AJ's Cafe

AJ's Cafe is a fast-casual spot Downtown that offers soup, salads and sandwiches. It is located in the spot that formerly held C-Town Market and Deli.

The owner, Ajay Kumar, owned the Taj Mahal on campus. It was sold to relatives and reopened as Mughal Darbar. While Kumar didn't bring the menu with him from his old restaurant, he definitely brought the Indian flavor profile to a number of the dishes at AJ's.

There are many vegetarian and vegan dishes on the menu. The restaurant is open Monday through Friday for breakfast and lunch, and Saturday for lunch.

Soups include an outstanding vegan lentil and spinach, as well as broccoli cheese. There is a vegetarian green salad and a vegan lentil salad. There are a variety of baked goods in the morning as well as a vegan breakfast wrap.

The spiced chickpea wrap hints at dal makhani, and the tamarind chutney adds another layer of sweet Indian flavor. It makes a filling lunch with a side dish.

Prices at AJ's are reasonable, and service is quick. It is another strong option for the Downtown dining landscape.

Lotus of Siam

Lotus of Siam is Las Vegas' most talked about Thai eatery. It could be the most heralded Thai restaurant in the country. Every food personality visiting Sin City stops in Saipin Chutima's restaurant. The kitchen specializes in cuisine from the Northern and Eastern regions of the country, and they deal well with vegetarian diners.

Some dishes on the menu that might not be recognized by less adventurous diners, but most of the usual suspects can also be found here. The restaurant features a world class wine list full of carefully selected choices that pair excellently with the spicy cuisine.

All of this amazing fare would seem easy to miss in this unassuming location on the East Side. The restaurant shares a strip mall with Vegas' premiere swingers club and a number of seedy looking massage parlors and spas that may or may not specialize in happy endings. Though not exactly dangerous, a drive around the lot is good for a few laughs.

Sauces at Lotus of Siam are more nuanced than the Americanized Thai restaurants that fill most of the country. The peanut sauce that accompanies the fried tofu at Lotus of Siam, for example, uses crushed peanuts in oil to convey a subtle spice, unlike the sweet, peanut butter-filled goop that is common labeled peanut sauce at most places.

The panang curry is also built on layers of flavor. Coconut milk, galangal, lemongrass, chili pepper, cumin and coriander coat each piece of tofu, carrot and pepper. The $2 sticky rice upgrade is a good call.

The staff is capable of putting together more adventurous Thai vegetarian dishes upon request, like the spicy mushroom dip. Of course, safer options like veggie egg rolls and curries also fill the menu. Like most Thai restaurants, it is good to inform the staff of dietary guidelines when ordering.

Tortilla Street Food

Tortilla Street Food is a new food truck that brings the Chipotle approach to Mexican street food. They whip up the usual tacos, burritos, quesadillas and bowls, and all of the ingredients are pictured on the side of the truck, allowing diners to customize their meal.

All of the ingredients from Tortilla with the exception of meats are vegetarian. Toppings include white rice, Mexican rice, black beans, refried beans, fajita veggies, cold veggies like peppers and onions, queso dip, cheeses, a variety of sauces and sour cream.

Overall, the fare at Tortilla is closest in character to California Mexican. It is a good stand in for Chipotle.

Dishes are prepared in the assembly line fashion of fast-casual eateries. The burrito is large enough to be a very hungry person's lunch.

Side dishes include chips and dips such as salsa and guacamole. Tortilla also offers churros with strawberry filling, dusted with cinnamon sugar with chocolate and caramel dipping sauces as dessert.

Plantain Cafe

Plantain Cafe is a Cuban eatery that is the latest addition to the burgeoning Gay Street dining corridor. It features limited vegetarian dining options prepared in an authentic Cuban style.

Initially, I was hesitant to dine at Plantain Cafe because the menu only offered black beans and rice as the house standard vegetarian dish. More recently, the dish has been augmented by the addition of three different plantain preparations, giving me just the incentive I needed to sample the wares at Plantain Cafe.

The black beans and rice were subtly flavored and deceptively delicious. The beans were laced with hints of garlic, pepper and cilantro, and the flavor bled into the sticky pile of rice. The rice and beans were served with plantain chips, fried, mashed green plantains and sweet fried plantains. The crispy chips were fantastically addictive. The mashed green plantains (called tostones in Spanish) were a great mix of savory and salty notes. The sweet plantains, probably the version most diners are familiar with, were also outstanding.

The decor at Plantain Cafe screams Caribbean. There is seating inside and outdoors.

Service was a little slow and inefficient today. Plantain Cafe gets a pass because this is their first year of business, and they might not have expected an influx of business from the Columbus Arts Festival. Next year, they should be better equipped to deal with the ups and downs of business in Columbus' Downtown.

Plantain Cafe

Green Goddess

Green Goddess is a small French Quarter restaurant with a great array of vegetarian and vegan fare paired with exciting cocktails. What it lacks in size it more than makes up for with gigantic flavors that come from the fresh ingredients.

Calling Green Goddess intimate would be as apt a description as calling Shaquille O'Neal big or Glen Beck opinionated. The place isn't just intimate; it feels like you are sitting in the chef's home kitchen. The decor is eclectic and eccentric.

The menu at Green Goddess allows you to order a degustation or to make selections a la carte. While the degustation may have meat or seafood ingredients, the staff would happily prepare a vegetarian degustation if you ask nicely.

I started off with a cheese plate as an appetizer. The menu features about seven local, national and international cheese choices. I selected Mont St. Francis, a crumbly goat cheese with a full flavor, Veneto d'Estate, a medium bodied cow's milk cheese with grassy, herbal notes, and Brillat-Savarin, an unctuous triple cream. The cheeses were presented with pepitas, olive oil and a soft pita bread. It would have worked equally well as an appetizer or as dessert.

The main course was an example of how Green Goddess turns great ingredients into exciting international fare that defies category. The huitlacoche crepes made with fresh mushrooms in a brandy sauce are a great fusion of French technique and Mexican ingredients that combine into something that is greater than the sum of its parts. There are layers and layers of earthy flavor that pick up additional richness from the crepe and sweetness from the brandy. Still more layers of flavor come from the porcini salt and butter. Any time I see huitlacoche (a corn fungus) on a menu, I must order it, and Green Goddess rewarded my predilection for corn smut kindly.

My dessert, Saturn Calling, is a black rice pudding with rings of coconut milk and Arborio rice stars surrounding it. Instead of being cloying, the rice pudding had a subtle sweetness that envelopes the mouth. The cinnamon adds a horchata note to the dish. It is deeply satisfying.

The beverage list has some very interesting cocktail choices. Since it was Derby weekend, I sampled the See Rock City mint julep, made with Catdaddy Carolina moonshine, ginger syrup, lychee juice and muddled mint. I am not a mint julep fan, but this drink was absolutely delightful. Other cool cocktail options include an absinthe/sugar cane juice drink, a Rob Roy made with Scotch finished in Sauternes barrels with high-end vermouth and a cherry, and a horchata and brandy milk punch. Green Goddess also offers idiosyncratic wines by the glass and bottle, and it also has a decent selection of craft beer.

The staff at Green Goddess is tremendously friendly, and their service is outstanding. They did an excellent job presenting the vegetarian and vegan options on the menu, and the effervescence of the menu is matched by the vitality of the service.

The intimate environment at Green Goddess does create a few issues. The best plan involves showing up early on weekends, because the 25 seats fill up quickly. Once you get yourself in the door and in a seat, however, the fun of the Green Goddess is immediately evident.

Green Goddess

Lindey's

Lindey's is Columbus' back-in-the-day, white tablecloth classic. Chances are, if your grandparents are old money and from Columbus, Lindey's is where they noshed if they wanted to see and be seen.

Lindey's was the starting point for Kent Rigsby, another paragon of fine dining in Columbus. In order to repay the favor, current Chef Jon O'Carroll cut his teeth at Rigsby's eponymous establishments. It's nice to know that the restaurant scene in Columbus is good at sharing. In the end, everybody involved wins.

For the most part, Lindey's offers a limited selection of vegetarian items on their menus. This is to be expected at an establishment of this type. Luckily, the same care is taken with meatless items at Lindey's that is taken with the rest of the menu. The staff did an excellent job alerting me to vegetarian-safe choices on the menu. Service was attentive, prompt and capable.

The bread basket was an assortment of fresh sourdough bread, a buttery dinner roll and lavash bread flecked with fennel and poppy seeds. I loved the sourdough and the lavash, although all three selections were great. The bread came with a healthy (or unhealthy, depending on how you look at it) dollop of artisanal butter.

Vegetarian starters include the house salad, a choose-your-own cheese plate and the tomato and mozzarella flatbread pizza. I ordered the flatbread pizza, and my advice to those who order this dish is that you should plan on sharing it. It is an entree-sized portion that could easily be split by two or three diners. The flatbread was beautifully textured, and the combination of carpaccioed beefsteak tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil chiffonade is absolutely sublime.

There are three vegetarian pasta dishes on the lunch, brunch and dinner menus. There are also a few egg dishes without meat on the brunch menu. The pasta dishes are pasta primavera with seasonal veggies, mushroom ravioli in cream sauce, and a butternut squash tortellini in a sage and brown butter sauce. There are also many waffle and pancake options on the carry-out menu that are prepared without meat.

I selected the portabella mushroom ravioli. The ravioli were stuffed with a portabella mixture, and topped with a rich, cremini-and-cream sauce that is both savory and delicious. The dish was perfect.

The beverage choices at Lindey's are excellent, as you would expect at a restaurant of this caliber. There is an extensive selection of liquor and wine as well as a limited number of beers.

The dining room at Lindey's is decorated with beautiful art work, and the staff keeps the place humming. The bar is also well kept, and it can seat somewhere between 30 and 40 diners.

While Lindey's isn't going to be the first option for vegetarians in Ohio's Capital City, the talented staff does an excellent job with its vegetarian fare. While you pay for quality, you still feel like it's worth every cent at Lindey's.

Lindey's

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