SFist: The 'Fisties: Best Vegetarian Food

Larry-bob

Tue, 27 Dec 2005 10:48:24 -0800

I ate at the recently opened restaurant Medicine -- http://www.medicinerestaurant.com -- which serves vegetarian Japanese Shojin cuisine -- the style that originated in Buddhist temples. As a poster in the restaurant says, it's a "500 year old fad diet." It was a really nicely prepared meal of seasonal vegetables and grains.

sam

Mon, 26 Dec 2005 12:41:01 -0800

Eve Have you tried Alive on Lombard yet? That is top of my list for places to try in 2006. Especially in January when I will be looking for a cleaner, fresher more healthy taste after the excesses of the holiday period. I tried a couple of their desserts when they were doing a promotion at the Ferry Building and they were stunningly delicious.

Derrick Schneider

Mon, 26 Dec 2005 11:50:20 -0800

"Their food works so well because they try less to make a non-animal version of what you're already used to eating, as much as they are showing you a new and different way to eat" I haven't eaten at CG yet, but I think this is how raw/vegan/vegetarian restaurants can shine. I don't want "fake steak" because it doesn't matter how good it is, it can never compare to a real steak. But a rich portobello mushroom, cooked in a reduced wine/veg stock? That's pretty hard to beat, and you don't need to call it "vegan beef bourguignon" or anything silly like that. That's one thing I like about Millennium. That said, I like Ananda Fuara's neatloaf as well.

judy b.

Mon, 26 Dec 2005 11:28:21 -0800

Ananda Fuara's Neatloaf is very tasty: http://www.themenupage.com/anandamenu.html I disagree with Kenneth - I AM HAPPY with the two meals I've had at Cafe Gratitude. And I kind of get a kick out of the AFFIRMATIONS. Millennium trumps Greens, I agree, cold food & service or not. (I would send a cold meal back to the kitchen at any restaurant.)

Kenneth

Mon, 26 Dec 2005 10:58:27 -0800

Have you actually eaten at Cafe Gratitude? In addition to the annoying hippie dish names and attitude, the food is just plain bad. Not only OK, bad. Greens isn't perfect, but it's certainly better than that. And Millenium turns out creative non-meat-imitative dishes with far more consistency than CG. I think we need to face the unfortunate fact that most vegetarian restaurants are still putting philosophy before taste. Anyone who truly wants vegetarianism to become more mainstream needs to realize that most people want to leave satisfied more than they want to support a particular political ideal. Look at what places like Delfina and Universal Cafe are doing with their vegetarian dishes: even with its limited selection, Delfina is the best vegetarian restaurant in the city.