Top Vegetarian Entrees, Part II
I intended to post my list of Top 10 vegetarian entrees ahead of Great American Meatout on Saturday; but life got in the way. Still, these dishes are good any time of the year! And if Meatout inspired you to go veg, even some of the time, they are some good bets.
1. De Molecito y Pintos, at La Botana, 1547 Hanes Mall Blvd. Of all the excellent vegetarian dishes at this great Mexican place, this is the one I get most often. As in, almost always: It is a bed of rice, topped with pinto beans, two cheese enchiladas, and a wonderful, deeply flavored mole sauce, finished with a zingy topping of lime-marinated onions and jalapenos. Journal reporter Laura Giovanelli’s profile of La Botana’s chef, Rigo Velazques, explains how he comes up with his dishes.
2. Green curry with tofu, Thai Sawatdee, 2281 Cloverdale Ave (inside the Harris Teeter). This spicy dish, full of flavor and fresh vegetables, will cure what ails ya. There’s not a lot of atmosphere in the little dining area in the Harris Teeter, but at lunchtime, you get soup and crispy spring rolls for an amazingly low price. A second, sit-down. location is supposed to open soon.
3. Wild Mushroom Pizza, Brixx, 1295 Creekshire Way (off Hanes Mall Boulevard). This place offers a choice of vegan cheese on their pizza, and a lot of good beers on tap. I would be here almost constantly if Brixx weren’t just down the road from my beloved La Botana. Photo
4. Mysore masala dosa, Turmeric Indian Restaurant, 3088 Healy Drive This is the only place in town I know of to get dosa, the Indian crepe. This version comes spread with spices inside, wrapped around a tasty potato-based filling. Accompanied by spicy sambar soup and chutneys, it’s a taste sensation and by far my favorite dish at Turmeric.
5 Winter Harvest Boxty, Finnegan’s Wake. 620 N. Trade St. A potato pancake wraps around a filling of apples, pears, and walnuts. This sweet and savory dish is served at brunch, not dinner, but it’s my favorite main dish at Finnegan’s Wake. Finnegan’s is notably veg-friendly in that many of its dishes can be made with meat analogues – such as a vegetarian version of its shepherd’s pie, or a Rachel – like a Reuben but with faux turkey. Since Cass chose one of Finnegan’s brunch items for her list, clearly this is a place vegetarians need to go for brunch….
Cassandra and I had a couple of overlapping items on our lists:
6. Chef’s Vegetable Tasting Menu, Bleu, 3425 Frontis St. This topped Cassandra’s list; and I second everything she wrote about it!
7. Sampler plate, Mooney’s Mediterranean Café, 101 W. Fourth St. I’m happiest when mujadara, a lentil-and-rice is one of the rotating weekly specials.
8-10. These spaces reserved for future use…. I originally had a list of 10, but after the writing about the meals above, I realized I didn’t have quite the same enthusiasm for the rest; and who wants a padded list? C’mon, Winston-Salem restaurants, wow me! Readers, what are your picks for top local entrees?
