staff at the Globe Café and Bakery wouldn’t hurt a fly. Well, they wouldn’t eat one at least, because the Globe’s menu is entirely Vegan. For omnivores in the dark, that means there are no animal products used in the creation of any dish they serve; no meat, eggs, cheese, or milk.

What does that leave? Well, at the Globe on Capitol Hill you’ll find a small but diverse menu of hearty, home-cooked meals. Even to a stubborn meat eater, I would highly recommend the sliced portabella mushrooms in homemade barbecue sauce on a focacia bun with home fries. Their baked goods range from vegan-tasting to delicious, but all are high-quality. My favorite is the carrot cake. The coffee is excellent, and they also sell a variety of organic sodas and teas.

The globe opens its doors after hours on Sunday evenings to the Red-sky poetry theater, the longest running open mic on the west coast (23 years). The café’s arts and literature leaning is apparent from its interior. Clear plastic panels with excerpts from books hang from the ceiling between the booths, and a giant crossword puzzle in progress covers part of one wall. There is a piano in the corner for the pleasure of customers who want to play, and in the back there are stacks of political and miscellaneous informative pamphlets.

The crowd at the Globe is young, alternative, and anti-hip. The staff is similar, and their friendly personalities go a long way in warming the small dining area. Lunch and Breakfast are served from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday. They are closed Monday.

Local Restaurants

Chris Jones
Managing Editor

Armadillo Barbecue 13109 NE 175th Woodinville 425-481-1417
The place is dark, the waiters surly, the decor surreal, the side dishes bland, the cola is RC, but the barbecue is outta sight. The Prime ribs, pork ribs, short ribs, chicken, and sausages are all worth the drive to the heart of downtown Woodinville. They serve real Texas-style barbecue with none of that namby-pamby tomatoey stuff. The sauce, to be applied after cooking, is dispensed from a 50-gallon drum near the front counter. If you are too busy to drive to Woodinville, buy a bottle of the sauce at your local grocery. Turn in the bottle at Armadillo Headquarters to get a buck off on your meal when you’ve got the time to show up in person. Prices range from about $4 to $75 for weasel on a stick.

Scott’s Bar and Grill 8115 Lake Ballinger Way Edmonds 425-775-2561
For the reasonably affluent. By concentrating on quality and refining their menu over the years, Scotts has become popular enough that reservations are almost always recommended. The Maytag Blue Cheese salad is one of the two best in the city (the other being Chinook’s hearts of romaine blue cheese salad). The entrée’s are of uniformly good quality. French onion soup, pea salad and prime rib are three of Scott’s signature preparations. There is always an extensive selection of fresh fish. When dining room seating is tight, you can eat in the bar.

The Cabin Tavern 19322 Richmond Beach Dr. NW 206-542-1177
The Cabin has been through every earthquake since 1927 and the floor, which slopes in several different directions, shows it. The Cabin is the only business in the immediate area, its atmosphere borrowed from the 1950s era beach bungalows which surround it. Per square foot of kitchen, the Cabin may rate as one of the best restaurants in the universe if only because the kitchen is so small it’s virtually invisible.

The menu is limited, but what they do have is all top notch. $6.50 will get you a nice Caesar salad with shrimp, a small bowl of chowder, two pieces of grilled cheese bread and a drink. The clam chowder is chock full of clams and large chunks of bacon—the real deal. On sunny days there is dining on the patio, but the best time to go is when the weather is cool and the tourist-types are still at home. Then you and the locals will have the place to yourselves and you can enjoy dinner while the sun sets over the Sound.