Date Night Goes Vegetarian

Colin and I are always looking for good vegetarian meals.  We subscribe to the philosophy of eating better quality meat and less often. As a result, we end up cooking vegetarian meals pretty often.

So much of the meat we find in the grocery store has come from animals raised in horrible conditions on factory farms, where the animals are fed grains to fatten up quickly.  Because cows are not meant to eat grains, but rather to graze on grass, their man-made diet causes ulcers in their stomach and so we humans medicate them with antibiotics.  I'm not going to get into the health concerns that raises in humans, or the environmental impacts - you can research that on your own when you are ready to connect with the reality of where your meat comes from.

I will say that I care about my health and I care about the harm that is done to the environment in the name of capitalism.  I recognize that Americans want their meat on the table and agriculture has done what is necessary to meet demand, but I know that the amount we now consume is not the process of natural selection.  

I could get into the science behind the fact that most Americans only require 50-100 grams of protein per day and that some burgers at fast food joints provide a whole day's supply of protein in one burger (and excess calories and fat).  But, I'll spare you ... this time.

Instead, I'll focus on our experience dining at one of WRAL's five fave vegetarian restaurants.  We started at the top of the list with "Remedy Diner" in the heart of downtown Raleigh, around the corner from Moore Square.  Their menu of "remedies" and "prescriptions" offered variety for diners spanning the spectrum from vegan, to vegetarian, to omnivorous.  

I enjoy vegetarian options at restaurants because I don't have to stress about where my meat came from, but I am frequently frustrated by the fact that many vegetarian restaurants primarily offer soy substitutes for meat.  I suspect I have a slight allergy to soy, so I try not to consume it in large quantities.  And, I want to eat a plate full of vegetables that taste good and are satisfying.  The frustration I have with soy substitutes is that people (myself included) have become so conditioned to a solid mass on our plate, that we require vegetarian equivalents to meat.

The Remedy Diner's vegetarian menu was typical - offering a variety of soy entrees, and a black bean burger and portobello mushroom sandwich for the non-soy eaters.  They also offered real deli meat sandwiches, informing patrons that they "only use Boar's Head meats which contain no fillers, gluten, artificial colors, flavors, or trans fat."  But, that doesn't tell us anything about how that animal was raised.  As far as I know Boar's Head does not source local, sustainable meat, and actually has a link to the "American Meat Institute's refute to the myths provided in the movie Food, Inc.

Colin ordered the "tempeh tantrum" sandwich, which was marinated tempeh with vegan pesto, vegan bacon, avocado and lettuce on sourdough.  I had the black bean burger, because I was not going to get meat or soy at a vegetarian restaurant and Colin makes really good portobello sandwiches.  The item I most looked forward to was the chickpea soup we had as a side. 

 Above: Colin's tempeh sandwich and chickpea soup

Below: My black bean burger and garden salad

The food was very flavorful, though we both wondered if the soup taste came from a high-sodium bouillon cube.  The pesto, avocado and "fake" bacon on Colin's tempeh was delicious (I just had a bite).  And my black bean burger was also delicious and maintained a good consistency in the bun.

We haven't mastered the art of making a good black bean burger at home ... yet! 

I realized later that the diner offered vegan cheese, which I always assumed was another "fake" cheese made from soy.  When I looked up Daiya cheese on wikipedia, I found out that it is actually made from cassava and arrowroot.  I'll have to try it out sometime.

Since our dinners were not too over-indulgent, we decided to split a dessert.  The "chess pie" - a pie that looked and tasted like a cookie, was really good!  The soft consistency of the cookie and very rich flavor were likely a result of lots of butter - but I did enjoy every bite.

Chess pie for dessert

Overall, the meal was tasty.  We were able to eat a few servings of vegetables between the salad, soup, and sandwiches, but I'm sure the calories, sugar, fat and salt outweighed any benefits from the vegetables.  We certainly could have gone without the dessert to cut down on some calories, fat, and sugar.  I would have preferred more vegetable based entrees, but the menu was to be expected for a vegetarian diner.  The atmosphere was very laid-back, with a college feel that brought me back to UVM.  

Stay tuned for more posts about Miller adventures! The weather is getting warmer, which means we should be getting back to outdoor activities - which we need after all this going out to eat!!  I expect there to be a weekly, or biweekly semimonthly fortnightly post about our date nights since I will be traveling for work much of this month and will be eating on the road during the day.  I'm not a fan of dining out for lunch AND dinner!

But I wonder - have you ever had daiya cheese?  If so, is it good?