Hellas Grill Express

Hellas Grill is a no-frills take-out place that specializes in the Hellenic staple, the gyro. Luckily for vegetarians, Hellas also makes veggie gyros and a number of other meatless Greek options that pack a pile of flavor into a very modest price.

The menu at Hellas Grill Express is somewhat strange in that it features Greek favorites alongside pizzas and subs. Vegetarian pizza options are the mixed veggie and the Margherita. There is also a veggie sub made with tzatziki.

However, considering the fact that I was headed to an establishment whose name is derived from the nation of Greece, I did the proper thing and limited my order to Eastern Mediterranean fare.

The spanakopita was tasty, although it seemed like it was a pre-fab, frozen spinach pie rather than the fresh variety. Considering that it cost $2.50, it was at least passable.

The falafel gyro, on the other hand, was outstanding. The falafel was made with chickpeas as well as fresh veggies including green peppers and onions. It was topped with lettuce, tomato, red onion and tzatziki sauce and served in fat pita bread. Although the falafel gyro was a daily special, it showed that the veggie gyro would also be pretty tasty.

I also have to give the staff at Hellas credit at addressing vegetarian concerns. I asked about the falafel gyro, and the gentleman explained the dish using to word vegetarian three times without me even uttering the v-word. That was more than enough to assure me that like most Greek restaurants, Hellas is a safe place for vegetarians to grab take-out fare.

Prices at Hellas are inexpensive. My bill was about $7.50. From walking in the door to paying the bill, I was at Hellas for 20 minutes.

Hellas Greek Express

Cowtown Pizza

Cowtown Pizza is one of the many pizza places tucked into the gourmet pizza corridor that is Grandview. Overall, Cowtown produces good food at a fair price that is tremendously safe for vegetarians.

Grandview has a plethora of options for those who don't want to eat the same pizza every night. Aside from Cowtown Pizza, there is Dewey's, Panzera's, Bono Pizza, Figlio and Mama Mimi's, all located in and around Grandview.

Although the design of Cowtown Pizza makes it appear as if it is a chain, the spot on Grandview Avenue is the only Cowtown Pizza in existence. It is operated by Jason Slagle.

Cowtown Pizza takes great care with the ingredients. The sauce is house-made daily, and they only use vegetarian cheeses from Grande.

Vegetarian items on the menu include the vegetarian pizza, Mediterranean pizza, build-your-own pizza with 23 vegetarian topping options, garlic bread, mozzarella sticks, fried mac and cheese, a garden salad, a vegetarian baked sub, a vegetarian stromboli, and a build-your-own stromboli.

I could have went the safe route and ordered pizza. I'll have to wait until next time. Instead, I ordered the vegetarian stromboli. I can safely say that I did not make a bad decision.

The large stromboli is 14 inches long. It is stuffed with provolone cheese, roasted red peppers, tomato, red onion, sliced mushrooms and roasted eggplant. The crust is brushed with buttery garlic before it is baked, and a hint of garlic bursts through in your mouth. The stromboli is served with a side of brightly flavored marinara sauce. The only minor complaint I had was that the mushrooms are canned. I prefer fresh mushrooms, but those who do not should be thrilled by Cowtown Pizza. That notwithstanding, it was a delicious stromboli.

Cowtown Pizza is priced similarly to Donatos. A large specialty pizza is about $16, and the stromboli was $15. However, there are coupons on the menu and on the Web site that will save you a couple of bucks.

The storefront is designed for delivery, as Cowtown has no seating. Cowtown delivers to Grandview and parts of Columbus. It is open until 11 during the week and 12 on weekends.

Cowtown Pizza

Cafe del Mondo

Located on the southern border of Italian Village, Cafe del Mondo is an Italian coffeehouse that features sandwiches, pasta, salads and baked goods. The menu is small, but the food is house-made and delicious.

Cafe del Mondo is the storefront for Frutta del Mondo, which is a wholesaler of Italian culinary imports. This definitely gives Cafe del Mondo a leg up on choice ingredients from the boot-shaped country.

The cafe is family-owned, and the staff is very friendly. The greet everybody who comes into the restaurant, and they are personable and attentive.

The menu has a few vegetarian options. These include cheese ravioli in marinara sauce, a veggie panini, a tomato-mozzarella sandwich, an Italian salad, a gorgonzola salad and an artichoke salad. Sandwiches and salads are available in full- and half-sized orders.

I started with a Caprese salad, the Italian classic made with tomato and mozzarella cheese. Although winter is hardly the prime season for Caprese, the salad was well made. The tomato slices are topped with disks of soft mozzarella cheese, sprinkled with fresh basil and piled atop purple and green lettuce (I think the purple one was endive, but I'm terrible with identifying leafy veggies). The salad comes with a serving of vinaigrette that adds a savory, bright finish to the dish.

The veggie panini was also great. The Italian bread shows the obvious griddle marks from the panini press, and the sandwich is served nice and hot. The panini is stuffed with artichoke hearts, onions, roasted red peppers, black olives and provolone cheese in a subtle balsamic dressing. It is topped with a pitted green olive and served with a side of crispy chips fried in peanut oil.

Since it's an Italian coffeehouse, Cafe del Mondo offers cappuccino, espresso and cafe latte along with a rotating array of pastries. They also sell espresso machines and coffee accessories at Frutta del Mondo.

Prices at Cafe del Mondo are very fair. My final bill was about $10 for a panini, half a salad and a can of pop.

The interior of Cafe del Mondo is bright and clean. The cafe is decorated with classic art work, such as a print of the Sistine Chapel ceiling. There is seating for about 20 people. Carry-out is also available.

Cafe del Mondo

NYTimes op-ed: Eat more dog (or less pig)

A New York Times op-ed piece examined the logical problems of Westerners viewing some animals as food while viewing others as pets. The article hardly figures the whole tangled mess out (the author ends up eating a dog, so don't say I didn't warn you). However, it is one of those puzzles that makes you think.

Read more

Shish Kebab Express

Shish Kebab Express is the latest Mediterranean dining option to open in Columbus in the last 12 months. Much like its predecessors Ali Baba and Lavash Cafe, Shish Kebab makes fresh, wholesome fare at reasonable prices.

Calling Shish Kebab Express a new place, however, is somewhat misleading. In actuality, Shish Kebab Express is a spin-off of Shish Kebab Mediterranean Grill on Bethel Road.

Like other Mediterranean restaurants, Shish Kebab provides numerous options for vegetarian diners. Even some of the salads and dips are vegan. My favorite characteristic of a menu (vegetarian choices marked with an asterisk) is in play at Shish Kebab.

There are many salads and traditional Middle Eastern starters like hummus, baba ganoush, stuffed grape leaves and falafel. I, however, chose to try the slightly less common sigara borek. Sigara borek is feta cheese and parsley wrapped into finger-sized phyllo tubes. It is bright, creamy and pairs well with the tomatoes on the plate that act as garnishes.

The sandwiches at Shish Kebab are also very interesting. Instead of offering stuffed pita bread as a wrapper, the falafel sandwich was prepared in a crusty sandwich roll topped with sesame and poppy seeds. The bread added another layer to the flavor profile. The taste of the sandwich is more akin to that of a veggie burger than a traditional falafel sandwich.

The only shortcoming of the sandwich is that it used a small amount of lettuce and a light coating of tahini sauce. The addition of more vegetables and tahini would have made a very good sandwich superb.

Shish Kebab Express serves a limited selection of desserts and a typical array of fountain drinks. Both delivery and catering services are available.

The interior of Shish Kebab Express is bright and modern-looking. There is seating for about 40 people inside. There are two flat screen televisions in the dining room. The staff is friendly and quick, although orders at Shish Kebab come out at a fast casual rather than fast food pace.

Overall, I have to say that I prefer Ali Baba and Lavash Cafe over Shish Kebab. The falafel sandwich at Shish Kebab should be a change of pace from those at the other two places if nothing else. I eat enough Mediterranean food that I can see myself eating at all three places in a future week.

Shish Kebab Express

Haiku

My plan was to hit up Haiku this week to take advantage of 614 Restaurant Week. Unfortunately for me, Haiku chose not to participate in Restaurant Week for lunch. Neither Haiku nor 614 Magazine listed this detail on their Web sites, but I did fine paying full price anyway. I'll chalk it up to bad work by their PR staffs.

Haiku is a sushi restaurant with a decent amount of vegetarian options on the menu. The biggest warning for vegetarians dining at Haiku is that the sushi bar absolutely stinks like seafood. If you are bothered by the smell of ocean life, either eat in the part of the restaurant away from the sushi bar or choose another restaurant altogether.

The decor in Haiku is a modern take on Zen style. The art work is modern and Western, but the tables and chairs are somewhat of an Eastern throwback.

The service staff is capable if somewhat inefficient. While the waiter properly addressed my vegetarian concerns, the meal was put together at a sluggish pace. The server could have been slightly more attentive about this issue. Overall, he did a decent job but needed a little more attention to detail.

I started with tofu lettuce wraps. The Korean classic, known as ssam, consists of finely cubed tofu and rice noodles cooked with spinach, onions and cabbage in a garlicky brown sauce wrapped in large green lettuce leaves. The dish is surprisingly filling with a satisfying flavor.

My main course was called Tao tofu. It featured steamed tofu and deep fried tofu stuffed with cucumbers, carrots and cabbage. It is plated with orange segments and a mildly sweet brown sauce. The citrus fruit actually adds an extra dimension to the flavor profile. While the fried tofu was delicious, the steamed tofu was silken, so it turned out soggy and flavorless. There is an option of getting all of the tofu fried, and that would be the best way to order this dish.

Other vegetarian items on the menu include a variety of veggie sushi rolls, edamame, wok-tossed mushrooms, vegetable tempura, spring roll salad, green salad, seaweed salad, vegetarian udon noodles, curry noodles, pad Thai and stir fried vegetables.

Haiku features a large selection of cocktails, sake, beer and wine. Prices for drinks and food are somewhat high but reasonable.

Haiku

Mexica

The heart of Downtown Columbus seems to suffer from a shortage of options for those who enjoy Mission style burritos. There are West Coast burrito outlets like Cinco, but the quality is less than spectacular. There are also places like Chipotle in the Brewery District or the Arena District, but these establishments are not convenient for Downtown worker bees.

Mexica should easily be able to overcome both of these issues.

Located in the old Ah Chihuahua spot, Mexica features football-sized burritos as well as other favorites like tacos, fajitas, quesadillas, chimichangas and nachos. The food is made fresh in house daily.

The interior of Mexica is far more tastefully appointed than that of its predecessor. The store looks clean, and the wood-accented interior adds a nice ambiance to the restaurant.

The big caveat for vegetarians is that while the pinto beans are vegetarian safe, the Mexican rice which is included as an ingredient or a side in a few dishes is made with chicken stock. The staff was able to answer my vegetarian questions, and they quickly alerted me to the animal products on the menu.

Although the Mexican rice is part of a number of dishes, Mexica is happy to substitute ingredients into orders or to create items based upon dietary restrictions.

An added bonus at Mexica is that those who eat on site get free chips and salsa with their order. The salsa bar includes hot and mild salsa, a green chile salsa, pico de gallo, corn salsa and a creamy cilantro sauce akin to the highly addictive El Arepazo condiment.

Despite how delicious the other vegetarian options looked, I had to order the burrito. While the traditional burrito is made with Mexican rice, the regular burrito is made with lime-flavored white rice. It is stuffed with cilantro, pinto beans, lettuce, tomato, cheese, sour cream and grilled veggies including peppers, squash and onions. The notes of cilantro and lime complement the smoky vegetables nicely, and the fresh flavor is outstanding.

Mexica features a few authentic beverage choices, including Jarritos and horchata, a delicious drink made with rice, cinnamon, vanilla and sugar.

Calorie counters have the option of ordering their burrito in a bowl to eliminate the carbohydrates in the tortilla. Other safe options for vegetarians include guacamole, veggie tortas, and queso dip.

Mexica has $1 off specials Monday through Friday. In order, burritos, nachos, fajitas, taco salads and bowls are $1 on a given day of the week (check out the photos for details).

Although its a crowded marketplace for Downtown restaurants, Mexica should stand out. The combination of fresh flavors and fair prices should be buzzing along when the wheels really get rolling.

Mexica

Zuppa Downtown

Nestled between the hustle and the bustle of Downtown is Zuppa. The menu is made up of salad, sandwiches, pizza and of course soup (since zuppa is Italian for soup, it would be hard to operate the place without it).

The vegetarian options on the menu are somewhat limited. Zuppa typically offers one vegetarian soup per day. Check with the staff for vegetarian options.

Other veggie-friendly options include pizza and the veggie Philly sandwich, which consists of griddled veggies with cheese on a ciabatta roll.

According to the rumor mill that is the internet, Zuppa stores their meatballs with their marinara sauce, so the provenance of the marinara pasta's vegetarian appearance is debatable.

I ordered the special, which is a Southwestern veggie quesadilla. Corn, black beans, tomatoes, onions and zucchini are griddled and then stuffed into a grilled tortilla with salsa, melted cheese and sour cream. The flavor was great and the portion was filling.

I was far less impressed with the cream of mushroom soup. It was bland and lacked character. For a restaurant that has soup in the name, I expected far more.

The soup is served with a side of fresh baked bread with a whipped garlic butter. The bread is very tasty, and the garlic butter allows the slices to shine.

Despite the lack of vegetarian options, Zuppa does have a few good choices for those who eschew meat. The prices are moderately expensive based upon the quality of the food.

Zuppa Downtown

Taste of Belgium

Columbus' first Belgian eatery is a station in the North Market operated by Belgian-born Jean-François Flechet. The name is Taste of Belgium, and the menu is an assortment of waffle preparations as well as sweet and savory crepes.

The waffles are made with a Belgian beet sugar. The flavor is sweet and creamy. I ordered mine topped with blackberries and whipped cream. The buttery texture and hints of vanilla in the aroma make for a delightful way to spike your blood sugar.

The vegetarian crepe is made with spinach, red peppers and goat cheese in a Balsamic glaze. The crepe itself is light as air, and the earthy spinach flavors in the filling are nicely contrasted by the beautiful acidity in the goat cheese and the vinegar.

There are a number of sweet crepes and other meatless waffle options on the menu. The owner and staff are friendly and helpful. They pass out free samples like other North Market vendors.

I'm more acquainted with Belgian beer than Belgian food. However, I can always buy Belgian beer at Grapes of Mirth. It would make for a full Belgian dinner at any rate.

Taste of Belgium should appeal to fans of later-than-10-a.m. breakfast and ovo-lacto-vegetarians who enjoy crepes. The waffles have great flavor. I kept the flavor simple by eating the waffle with fruit and cream. The less healthily-inclined are free to take the waffles home and drown them in syrup and butter.

Taste of Belgium

Flavors Eatery

College campuses are always an obvious spot to find unhealthy eats in the form of fried, greasy food consisting of any and all kinds of fatty, carnivore-pleasing slop. Luckily for students at Capital University in Bexley, Flavors Eatery offers fresh, healthy fare that separates itself from the empty calorie pack.

Flavors is a small chain with locations in Bexley, Centerville and West Chester (between Dayton and Cincinnati). The menu has many vegetarian options, including wraps, pizza, salads and smoothies.

The decor at Flavors screams Key West, even in the winter, with surfboards and other decorations on the bright yellow walls. Service is friendly and quick. Prices are all less than $10.

I sampled the roasted veggie wrap because of the recommendation in Columbus Alive. Broccoli, squash, red peppers, carrots and onions are roasted and stuffed into a wheat wrap with brown rice, black beans, garlic sour cream, cheese and lettuce. The taste is fresh and delicious. It is served with chips and salsa. I also got a side of hummus, which was creamy and redolent of dill.

Other vegetarian options include cheese quesadillas, pizzas made with plain cheese, mixed veggies or Greek toppings, veggie sub sandwiches, Gardein veggie gyros, and fresh fruit smoothies.

Flavors has a limited selection of alcoholic beverages, including Ohio craft beer and wine. The Bexley location is closed Saturday and Sunday.

Flavors is a great option in Bexley for those who want to support a small company with a focus on healthy dining by way of local produce. Food can be enjoyed in the restaurant, at home or on the patio.

Flavors Eatery