Warning! Spoiled bourgeois and ranting vegetarian content ahead!
Proof that we are, in fact, yuppies is that our favorite Seattle area restaurant promotion is back on. Every November and March 25 of the nicer restaurants (although not the uber-fancy ones) do a special pre-fixe menu for $25. Usually you can choose one of three starters, one of three or four entrees, and one of three desserts from the set menu. At most of these places the normal prices are such that this represents a pretty good deal, and so M often takes me out (generous person that he is) for a few semi-fancy dinners. Lucky us.
The perennial challenge in all this is to find places that deign to include a vegetarian option on their pre-fixe menus. Now, I must admit, there are some restaurants where change is not a problem. The Barking Frog, for example, was more than happy to swap in something meatless and still honor the 25 for $25 deal. However, most restaurants are not so accommodating (I've eaten dinners of buttered noodles or mashed potatoes more than once), so finding something already on the menu is a very good thing indeed.
This year a 14 of the 25 have vegetarian options available. Andaluca, Brasa, Cascadia, Earth & Ocean, Fish Club, Market Street Grill, Nells, Nishino, Ponti, Zoe, Sazerac, Sarafina, Six Seven, and The Yarrow Bay Grill are all very thoughtful indeed. They deserve a round of applause for thinking of all the people who, for one reason or another, don't eat meat. I'm truly grateful because I know that in many parts of the country not a single vegetarian item would be offered. For that, I am happy to live in the Seattle area.
That said, I can't help but offer one small complaint (aside from the 11 restaurants who ignored me of course). Risotto. Risotto, risotto, risotto. Don't get me wrong, I do like the stuff, but when 7 of the 14 serve risotto as the only veggie option it does tend to get a bit old. Now I know this sounds terribly spoiled of me, but when you are facing the third plate of risotto, you too will start to feel a little green. Perhaps we could try out a pasta dish for the veggie option? Or a nice veggie pie? Or some sort of veggie stew? Or a delicious fancy pizza? There are so many options, and they are so inexpensive to prepare. Here is the menu in case you want a cheesy rice fix:
Andaluca--- Mushroom risotto
Earth and Ocean--- Carrot, that's right, carrot risotto
Nell's--- Butternut squash risotto
Ponti--- Red and yellow beet risotto
Ray's Boathouse--- Farro risotto cakes
Zoe--- Roasted beet risotto
Tulio--- Lemon risotto (but this one really doesn't count because it has chicken)
Once again, hooray for those restaurants who stopped to think of us freaks. We really do appriciate the notice. Now if we could just break out of the usual, and get a teensy bit more variety it would make it even better.
3 comments:
Might be really good carrots.
I think you should just email the Carmelita menu (http://carmelita.net/menus.html)to some of these places to give them ideas, although even Carmelita has succummed with: corn risotto, wild rice, swiss chard, foraged mushrooms, Reggiano, mascarpone, truffle oil
And one more comment, because I'm obsessed with food...I was just looking for the listing of all the 25x25 restaurants for March and they had a review from last Nov, in which they said:
Best vegetarian entree - Cascadia, Earth & Ocean, Wild Ginger
These three restaurants stand out for offering something beyond risotto as a vegetarian option. In general, this was a weak point in the Dine Around menus. If you were a vegetarian diner, your choices would have been remarkably redundant (think green salad and squash soup to start and risotto - squash or mushroom - for an entrée)....etc.
So it looks like that's a common complaint!
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