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diggVeggie delight
Meat eater surprised at local restaurant dishes.
My Mexican-American mother and Arkansas-American father did not raise a vegetarian. In my mixed-raced and mixed-culture family, vegetarianism and veganism were unknown, weird concepts. We were all about the animal products: carne asada, spicy barbecue chicken, baked pork chops, fried catfish. Our vegetables were always on the side, never the main dish, and they were usually spiced up with bacon, ham hocks and cheese. Collard greens with bacon, pinto beans with ham, and calabacitas with cheese and green chile accompanying our meat truly made for "good eatin,’" as my Southern daddy would say.
My most memorable vegetarian experiences came from avoiding my health nut aunt’s vegetarian refried beans, whole wheat flour tortillas and all-natural, vitamin-fortified wheat germ cake at my cousin’s birthday parties. And once I split from a 1973 Hari Krishna "experience" with my mother and sisters when the free lunch turned out to be stinky, overcooked, mushy, gray, unidentifiable vegetables.
So it was with interest, but some skepticism, that I set out to try vegetarian/vegan restaurants this summer. But with the desert heat bearing down like an itchy wool blanket, it seemed like a good time to eat veggie light.
With my vegetarian friend Kathryn, the first stop on my veggie adventure was Udupi Café. Restaurant manager Nagappan Chettier proudly bills Udupi as a "South Indian vegetarian restaurant in Arizona."
The food at Udupi, which is located in a strip center in north Tempe, serves tasty and satisfying food.
No carne was to be found. However, we did find interesting, fresh, spicy, colorful and aromatic fare. The Dahl Curry, a concoction of lentil with mustard, cumin and Indian spices is a blend of flavors even an amateur veggie eater could love.
Nouvatan Korma (stir-fried vegetables in lightly spiced curry sauce with fruit); Gobi Bannras, (cauliflower, onion and bell pepper sautéed in a creamy sauce); and Bharwan Baigan Curry, (a nutty, pungent dish featuring stuffed eggplant), are must-haves. Another favorite is the Masala Dosai, a crispy crepe filled with potatoes and onions. Ours was a little longer than a standard dinner plate, but for parties, Udupi makes the crepe up to six-feet long.
The crowning glory was the rice pudding, a creamy dessert made of rice cooked in milk and honey, garnished with raisins and almonds. So refreshing, smooth and cool, like silk bed sheets on a warm summer night.
Next stop on the vegetarian trail was The Supreme Master Ching Hai Vegetarian House in Phoenix. Printed on the menu is the vegetarian credo: "To eat vegetarian food often will be beneficial to your health, remove miscellaneous matters from your body, and help enhance happiness and wisdom." The menu also intones "with respect for all life, we proudly serve all dishes free of meat, poultry, fish, egg and MSG."
The Vegetarian House meals are full of veggies with faux meat made of soy protein and flavored like chicken, beef, pork, fish, shrimp and squid. My meal companions (the veggie eaters Kathryn and Denika, and Jeanette, who appreciates a good steak every now and then) and I weren’t quite adventurous enough to order the "squid." We started out with a flavorful soup full of vegetables and lentils, followed by an array of meatless dishes, including veggie chicken chow mein, hot and spicy bean curd, twice-cooked veggie pork, and sweet and sour veggie pork. The vegetables were fresh, colorful and crisp.
The ersatz meat was a bit strangely textured, but good if you’ve sworn off real cow, pig, fish or chicken. All of the dishes were nicely spiced and delicately sauced.
While my natural inclination as an omnivore is to eat meat with my veggies, a taste of vegetarian and vegan cuisine was an enjoyable change. The meatless concept is no longer foreign to my Mexican-Arkie palate.
Udupi Café
1636 N. Scottsdale Road
Tempe
(480) 994-8787
The Supreme Master Ching Hai Vegetarian House
3239 E. Indian School Road
Phoenix
(602) 264-3480
