Best of Nashville

The Nashville Scene released it's Best of Nashville issue last week while I was visiting the Redneck Riviera, so I'm a little late in registering my approval for mentions of some of my favorite restaurants.

My favorite local restaurant, Zola was honored by readers as well as the writers for Best Use of Too Many Ingredients. Whereas that may sound like a bit of an insult, it is not. My dining companion and I went to Zola to celebrate my birthday recently (as we always do) and I ordered chef's selection of a vegetarian option (as I also always do). My dining companion got the menu's vegetarian selection, but I wanted to see what the chef/owner would come up with this year. Last year, I got the most delicious dish that included among other ingredients, Israeli couscous and capers in a pocket of phyllo and topped with a sauce that I'd love to tell you about but can only say it was amazing. The year before, I was treated to a special olive plate that I will remember forever.

That's the thing about Zola--Deb Paquette combines an array of everyday and very unusual ingredients in such a way that your tastebuds practically jump for joy. This year, I got a "Mediterranean Burrito" that used phyllo as the wrap and was stuffed with chopped asparagus, eggplant, red and yellow peppers and about a half dozen other things that I can't even remember. And it was divine. It bothered me to leave any on the plate, but I was nearly bursting about two-thirds of the way through it. But each bite was even better than the previous. And unlike Anthony Bourdain, Paquette and her staff are gracious and accommodating to vegetarians, even when we order off-menu. Judging by the delightful and thoughtful entrees I've been served, I might even say they were happy to accommodate me.

The Dinner Party

I have some friends who like to entertain in their home. They're very considerate of my diet and quite gracious hosts. It's not a sit-down dinner, usually but a very good selection of fruits, vegetables, multi-grain breads with dipping oil and other finger foods. I am generally considerate of their diet as well, but sometimes questions arise.

Last night, the topics of marshmallows and rennet came up. The hosts had made a healthier version of Rice Krispies Treats with a Kashi cereal and some dried cranberries. Nonetheless, it was made with marshmallows, which contain gelatin. Gelatin is, unless otherwise noted as "vegetarian," derived from animal connective tissue. And it pops up in the craziest places, including local favorites, Moon Pies as well as Starbursts and Altoids. So I politely declined the treats, but was pushed a bit so I decided to just say that I don't eat marshmallows and why. The wife was surprised, but the husband, who is from Georgia and familiar with the marshmallow plant knew exactly what I was talking about.

I then indicated how I'm trying to phase out some other things from my diet that aren't very vegetarian, including most hard cheeses. I love cheese (they know this) and they served some very good sharp white cheddar for dinner. I had a few bites, but I'm still trying to cut back in hopes of cutting out animal rennet cheeses altogether. I've already cut out Parmesan (real Parmesan; Kraft parmesan--in the green can--is not real Parmesan but is vegetarian), but it's going to be really difficult to cut out artisanal cheeses, particularly European cheeses. I don't know that I'll ever be 100% rennet cheese-free (mostly due to eating away from home), but it'll be a goal. In the meantime, I'll continue to enjoy my favorite vegetarian cheeses at home: Sargento (most types) and Tillamook (all but the two-year aged cheddar).

You know, I never did get around to telling my old neighbors back in Memphis that I was a vegetarian. Though they did eventually stop asking me if I wanted a hot dog or hamburger when they were cooking out after a couple of years of declining without too detailed an excuse.

Business Lunch

When I first became a vegetarian in 2000, I worked for a large manufacturing company based in the meat-and-potatoes Midwest. So business dinners and lunches (particularly when visiting company headquarters) could be a real challenge. I mean, just because I'm a vegetarian doesn't mean that I want to eat a salad at every meal. But I've had to suffer through eating a large plate of asparagus accompanied with bread at Ruth's Chris (it was good, though), eating cheesestick appetizers as a meal and, of course, eating mediocre iceberg lettuce salads at more places than I can think of.

My current job is based on the gulf coast of northwest Florida, a place that has great seafood but lacks a wide selection of restaurants that include thoughtful vegetarian selections. Likely because the people who visit locally-owned restaurants are looking for fresh seafood, so I can't blame them. Supply, demand, all that. Yet another reason I like staying in a condo and preparing all my food from what I buy in the Greenwise section from Publix.

Inevitably, though, I have lunch meetings down here and I have to balance my desire to have something other than a salad with my desire not to be a wet blanket on co-workers and business associates who don't really care to go to McAllister's or Panera. I once really liked the Donut Hole's egg salad sandwich, but I'm trying to really cut back on eggs (and mayonnaise), so I didn't have a good suggestion for lunch today. Just that we not go to a specifically seafood restaurant. So we ended up at Pineapple Willy's in Panama City Beach.

Funny, I haven't been to Pineapple Willy's since the summer of 1983 when my family stayed the one and only time at Pier 99 (since gone and replaced with a high-rise condo, Shores of Panama--this is a good thing; Pier 99 was a dump). I remembered liking the place then and it is very kid-friendly. But not terribly vegetarian-friendly. There were exactly two meat-free items on the menu, from what I could tell. Onion rings and a "house salad." So guess what I had for lunch. Iceberg lettuce, a few cherry tomatoes (better than sliced large tomatoes), a few cucumbers (oh hey, that's a nice bonus), shredded cheese, onion and bell pepper (which, fortunately was easy to remove) and croutons. A fairly bland and unexciting salad. But they did serve Newman's Own balsamic vinaigrette dressing, so that helped. It just would have been nice to have something a little more interesting.

Oh, and I totally got the Vidalia onion rings. They were pretty tasty. But, you know, a roasted portobello mushroom sandwich woulda been nice for lunch. Eh.

Pomango!

As I've mentioned before, I don't like store-bought salad dressings. But I can't go this entire week without eating some salad, so I perused the selection of dressings in the Greenwise section of the local Publix and found this Naturally Fresh Pomango Dressing. This dressing and the market lettuces salad I had at Marche for brunch this past Sunday inspired me to do a little something different with my salad while I'm away from home this week.

So tonight's salad had a base of baby romaine lettuce tossed with the Pomango dressing and topped with walnuts, slices of golden delicious apple, and gorgonzola cheese. Fortunately, this was a combination that worked thanks in large part to the Pomango dressing which is light (not oily) and citrusy without being overly sweet or tart. So, in short, Naturally Fresh Pomango Dressing = thumbs up for a light, citrusy and slightly sweet salad (with fruit, nuts and light, soft cheeses).

Amy's Indian Samosa Wraps

I'm in Destin, Florida this week for work. I've been in the hospitality business for a while and my favorite places to stay (for business) are condos, particularly when travelling alone or for more than a few days. That's because I'm not a huge fan of eating in restaurants alone or for several nights in a row, so staying in a condo with a full kitchen enables me to go to the grocery and get what I need to eat in for a while. It helps me stick to my nutrition plan, too.

And, also, I get to buy groceries and expense them so I go to a new grocery and try some things I don't typically try at home. Tonight, I got some Amy's Samosa Wraps. This wasn't much of a risk since I've never had an Amy's product I didn't love.

Until tonight. The wraps were okay and I'm full (and I should be considering the two wraps in the package have a combined whopping 520 calories), but they weren't as good as every other Amy's product I've had. The wraps were a little dry. And though I'm sure they were authentic as possible, I think they could have benefitted from a little chopped tomato inside. But the wrap itself was the driest part. I suspect it's because it's vegan, but I could be wrong. It's highly likely that I just overcooked them a bit. Regardless, a little chopped tomato in with the rest of the filling would be nice, but it might not hold up to the freezing process so well.

All that said, next time I want to spend a ton of calories on an Amy's dish, I think I'll stick with the cheese lasagna. Yum.