Papaya Street Grill is a fast-casual restaurant with a global menu located in Dublin. Dishes and sauces travel the globe from Thailand to Bali to Minnesota and beyond.
While the menu listed plenty of options for vegan and vegetarian diners, the counter staff was flummoxed by questions about the ingredients in particular sauces. Diners with allergies might want to contact Papaya Street Grill ahead of time. Nervous vegetarian diners could also order only vegan items from the menu if they are unable to confirm what ingredients are in particular dishes.
The build-your-own bowl entree can be built on salad, rice or noodles. Tofu can be added and a sauce can be chosen. The vegetables were limp and needed sauce to cover up the imperfections.
While the concept of Papaya Street Grill is interesting, getting answers to dietary concerns is difficult. The food isn't good enough to make the struggle worthwhile.
Urban Belly is Bill Kim's flagship establishment. It is a Pan-Asian restaurant with communal dining arrangement specializing in dumplings and noodles. It is a cool spot in a strip mall on Chicago's Northwest side.
I spent a good deal of space singing Chef Kim's praises in my review of his latest operation, Belly Shack. He generates a great deal of buzz because his restaurants are fun and offer a lot of bang for the buck.
The chairs at the long tables are built from wood from salvaged Indonesian ships. The decor is minimal, understated and inviting. There is a fairly brisk turnover of the seats.
While there are no vegetarian dumplings listed on the menu, Urban Belly offers the squash dumplings prepared without bacon. The dumplings were garnished with daikon, green onions and tangerines. They were stuffed with squash that had a spicy accent. The veggie squash dumplings were a subtly sweet and absolutely sublime.
The Asian egg noodles consisted of a bathtub-sized bowl of delicious noodles, fried crispy on the ends and soft in the middle, in a chili garlic broth with eggplant and tofu cubes. The massive portion provided plenty of satisfying flavors the run the gamut from spicy to vegetal to savory.
The Szechwan wrinkled green beans were a delightful take on a Chinese classic. The rich, spicy sauce was accented with crunchy almonds that add another layer of texture to a dish that already possesses a pile of flavor.
Prices are reasonable, and although there are limited choices for vegetarians, the options are good enough to make Urban Belly a foodie destination.
Blue Ginger is the latest pan-Asian hot spot to spring up in Columbus during the last year. Blue Ginger features a multinational menu that jumps all over the Asian continent. There are Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese and Thai dishes on the menu.
The restaurant decor is modern and relatively formal. Blue Ginger serves beer, wine and sake. They have a liquor license pending. The mango saketini was delicious, making me not miss the hard liquor license at all.
I tried the edamame as an appetizer. The simple soybean becomes an addictive treat when it's boiled in sea salt. They call edamame Japanese peanuts for a reason. They are really that good and really that addictive.
The vegetarian sushi plate is one of the best I've ever had. There are a wide variety of different vegetable combinations wrapped with rice and seaweed. There were avocado rolls, carrot rolls, a number of rolls made with pickled vegetables, as well as a lightly fried rice dumpling and a mountain of ginger and wasabi. The presentation made the rolls almost too beautiful to eat. Luckily I closed my eyes, and they went down just fine (picture me smiling, fat and sarcastic).
There are also a number of noodle dishes that can be made with tofu on the menu. Overall, Blue Ginger has a wide variety of vegetarian options, and the food, service and experience are excellent.
If a vegetarian had to get stuck in one continent for the rest of their life, I would recommend being banished to Asia. I'm not sure if they invented vegetarianism in the Far East, but they definitely perfected it. This is clearly on display at the Columbus Asian Festival, where visitors have the opportunity to sample food from all parts of the continent, with plenty of art, music and martial arts to wash down the veggie-friendly eats enjoyed picnic-style in the park.
There was food from China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Indonesia, India, and a number of less than Asian nations like Jamaica and Mexico. I saw a Filipino dance and sumo wrestling. Mostly (as you can tell from my gut), I went for the food.
One of my favorite Indian joints Bayleaf offered $5 vegetarian sampler plates with two items and a side of saffron rice. I went with the chana masala and the breaded cauliflower. The chick peas (the main ingredient in chana) were rich and blazing hot. I was sweating so profusely I needed to go get a drink. The cauliflower was milder, with a crisp breading that intensified the vegetal and slightly citrus-oriented flavors of the cauliflower florets. Bayleaf offered three other vegetarian items (You can also read a previous entry on Bayleaf here).
I grabbed an egg roll from a place called Healthy Gourmet Vegetarian Food. While it was indeed a vegetarian item, the terminology "healthy" and "gourmet" did not apply to the grease torpedo that coated my flesh in a thin layer of fat. They served a side egg roll with their large order of grease. The egg roll was so fatty, it was Oprah back in her hey-day. Whatever poor attempts at humor I craft to describe how greasy this egg roll was will fail to do this thing justice. To be fair, I originally ordered veggie pot stickers, but they were no longer available. I can't comment on the entrees, but if they're anything like the egg roll, you'll gain five pounds just ordering.
I also sampled a spring roll from Muong Lao, a Laotian restaurant. Their take on the spring roll was cold, not the crispy fried version that comes from Thailand, but rather a soft rice wrapper surrounding lettuce, rice noodles and cilantro with a side of deceptively spicy sweet and sour sauce. It was the only vegetarian item on their festival menu, but it was absolutely delicious. I'll have to check out the real restaurant and see if they like vegetarians...I forgot to write down the address.
There were other places with vegetarian eats that I didn't try during the fest. Bento Go-Go on campus always has a few well made vegetarian options. There's nothing wrong with Flavors of India (and aside from their average samosa, there's quite a bit they do right, too). There was more kimchi then you could shake a stick at. Many other places offered a range of vegetarian choices, and they are too numerous to credit. You'll just have to find out next year, or try all the places individually during the year.
I'm going to save myself some trouble and write up these two vegetarian friendly lunch spots in Victorian Village by combining them into one review. This will save you from having to read two separate posts worth of my meandering prose.
The two places are located right next to each other by the Giant Eagle on Neil. Spinelli's Deli offers all the staples of a typical deli, including the requisite vegetarian sammie--the Village Veggie (pictured above). It was prepared on focaccia bread with chipotle mayo (I held the mayo), roasted red peppers, green peppers, red onions, lettuce, tomato, cucumber and veggie cream cheese.
The menu also features a number of salads and even a vegan soup, but the sandwich is the main attraction for the vegetarian crowd. The bagels and cream cheese also look great.
Right next door to Spinelli's is Oodles Noodle and Dumpling Bar . Although Oodles offered far more selections for the vegetarian diner, I was less than impressed with the quality of the food. The interior was stylish, but the restaurant lags far behind places like Noodles and Company in terms of the quality level of the fare.
The presentation of the vegetarian ma po tofu was sloppy. The tofu and veggies were slapped on a bed of rice without care as to symmetry. The veggie egg roll was overloaded with the taste of old oil.
Perhaps I will have to go back and give the place a second try. There are a number of other vegetarian items on the menu, and perhaps I tried the only two bad items on the menu. Something tells me that this is not the case.
After my lunch rendezvous in Victorian Village, I'm going to have to say that Spinelli's is indeed the vegetarian dining champion of that shopping plaza. Oodles Noodles was vegetarian friendly, and the decor was sharp, but I left wanting something more. You can look at my pictures as evidence of Spinelli's victory and Oodles' defeat.
Lemongrass, Columbus' first Pan-Asian concept, is nestled along a busy stretch of High Street. The menu features Japanese, Chinese and Thai offerings that are deliciously prepared. I managed to get an enormous lunch for less than $25 tax and tip included. As the great philosopher Borat once said, "Nice!"
I started with the pan seared veggie dumplings, which were pot sticker-esque vegetarian dumplings stuffed with Asian chives and other greens in a ginger sauce. There were two dumplings, served with a visually striking presentation that was touched up by paper thin carrot strings and a small sprig of parsley.
The mixed vegetable sushi rolls were also phenomenal. The sushi rolls were made from avocado, cucumber and carrots. The composition and execution of each individual roll varied, making each bite interesting.
The egg-free tofu pad Thai (pictured above) was also excellent. Pad Thai is a dish that can often be a bland, boring introduction to Thai flavors for the American palate, but the Lemongrass version was a cut above, with the trademark lime, peanut and pepper flavors shining through the finish. The portion was large and very filling.
Lemongrass is open lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday. They do both dine in and carry out. The carry out is probably very convenient, although the atmosphere of the dining rooms are an added perk to eating on site. Also, parking in this area can be a disaster at night, which is why I cheated and parked at a meter during off lunch hours, when both Lemongrass and the area were both surprisingly busy. The staff was helpful and friendly.
I was saddened to learn that last night was the final curtain call for Yu's Fusion Bistro in Lewis Center. This place was a fantastic concept in a less than ideal location, and it's a pity that last night was the last time I'll get to dine at this quality establishment.
Yu's carefully crafted Asian fusion cuisine. Unfortunately, they were tucked away in a plaza on Route 23, far away from the mainstream. The place wasn't visible from the intersection of 23 and Powell for anybody without eagle eyes. If they were located in the Polaris area, or even better, in the Short North, this place would have had people lined up out the door. For those who missed Yu's, it's too bad you just drove by the spot.
The bartender was an absolute talent. He does not drink, but he carefully considers flavor profiles to create drinks with complex tastes that compliment the cuisine. The mangotini was delicious. The lychee saketini, made from gin, sake and lychee liqueur, was divine, as was the pomegranate cosmopolitan.
The food was as good as the drinks, too. I started with the vegetarian spring roll. The presentation of a dish commonly prepared at other eateries was elevated by the with cool rice noodles at Yu's.
I was even impressed with the black and white scallops, so much so that even though I wouldn't eat them, I would photograph them.
My main entree was a spicy tofu (pictured above), and it was absolutely outstanding. The carrots, onions and pea pods were also in the dish. It was excellent.
It is too bad that that this is the last time I'll get to dine at this place. Some of the employees will move to Windchimes Chinese Restaurant, which shares the same ownership if not the carefully crafted menu. Hopefully the concept can be reborn in another place with better success. Unfortunately, all that lives on is the memories and the pictures below. Check out the pictures.
Lunch. It's the middle of the sandwich that is the three meals of the day. While you have to eat a good breakfast in order to start the day off right, you need an equally healthy lunch in order to keep moving along through the day. After two days worth of lunch at Noodles & Company, I'm grooving along strong enough to review it in a blog entry.
Noodles and Co. is an amalgamation of cuisines that rely on noodles to starch up their daily intake of calories. Obviously, Italy and other nations that surround the Mediterranean Sea eat more than their share of pasta. However, history has demonstrated that noodles were a part of the Chinese diet as early as 3000 B.C.E. These two cultures came to the mixing pot that is America, and Americans of course created their own particular noodle delicacies.
Noodles & Company prepares Asian, Mediterranean and American food, and they are careful to be able to make just about anything according to specific dietary restrictions. Any of the dishes can be made with organic tofu to increase protein in your meal, and meals can also come with side salads or soups.
I sampled the Wisconsin mac and cheese (pictured above), made with traditional elbow pasta, creamy cheese sauce and cheddar jack cheese. The full size bowl plus drink and roll cost about $8 and was well made and filling.
I also tried a trio of Indonesian peanut sautee, tofu and green salad. The trio is lighter eating than a full bowl of food, but the variety is excellent.
The staff is very helpful selecting vegetarian choices for you, and the menu is available for takeout. Check out the pictures below.
Pei Wei Asian Diner is a newer concept from the P.F. Chang's folks that is popping up like weeds (or Starbucks) all across the United States. This is basically a Pan-Asian noodle shop with counter service that makes for a decent power lunch option.
There are a number of vegetarian options marked by the lovely hippie leaf logo on the menu, making the items easy to spot by vegetarians who are incapable of reading (although, come to think of it, illiterate vegetarians wouldn't be able to read the text at the bottom of the menu explaining the veggie symbol's meaning. It is a useful gesture for saving my time, nonetheless.).
The spring rolls were good if uninspiring. The noodle and rice dishes are fairly big portions, and none of the dishes cost more than $9. I tried the blazing noodles, a chow fun noodle dish (a fettuccine-like rice pasta) made with tomato black pepper sauce, broccoli, carrots, scallions, pea pods and cilantro with tofu. The sauce was flavorful and medium spicy, but I definitely would have liked the five inch broccoli stalks and the tofu slabs to have been cut more finely while I was eating with chop sticks. I do possess mad chop stick skillz, but the pieces were so large that I ended up eating in installments off of the sticks or taking down a whole piece in one ridiculous bite.
Then again, it was all made up for by my fascination with people who can't eat with chop sticks. I love watching people labor with the Asian cutlery, and I love it even more when they tap out and have to ask for silverware. In retrospect, maybe they figured something out with these four-inch tofu blocks and broccoli trunks that I hadn't. Maybe I'm really the dummy.
Regardless of my personal shortcomings, Pei Wei is fairly priced and should be attractive to those with a limited amount of time for lunch that want to eat vegetables for lunch and not deep fried animal goop from Kentuckyfriedbellkingmcdonalds. It is a decent option that isn't nearly as quality control driven as some of the swankier Asian bistros, but probably is economic enough to churn out a consistent business all the same. Check out the pictures below.
Chinese restaurants can be a dime a dozen. The food can be greasy and MSG-laden, but for some reason people keep going back for more. Q2 Bistro distinguishes itself from the crowd by offering carefully prepared Pan Asian dishes with an emphasis on authentic Chinese food.
I swear that there should always be more people eating here than there actually are. There were more people working at Q2 than there were dining when we went in for an early dinner. People don't know what they're missing. The other plus is that Q2 features Chinese and Thai food that is deftly prepared and presented by an attentive staff.
Q2 offers a wide selection of tropical cocktails alongside a basic selection of beer and wine. The tiki drinks provide a fitting compliment to the Asian spices.
The only vegetarian appetizer is the spring roll, which is one crispy roll filled with mushrooms and assorted vegetables, served with spicy mustard and sweet and sour sauce. My main course was the Kung Pao tofu, made of golden fried fermented bean curd in a medium spicy brown sauce with peanuts, green peppers, mushroom, bamboo shoots and water chestnuts beside a dollop of white rice.
The restaurant possesses a soothing decor, with images of bamboo on the wall that elevate the experience. The other added bonus is that it is in the same plaza as Barnum and Tibbetts, a great wine bar that has very limited vegetarian offerings but makes up for it with fantastic beer and by-the-glass wine offerings. Check out B&T's happy hour specials and go vegetarian at Q2 after you get your drink on.
Check out the pictures in the slideshow and the Picasa link below.
I spent my second day in Illinois checking out the area around the resort I was staying in and the surrounding communities by the resort. All of the exploring made me hungry, and hunger made me eat.
Lunch was at Himalayan Restaurant in Niles. They offer a ridiculous $7.95 lunch buffet that has eight or more vegetarian options as well as dessert. Indian food is conducive to vegetarian dining, but the cuisine also provides carnivorous options. The buffet at Himalayan is shaped like the letter 'L', with the long portion of the L being vegetarian and the short part having the veggie-hater entrees and veggie-friendly desserts. The buffet comes with free naan, while drinks are extra.
The buffet consists of about four staples and four rotating items that change at least daily. Chana masala, the traditional chickpea dish, is a regular item, alongside palak paneer (cubed cheese in spinach) and other items. The specials this day included a divine mushroom curry with multicolored peppers, and a creamy dumpling with earthy vegetables and a mildly sweet finish. The chana, the creamy dumpling and the mushroom curry are visible in my photographs.
Rice pudding and the Indian doughnuts are on the after dinner options list. The sauces and chutneys are rich and flavorful, and the super cheap price makes the meal a steal.
My entree was the chef's spicy tofu, which is the photograph that tops this post. It is served with your choice of basmati and brown rice. The menu also has 80 million sushi options that are served in large portions and do include a vegi-roll. The chef of the Asian Bistro being reviewed in this post also owns Little Szechwan, an everyday takeout Chinese place. Simon Lin's displays a greater Pan-Asian flair than does Little Szechwan. I'll post the Picasa slideshow link below. You can scroll through and find the pictures linked in the article and more in the gallery.
