veggieburgh

The cupcakeoisie of Squirrel Hill–those moms bearing strollers and dogs, those grad students with disposable incomes and sweet teeth–have supported Dozen Cupcakes so well in its first year that the owners have expanded to a bake shop in Lawrenceville. We visited the shop on its third Sunday Brunch, and were quite pleased with the fare. Now, lest you go to the Butler Street shop expecting to end your meal with an Elvis, Carrot Cake, or East End Chocolate Stout, be forewarned that the cupcakes are not available on Sundays. However, the vegan cinnamon rolls and peach berry crisp make up for it.

The restaurant occupies a cozy storefront on Butler Street with brick and robin’s egg walls; lots of natural light; and mismatched, weathered chairs, which you’re certain to back into the friendly customers at the adjacent table. The cheery, tattooed bakers and counter staff weave between each other, the ovens, and the long row of readymade pastries, and Amy Winehouse sings in the background. The coffee is labeled with tasting notes (”black currant, pink grapefruit, chocolate”), and is, of course, from an environmentally responsible company that pays growers better than fair trade prices. Everyone has hipster glasses.

Brunch consists of baked goods such as scones or vegan chocolate-chip cookies, and a small selection of other dishes, including quiche, french toast, and granola. We chose to share a vegan cinnamon roll, peach-raspberry crisp, and the vegetarian strata. Despite a full house, our food came within ten minutes and was warm, with the exception of the cinnamon roll, served at room temperature.

First, the cinnamon roll: Dozen proves that eggs and dairy are completely unnecessary to make a moist, airy bun. Unlike the traditional rolls slathered in cream cheese frosting, these rolls had perfectly scant icing, and the texture was sufficiently chewy without the common cloying sweetness of cinnamon buns. The peach-raspberry crisp was served piping hot in individual ramekins, with a tart melange of peaches, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, and oats, exactly how my mother makes it. Subtle flavors of cinnamon and pumpkin pie spices brought out the natural flavors of the fruit. The strata was a layered, eggy bread studded with black beans, topped with salsa, cheddar, and sour cream. Like the cinnamon roll, the strata bread was moist, airy, and chewy, and the strata was surprisingly flavorful, with intense peppery tones. The strata came with roasted potatoes that were expertly cooked, if not expertly seasoned. The potatoes had crispy skins and pierced easily with a fork, but I was left wishing for some salt and pepper to enhance the faint whiff of rosemary.

While the vegetarian strata was a little expensive, our bill was $17 for two people, including coffee and orange juice, which we consider inexpensive for brunch at a fledgling shop. The portions were ample, but not overwhelming like Zenith’s. The main downside is the lack of variety for vegans (and general unhealthiness, but it doesn’t purport to be healthy). The few vegan options, however, are outstanding, and every bit as good as their dairy- and egg-laden counterparts. We would certainly return for these dishes again, although we weren’t left craving anything in particular, as was the case for brunch fare at UUBU 6 and Coca. For the reasonable prices, cheery atmosphere, quick service, and tasty pastries, we give Dozen Bake Shop four veggies.

[4 veggies]

Recommended:

• Vegetarian strata
• Vegan cinnamon roll
• Berry-peach crisp

Here’s a hearty but relatively low fat quickbread that uses whatever frozen/dried fruit, seeds, and nuts you happen to have in your kitchen on a chilly winter morning. It’s loosely based on the “Date Nut Bread” recipe from the Joy of Cooking (p.775), but we’ve veganized it and pretty much changed all of the original ingredients. It produces a moist, textured loaf that’s not overly sweet.

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups frozen/dried/fresh fruit
  (we used 1 C frozen blueberries, 1/4 C raisins, and 1/4 C dried cranberries)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 C boiling water (1 C if using all dried fruit)
• 1 C whole wheat flour
• 2/3 C white flour
• 1/4 C nutritional yeast
• 1/4 C wheat germ (optional)
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 Tbsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 C flaxseed meal
• 3/4 C apricot juice (or other juice)
• 1 Tbsp canola oil
• 1 C packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 C seeds/nuts
  (we used 1/2 C roasted flax seeds, 1/2 C chopped pecans, and 1/2 C pumpkin seeds)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine frozen, fresh, and/or dried fruit in bowl. Carefully combine baking soda and boiling water (it fizzes!) and pour over fruit.
3. In another bowl, whisk together flours, nutritional yeast, wheat germ, baking powder, salt, and spices.
4. In a large bowl, combine juice and flax seed meal and stir until slightly thickened (an immersion blender works well for this, or shaking it for a couple of minutes in a jar). It should be about the viscosity of beaten eggs.
5. Add canola oil, brown sugar, and vanilla to juice mixture. Stir in the fruit mixture. Add seeds and nuts. Stir in the flour mixture until just combined (don’t stir too much) .
6. Grease a 9×5″ (8-cup) loaf pan and pour in batter. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, approximately 55 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes in pan and 10 minutes on a rack before serving.

Prince of India has two things going for it: (1) the price and (2) a well-regulated buffet. Students and hospital employees get a 10% discount, but even when we forgot to ask for it, our bill was below $18 including tip for a filling weekend dinner. And unlike many Indian buffets, Prince of India’s has excellent temperature control. The naan is wrapped in foil and covered with a lid, so it is moist and hot when you fish out a piece. The curries and veggies were piping hot. And the kheer (rice pudding with golden raisins) is pleasantly chilled.

The narrow dining room has vivid orange and green walls, dark wood tables and plastic booths, and the requisite music videos playing in the back, with lovers entwined in poppy fields and dance floors. Fabric flowers adorn the walls, and a full bar lines the back wall. Though generally crowded at lunch, it was vacant except for a table of kitchen staff when we arrived for an early Saturday dinner.

Some dishes were excellent; others were less satisfying. The vegetable jalfrezi, a creamy curry with carrots, peas, and potatoes was luscious and warm, much like the navratan korma at India Garden. The carrots were perfectly cooked: they melted in our mouths while still maintaining a little bite. The aloo fali was distinctly spiced (perhaps with fenugreek?), with crisp tomato sauce and tender potatoes. The naan and kheer, again, were better than most available at buffets, simply because they were the right temperatures, not for standout recipes. The channa bhaji was pretty typical, if a bit salty.

However, the pakoras were burnt husks of once-proud vegetables. And the saag was shameful. Bland and way too salty. Notice that TastyBurgher Erika rated Prince of India’s saag lowest overall on her four-dimensional saag chart. (Scroll down; once you see this chart you’ll never evaluate saag the same again.)

Surprisingly, none of the dishes are spicy, but the condiments are. There’s an invigoratingly spicy mint chutney, a carrot onion mix, and ground chickpeas, all of which add a major kick to the otherwise mild dishes. But don’t reach for the raita to cool off— it’s spicy too. The raita nicely straddles sweet, sour, and tangy, but leaves a pleasantly burning aftertaste.

Overall, the service was speedy, the price was low, and the food was hot. The food wasn’t outstanding, but certainly a good value.

[4 veggies]

Recommended:

• Vegetable jalfrezi
• Aloo fali

Here is a surprising and delicious treat for the holidays or to follow a nice, spicy Indian or fusion meal. It may sound odd at first, but these curry chocolate truffles pack a delightful interplay of flavors. You can adjust the seasoning level from subtle to hard-kicking.

• 8 oz good, dark chocolate
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3-6 tsp Garam Masala (or to taste)
• 5-10 shakes of cayenne (or to taste)
• 5-10 shakes of salt (or to taste)
• red sugar (optional)

Combine chocolate and cream in a double boiler. Heat and stir with a whisk until smooth. Add spices. Start light and taste as you go. Don’t be afraid to give it a lot of flavor as that’s what these truffles are all about, but don’t be too hasty with the cayenne as the spice tends to creep up on you. Whisk for a minute or two to integrate the spices. Let cool and refrigerate the mixture until hard. Scoop out with a spoon or melon baller and hand-roll into 1-inch balls. Roll each ball in a small bowl of red-dyed sugar to give it a little color and indication of the spice within, or omit the sugar for a smoother texture.

Mole is a spicy Mexican sauce made from several varieties of peppers, seeds, nuts, and good chocolate. The end result has a layered spice level, changing in intensity and flavor as it lingers on your tongue. It complements mild, creamy fall vegetables like pumpkin, squash, and sweet potatoes. You can freeze leftover mole, serve it on tempeh, scrambled eggs, or wrap it up in tortillas. This recipe can be made vegan using dark chocolate and omitting the goat cheese.

Note: The mole takes a long time to prepare, but it’s worth it. The mole paste can be made a day or so in advance, and then mixed with the onions and tomatoes later. We borrowed most of the mole recipe from ramekins.com, and the empanada dough recipe from the Joy of Cooking.

If you don’t want to make your own empanada dough, Reyna sells frozen empanada wrappers, or you can buy fresh, uncooked tortillas from them early Saturday morning. The chiles are cheapest when purchased in bulk at Reyna, too, though can be purchased in small, pricey packages at the Shadyside Giant Eagle and Whole Foods.

It helps to have a large electric griddle to cook the empanadas, but they also can be toasted in batches in a cast iron skillet.

Mole:

* 10 dried ancho chiles
* 6 dried pasilla negro (or negro) chiles
* 4 dried guajillo or mulato chiles
* 6 T black raisins
* 1/2 cup almonds
* 6 T raw sesame seeds
* 1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
* 1 slice French bread
* 1 corn tortilla
* 2 T cinnamon (or about six 2″ sticks)
* 10 whole cloves
* 1 t black peppercorns
* 1 1/2 t dried Mexican oregano
* 5 oz dark chocolate
* 3 large tomatoes
* 1 small onion
* 1 head garlic
* 2 t olive oil
* 1 to 2 cups vegetable broth (we use no-chicken Better than Bouillon)

Empanadas:

* 2 medium kabocha squash (or butternut or buttercup)
* 4-6oz package of goat cheese (optional)
* 1 hand garlic
* 1 T dried sage
* 1 T dried thyme
* 1 T cinnamon (or about three 2″ sticks)
* 3 C all-purpose flour
* 1.5 tsp baking powder
* 1 tsp salt
* 1.5 sticks cold, unsalted margarine (or butter)
* 3/4 C ice water

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Make the empanada dough: Place flour, baking powder, and salt in a food processor. Pulse lightly until combined. Add margarine and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Transfer to a large bowl and drizzle the ice water over the top. Mix gently with a fork until the flour mixture is dampened enough to gather into a ball. Shape into a flat disk, wrap tightly in plastic, and refrigerate for at least an hour.

3. Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Cut the onion in half, removing the peel and bulb. Cut out the stems from the tomatoes. Cut the tops off of the two hands of garlic. Drizzle everything with olive oil. Wrap the garlic and onion in aluminum foil. Place everything in a glass baking dish, placing the squash cut-side down. Roast the tomatoes for approximately 30 minutes and the garlic, onion, and squash for approximately 45 minutes. The squash should be extremely soft.

4. Wash the dried chiles under cold running water (hot water will increase the chile fumes). Shake out the chile seeds and break off the stems.

5. Heat a cast iron skillet and toast the chiles in batches for a few minutes. The chiles should soften and slightly brown. Do not blacken them, or they will become bitter.

6. After toasting, place the chiles in a large bowl and cover with boiling water. Add the raisins and let soak for 30 minutes.

7. While the chiles are soaking, place the almonds, the sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, bread, and tortilla on a cookie sheet and toast them in the oven for approximately 10 minutes. Watch carefully. Remove them as they begin to turn golden brown.

8. Break up the cinnamon sticks, cloves and peppercorns in spice grinder or a mortar and pestle.

9. Grind the chiles, almonds, sesame seeds and pumpkin seeds in a food processor, adding a few chiles at a time. Add some soaking water to bring it to the consistency of thick gravy (if soaking water tastes bitter, use plain water instead), so that the mole paste will puree smoothly.

10. When grinding the last batch, add the raisins, crushed spices, tortilla, bread, oregano, and chocolate, broken into small pieces. Set mole paste aside.

11. Place roasted tomatoes, their juices, onion and the squeezed-out contents of one garlic hand in a blender and puree.

12. Add the puree to the mole paste along with 1 cup of broth. Bring to a simmer in a 3-quart pot. Add more broth in small amounts until the mole is the consistency of heavy cream. Set aside.

13. Make the empanada filling: Scoop out the roasted squash into a bowl, and squeeze in the other head of garlic, ground cinnamon, thyme and sage. Mash until well combined and salt to taste.

14. If using an electric griddle, set it to 350 degrees. Divide empanada dough into 24 portions (or 12 if making large empanadas) and roll each one until it is about 1/8″ thick (nearly transparent). Small empanadas are about 4″ in diameter; larger ones are about 6.”

15. Cover half of each round with the squash mixture, leaving about a centimeter border. Small empanadas will take 1 to 2 Tbs of stuffing; larger ones will take 2 to 4. Sprinkle with goat cheese (optional). Fold the empanada in half, pressing edges together to form a half-circle. Brush emapanadas with olive oil and put on the griddle or a cast iron skillet. Cook until the underside turns golden-brown and flip. Serve hot with the mole.

A tasty way to celebrate seasonal produce.

Ingredients

• 1 C uncooked spiral pasta
• 1 bunch kale
• 1 yams
• 1 medium acorn squash
• 1 medium onion
• 4-6 cloves garlic
• 1/3 C veggie ground beef
• 2 Tbs nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp red wine vinegar
• 2 tsp dried thyme
• 1 tsp dried sage
• 1/2 Tbs pine nuts
• 1 Tbs crumbled feta (optional)
• 1/2 tsp better than bouillon (vegetable flavor)
• olive oil
• salt
• pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil.
2. Meanwhile, peel and dice the squash and yam. The squash should be about 1/2″ cubes and the yam should be slightly smaller than that. Toss with olive oil, half of the whole garlic cloves (peeled), thyme, sage, salt, and pepper in a pyrex baking dish. Cover with tin foil and bake for about 30 minutes, until you can pierce them with a fork. Don’t overcook or they’ll fall apart later.
3. While the squash and yam are baking, remove the kale stems and wash leaves well. Tear into slightly larger than bite-size pieces and put into the salted boiling water. This helps remove the bitterness from the leaves. If you have a large metal colander, put the leaves in the colander in the pot so that you can reserve the water. Boil the kale for about 5 minutes.
4. Finely dice the onion. Heat 1 Tbs olive oil in a large pot (I use a cast iron dutch oven), and sauté the onion until golden brown. Chop the remaining garlic and add when the onion begins to turn soft. Add the veggie ground beef and cook until thawed.
5. Drain the kale, but keep the water. Put the pasta in the water and cook as the package directs.
6. Mix 1/2 C of the boiling water with the better than bouillon, and add the broth, red wine vinegar, and kale to the pot with the onions. Cover and cook for 10 minutes to soften the kale.
7. Remove the yam and squash from the onion and add to the kale. Gently stir all of the ingredients, add the nutritional yeast, and add salt and pepper to taste. Toss with feta (optional), and serve with the pasta.

We here at veggieburgh have a great love for lemon juice and tamari. So much so that we buy them in large bottles with wide necks, somewhat inconvenient for seasoning small quantities of food (like brown rice and frozen fava beans, Moira’s favorite lunch). Rite-Aid to the rescue! We bought a couple of tiny misters from the travel-containers section, and they’re perfect for spritzing on just a taste of tamari and lemon juice.

These moist vegan muffins are perfect for a rainy morning breakfast, and they use flax seed, soy milk, and canola oil in lieu of eggs and dairy. I use generally use Bob’s Red Mill flaxseed meal because it’s easy to find at the larger Giant Eagles, Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and the Co-op. (But any flax would do.) It comes pre-ground, although you can also buy the whole seeds (which make a great addition to hot cereal) and grind them yourself with a blender/food processor or mortar and pestle. This recipe is loosely based on an apple muffin recipe in Vegan Planet.

Makes 16 muffins

Ingredients:

• 12oz bag frozen blueberries
• 1 C shredded carrot
• 1.5 C soy milk
• 1 Tbsp flaxseed meal or 1 egg
• 2 Tbs canola oil
• 1/2 C brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)
• 2 Tbsp wheat germ (optional)
• 3 C unbleached all-purpose flour (or half all-purpose, half whole wheat flour)
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp allspice

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F and put rack in the center. Grease two muffin pans.
2. Mix flaxseed with 2 Tbsp warm water and stir until viscous.
3. Combine blueberries, carrot, soy milk, flaxseed mixture (or egg), oil, brown sugar, nutritional yeast, and wheat germ in a large bowl.
4. In a separate bowl, sift flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and allspice together. Add to the fruit mixture and stir until just barely combined. Don’t stir too much or the muffins will get dense.
5. Pour mixture into muffin pans, filling to just below the top.
6. Bake until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the muffins comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let muffins cool 5-10 minutes more.

Girasole, the cozy Italian place nestled between the gelato and indie video shops on Copeland Street, must make amazing meat dishes. At least, that’s what we’re assuming draws the throngs of well dressed Shadyside shoppers, because it ain’t the vegetarian fare. While the atmosphere, especially at the outdoor tables set below the sidewalk, evokes modern, light, and innovative Italian cuisine, the actual dishes are cheese-laden and bland.

First, vegetarians should be wary of meat bases. Many innocuous items on the menu, such as the polenta with escarole and beans, contain beef or chicken broth. The waiter had to think for a moment when asked about vegetarian dishes and admitted there weren’t many; he recommended the spinach spaghetti with buffalo mozzarella ($18) or the spinach and ricotta ravioli ($15). For those prices, the sauces should leave you desperately sopping up remaining driblets with crusty bread, savoring every molecule. Instead, I caught myself wiping up some of the remaining tomato-cream sauce out of extreme boredom with the ravioli, wondering where the flavor was. The bread was chewy but dry, the ravioli scant and uninteresting, and the tomato cream sauce rich (read: fatty and caloric) yet less tasty than a jar of Ragu.

Apparently the squid-ink linguini with lobster is good, if you’re into that kind of thing. But otherwise, our group was unsatisfied. Our friend Scott commented that his gnocchi was missing some key ingredient; the extra garlic or basil that makes a signature dish. I found myself adding salt and eyeing the adjacent gelato shop.

We have to give them props for professing a seasonal menu. Yet, closer inspection of their online menu reveals “fresh” tomatoes and blood oranges in the winter, so their commitment to appropriate ingredients seems a bit suspicious. Admittedly, it’s difficult in Pennsylvania to get good produce any time of the year, so they are most likely trucking in veggies from California like the rest of us. (Note: watch out for audio on their way over-flashed website.)

The one exceptional dish at Girasole is the green salad, with the house sunflower vinaigrette, a crisp combination of mixed greens, grape tomatoes, red onions, and gorgonzola. But, um, it’s not difficult to make a good salad. If the prices were lower, our rating would be slightly higher. But for $15-22 entrées, we have high expectations.

[2.5 veggies]

With a name like “Orchids International Vegetarian Restaurant,” how could we resist? First, a caveat: This review is based on two take-out experiences, so we’ll have to save a review of the atmosphere for later. And since it’s quite possible that the food loses something in the traveling, and in our difficulty tolerating the spice level, our rating is provisional. But we’re pleased and definitely going back. The palak paneer is the best we’ve found in the city.

Orchids’ menu spans the globe, with everything from samosa to fried rice to veggie wraps, though the main focus is southern Indian. And though it’s just around the corner from Tamarind, its atmosphere and prices are far more modest, and so we’re more generous with the rating.

Now, admittedly, we’re spice wusses (somewhat), gradually upping our tolerance over the years so that a “5″ at most restaurants in Pittsburgh is just right. But at Orchids, a “medium” was too hot for us. It was far spicier than a “5″ at Thai Cuisine, comparable, perhaps, to the condiments at Prince of India. And we failed to learn our lesson the first time; on our second phone-in order, we again requested a medium spice level. Both times were challenging, but hey, no one said food blogging was easy.

We sweated, gulped water, and chewed naan throughout the meals. But it was worth it.

First came the palak paneer ($8.25). With very firm, chewy cheese, plum tomatoes, a textured puree not at all reminiscent of baby food, and a sweet hint of cinnamon, this is the best we’ve had in Pittsburgh. Vegans note that the paneer may be substituted with potatoes or chickpeas. Then came the mulligatawny ($3), a coriander lentil soup with a light, creamy finish. Despite long pauses between sips, the spice level overcame us, and we weren’t actually able to evaluate it, other than remembering it as delightful. Note to self: Order a “3″ next time.

The gobi manchurian ($10) pales in comparison to Tamarind’s, but the cauliflower has a light breading with a satisfying crispiness. Like all Americanized faux-Chinese dishes, the sauce was an unnatural shade of gelatinous red. And it was full of red peppers and onions, which we tend to dislike when in abundance. But the texture and overall flavor were enjoyable, and we made it through the heat, sweating bite after bite. Next came the upma, an unusual concoction of cream of wheat with peas and tomatoes ($3.25). It wasn’t particularly tasty, and with so many choices on the menu, we’d recommend trying something else. Finally, we sampled the aloo paratha, a flat wheat bread stuffed with a small portion of potato and speckled with cumin seeds, which we enjoyed.

Given the vast menu and the excellent palak paneer, we plan to return. Our rating is partially based on future expectations, so we’ll let you know what happens.

Recommended:

• Palak paneer

[4 veggies]

Our good friends Jeff and Ellen brought this dish to the Veggieburgh launch party, and we’ve been craving it ever since. Nearly as much as we crave summer rolls from Green Mango, or the pumpkin curry at Bangkok Balcony. So you know it’s gotta be great.

This is Jeff’s variation on a recipe from the March 2007 issue of Vegetarian Times. He adds extra spices, especially rosemary, and makes substitutions for the dairy products. Note that the rice cheese (pictured) contains casein, hence the “nearly vegan” moniker. The basil paste he uses is Gourmet Garden basil herb blend, available in a 4oz tube at Whole Foods and most Giant Eagles around town.

Serves 8

Ingredients

• 3 cups veggie spiral noodles
• 2 Tbs margarine or vegan butter
• 1 1/2 Tbs fresh rosemary or 2 tsp dried
• 1 tsp garlic salt (or to taste)
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper (or to taste)
• 1/2 Tbs basil paste (optional)
• 1 Tbs organic flour
• 2.5 cups lowfat soy milk
• 8 oz package cheddar rice shreds
• 8 oz package mozzarella rice shreds

Directions

• Preheat oven to 400F.
• Cook noodles according to package directions. Drain.
• Make a roux: Heat margarine over low heat and whisk in flour. Sprinkle in rosemary. After margarine starts to bubble, stir in the soy milk and continue to stir for 5 minutes until thickened. While stirring, add garlic salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper, and basil paste.
• Remove from heat and stir in about 1/2 of each bag of rice cheese.
• Alternate layers of noodles and the cheese mixture in a 9 x 13″ baking dish. Top with some of the remaining rice cheese and remaining black pepper. Cover with foil and use toothpicks to keep cheese from sticking to foil.
• Bake ~45 minutes, or less if you can’t help yourself.

Indulge while listening to music from your childhood, such as Michael Jackson and Wham!. Perhaps incorporate Muppet Show tunes.

We’re always hopeful that good Mexican food in Pittsburgh is just around the corner, either in time or in space, remaining somehow hidden just of the path of our culinary travels. Taco Loco, tucked away on Jane Street in the South Side, was a tantalizing contender. Though it has been at that location for two years, it came to our attention only recently. It’s a large family-run restaurant offering the standard array of Mexican(-American) menu options plus a few more. Notably, in addition to the usual meats, Soyrizo (chorizo sausage made of soy) is offered on most items.

We visited for a Saturday dinner on a warm, beautiful evening and chose to sit outside on their lovely, expansive back patio. Both the patio and large dining room were sparsely occupied, suggesting you would never have to wait for a table. The patio has a fountain and an easy, casual ambiance. Another perk of Taco Loco is that alcohol is Bring Your Own, with no corkage fee. And if you bring a bottle of tequila or cheap wine, they’ll use it to make a pitcher of margaritas or sangria (though from past experience here, both are from a mix and the sangria should really be avoided). Between the atmosphere and the BYOB policy, it seems like a great place to bring large groups and have plenty of space to gather and carouse.

Our meal started with a high and low point. The beverage menu includes aguas frescas, a mark of an authentic Mexican restaurant and a real treat if you haven’t tried them. They were out of the cantaloupe so we went with watermelon. The huge cup (the two of us split it comfortably) of delicious juice was well worth the $2.75; it tasted exactly like a fresh-pressed watermelon, with a bit of foamy pulp on top. On the other hand, the guacamole ($6.95) was a serious disappointment. It tasted carbonated (bubbly), an indication of bacterial activity that some foods get after sitting too long, refrigerated or not. When we (carefully, tactfully) told our waitress about this, she brought her uncle, the manager, over. Unfortunately, rather than consider or investigate our concern, he insisted it simply could not be the case that the guacamole had gone bad, that they make it fresh every day. We asked if he had made it that morning and he said yes, that morning. It being 8:00 pm at the time, we started to explain that all day was rather long for guacamole to sit out, but he wasn’t listening. He said that other people were eating it (they were), but if we didn’t like it, we could send it back. So we did. Fizziness aside, the guacamole was not that great anyway.

Nor were the chips, which Moira felt were bland, while Josh felt were merely standard Mexican restaurant quality. Moira made the point that good Mexican chips can be transcendent, light and crispy with just the right amount of oil and salt, although chips like this don’t exist in Pittsburgh (as far as we know). The salsas, however, were quite good. Yet the $2.95 charged for chips and salsa seems steep, considering these are complimentary at most decent Mexican restaurants.

For entrees, we chose the burrito with soyrizo ($6.95; not on the menu, but they readily accepted the request), and one of the specials — sopes with soyrizo ($13.95). The soyrizo on both was a small-grain soy crumble swimming in yellow grease. It was flavorful, but the flavor was reminiscent of Taco Bell. Another Taco-Bell-like feature was the soggy, micro-shredded iceberg lettuce that had probably been sitting in its shredded state as long as the guacamole. The strong suit of both plates was the refried black beans. They had a rich, smoky flavor which led Moira to suspect lard was involved. After intensive questioning which compelled two trips by our server to the kitchen to ask questions, we determined they are indeed vegetarian, cooked with vegetable oil and browned onions. Moira considers them the best refried beans she’s ever had. The thick corn tortillas that served as the base of the sopes were also quite enjoyable.

We wanted to like Taco Loco. It has some good things going for it. Unfortunately the food is not one of them. Overall, it was decent and filling, but the flavors were not refined and the ingredients were not as fresh as they should be. Especially considering the prices were steep for the level of quality we received, Taco Loco is most worth visiting only if you have a large group or a craving for fast-food-inspired Mexican food.

[3 veggies]

Recommended dishes:

• agua fresca watermelon
• refried black beans

If you are firing up the grill for summer and can get a hold of some fresh figs, this quick recipe is not to be missed. Figs are best for grilling when they have ripened to the point when the skin is slightly shriveled and sags a bit (though it will work just fine if they are less ripe).

Nip off the stem and slice each fig lengthwise. Press a

• walnut or pecan half

into the center of each fig half. It is quite good if you stop here and throw them on the grill, but for a delightful interplay of sweet and savory, top each half fig with a slice of

• medium-sharp cheese, like gouda

Put the fig halves on the cooler side of the grill (to allow the cheese to melt before the bottoms burn) and cook until cheese is melted or to your liking. Again, these will be quite tasty as they are, but if you want to add an extra zing to these delicacies, drizzle a few drops of

• balsamic vinegar, simmered until reduced in volume by half

But only a few drops! Enjoy.

It’s nearly impossible to make a bad avocado dish, unless the avocados themselves are bad. But when you’re sick of trying guacamole variations and want something visually stunning for a potluck, try this pale green soup with swirls of white and red.

We use salsa fresca from the local Cinco de Mayo company, available at the Strip on Saturday mornings. You can substitute dried chipotle peppers or leave out the salsa entirely. The soup base stands well on its own.

Whole cumin is available in bulk at Penn Mac, the Co-Op, or Whole Foods. Grinding it yourself in a coffee grinder makes a huge difference. Pepitas are available in bulk at Penn Mac and Reyna, and probably other groceries around town.

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 3 ripe avocados
• 1 cucumber, peeled and seeded
• Juice of 2-3 limes
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground cumin
• 1/4 C tofutti vegan (or regular) sour cream
• 1/4 C salsa (or to taste)
• 1/4 C toasted pepitas

Directions:

1. Combine avocado, cucumber, lime juice, salt, and cumin in a blender and process until smooth. Add lime juice to taste. Put in the refrigerator to chill for a couple of hours.
2. Swirl sour cream and salsa on top, and sprinkle pepitas.

There are many reasons to love Cafe Phipps: local organic produce, compostable dishes and cups, natural lighting, surprisingly comfortable wooden chairs, and the pierced, dreadlocked counter staff. It is also one of Pittsburgh’s few health-focused restaurants and offers many well-marked vegetarian and vegan options. The prices are reasonable, especially given its location within an admission-charging attraction. You’ll just have to deal with the muzak, which last week included sax highlights of Cats, Phantom of the Opera, and Evita. But we won’t hold poor renditions of Broadway’s long-running family friendly fare against them.

I had the wild mushroom melt with gruyere. It came with chips and cilantro-stem-laden salsa. The sandwich bread was perfectly crusty, and the scant gruyere tasty, but overall the sandwich was dry and those mushrooms were mostly your everyday criminis. Some tomatoes and spinach might have added some moisture and color.

Josh had a veggie gyro stuffed with red and yellow peppers, seitan, tomatoes, and a pickle, dressed with lemon juice, tahini, and something spicy (maybe just chili powder). I liked the long, thin strips of seitan, though Josh found them a little too chewy. Though more flavorful than the mushroom melt, this definitely isn’t date food: it’s awkward to hold and very drippy. But the dressing is tangy and sweet, the pita soft and it gets points for being healthy. We also tried the tomato and red pepper bisque, which was creamy and sweet without being heavy.

Overall, we loved the atmosphere and the cafe’s philosophy, and the food was pretty good for the price. We’d give it five veggies for the worm composting of their pre- and post-consumer waste alone. Was the food great? No. But it’s also pretty early in the season for Pittsburgh-area farmers, so we’re optimistic the fare will improve later in the summer, and it’s certainly good enough year-round to continue to support a restaurant that is so environmentally and health-conscientious.

[4 veggies]

Recommended dishes:

• Red pepper and tomato bisque
• Veggie gyro (if you don’t mind a little mess)

It feels like a bit of a cheat to review a coffee shop rather than a full restaurant, but since Té Café is generally vegetarian, it’s worth pointing out this quiet Squirrel Hill gem and its tasty menu. Té Café’s sunny, art-lined walls, classical radio (and the occasional WYEP), outstanding tea selection (100 varieties) and very knowledgeable staff make it a delightful place to spend the afternoon.

Owners Sue and Terry can describe every tea, all of which are sold by the pot ($3-$4) or loose to go. Unsure whether the white chocolate mousse black tea is chocolatey enough, or if the dragonwell is jasmine-y enough? You can smell the cannisters. It’s also heaven for tea paraphernalia fetishists. Infusers of all sizes and shapes, books, and pots line the shelves. The café consists of a half dozen brushed-steel tables, two small couches and a long cushioned bench, replete with outlets. (Already 61C pales in comparison.) And did I mention the free wi-fi?

The clientele is generally quiet—mostly grad students with laptops—but there are plenty of chatty friends and weekend Scrabble players. On a typical afternoon, I overheard conversations about segmentation faults, progesterone levels, and Trinidadian politics. Sue, who’s generally there weekday afternoons, is trusting and unhurried, bringing pots to your table and letting you pay at your leisure.

Seven hot teas are ready every day, three of which change daily: one black, herbal, and green. Two iced teas are brewed all day, along with one rotating flavor. All of the other teas are available by the pot, complete with hourglass timer and dish for steeped leaves. There are six varieties of hot chocolate (including cardamom, Mexican, and peppermint). Most of the food is the usual coffeeshop fare — H&H bagels, scones, cookies, and biscotti. Watch out for the white chocolate scone with key lime icing — it’s far sweeter than even my strong sweet tooth can handle. However, the owners also prepare an assortment of worldly sandwiches and spreads and daily Irish oatmeal.

Stu’s Special ($4.50)
Thick pita wedges served with an intensely flavored medley of spreads: pistachio pesto, sundried tomato & white beans, and olive tapenade. The vivid spreads are complemented by the striped platter. The tapenade has a concentrated olive flavor, salty and tangy, which the more mellow sundried tomato spread balances nicely. The pistachio pesto is somewhat bitter when eaten with the other two, but it makes a nice counterpoint.

Pacific Pita ($5.50) This generously stuffed pita (well, closer to a tortilla) has pistachio pesto, imported swiss cheese, greens, avocado, mandarin oranges, pistachios. It’s the perfect marriage of salty and sweet with just the right proportion of ingredients: The pistachio pesto’s salty tang is balanced by the sweetness of the oranges. It’s difficult to eat gracefully, though, with all that mesclun hanging out, so perhaps avoid it on a first date. Sesame crackers are piled on the side: Apparently, when Munch reviewed them, he criticized the sandwiches for not coming with a side of chips, so they added the sesame crackers.

Irish Oatmeal ($3.75)
Available all day from a cast-iron pressure cooker on the counter. Creamy irish oats (perhaps a little on the mushy side, and nothing like the amazingly articulated porridge at Gypsy Cafe, but still quite yummy). They add brown sugar, raisins, walnuts, and granola to your liking on the spot. (I know, granola? But makes for a nice mild crunch.)

Té Café’s coffee is wicked strong and tasty. It’s an organic Columbian artisan brand (Blue Bottle Coffee), brewed on demand by running hot water through a filter full of grounds. So, the coffee is never bitter. Soy and rice milk are available for adding to tea, coffee, and oatmeal at no extra charge.

Overall, it’s a bit pricey, but it’s worth it for the atmosphere and for supporting a fledgling tea shop.

[4 veggies]
Recommended dishes:
* Pacific Pita
* Stu’s Special
* White chocolate mousse (black tea)
* Pear rooibos (red tea)
* Vanilla chai (black tea)
* Peach apricot (white tea)
* Cardamom hot chocolate

Our friend Mukesh brought this golden, crusty foccacia to the Veggieburgh launch party last week, and it was all I could do to squirrel away a couple of pieces as leftovers. The dough is light and spongy, and the garlic topping is downright lickable.

Dough:

• 1 cup water (temp: 27C)
• 1/3 cup olive oil
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 cups bread flour (I use King Arthur brand)
• 2 tsp crushed red pepper
• 2 tsp crushed rosemary
• 1.5 tsp active dry yeast

Topping:

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/4 cup finely minced garlic (about 1 head)
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 tsp salt

Procedure

1. Prepare the dough. With a bread machine, just dump the ingredients into the bread machine pan (in the order listed — water first, yeast last) and run it on the dough cycle.
2. Grease a 9×13 pan with 2-3 tsp olive oil. Press dough into pan, making sure that the dough is level. (If the dough is not level, olive oil will pool into the lower parts.) Then make indentations in dough with your fingertips. (These indentations are where we want the oil to pool into.)
3. Cover dough and let rise ~30 minutes. While waiting for dough, prepare topping.
4. Heat olive oil in a skillet. Stir in oregano and garlic, then remove immediately from heat.
5. Spoon oil mixture evenly over dough. Sprinkle on cheese and salt.
6. Bake at 400F (205 C) for about 20 minutes.

Udipi Cafe is often cited as the best Indian restaurant in (greater) Pittsburgh. If you haven’t come across it, that may be due to its unlikely location out in the woods of Monroeville. Housed in a squat brick building next to an abandoned quarry, much of the clientele come from the nearby Sri Venkateswara Temple. Udipi is named after a temple town on the southwest coast of India, and it is the only expressly South Indian restaurant in Pittsburgh. Though some of the signature South Indian dishes, like dosa, can be found elsewhere, North Indian and Western dishes tend to be the focus in most Indian restaurants.

We made the trek out to Udipi for a Saturday dinner in a group of seven. We were seated right away, which might have been luck because the place was busy, with people constantly entering, leaving, and milling about. The decor is that of a run-down diner: vinyl booths, checkered floors, and terse service. The plastic cutlery is annoying, but you’ll be happy for the tall stack of paper napkins at each table once you start pulling off pieces of fried bread with your fingers. Our large group allowed us to get a lot of dishes and share them around, which is a good strategy at this restaurant. Since everything was vegetarian, we were happy to let our Indian friends who were familiar with the menu and cuisine do the ordering.

We started with an Appetizer Sampler plate and Potato Bonda. The sampler plate was dominated by battered and fried bits (onion, potato, jalapeño) which also describes the Bonda and were not any better than the deep-fried fare at most Indian restaurants or markets. But there were high points: the sambar (sort of a lentil soup) was truly excellent, with a deep, savory flavor and insistent spice. The coconut chutney, which you might expect to be cooling, started creamy and a little sweet but had spice that crept up on you, leaving you running for the water glass. These sauces make appearances in many other dishes, so there is no need to get the sampler to try them. Also good was the “vegetable cutlet”, a purple, starchy, deep-fried morsel than none of us could identify. The best item for sopping up the delicious sambar was probably the idly — a small, fluffy rice patty.

For us, the real draw of Udipi compared with other Indian restaurants is the incredibly dramatic presentation of their signature fried bread dishes, like the Channa Batura. The bigger-than-your-head puff is served right out of the deep-fryer, overwhelming the platter it sits on. It’s a little sad to tear off the first piece and destroy the perfect golden roundness of it. Alongside on the plate is a very tasty chickpea (”channa”) curry for grabbing with the pieces of bread. Similarly impressive, the Paper Masala Dosa is a crispy crepe made with rice and lentil flour, probably two feet in diameter and rolled up with a generously-spiced filling of potato and onion.

We also tried the Dhai Vada, which is a donut made with lentil flour soaked in a yogurt sauce. The sweetness of the doughnut contrasts with the tangy, cool yogurt for an interesting flavor and texture combination. The Pav Bhaji (served only on Saturday and Sunday) is classic Mumbai street vendor food: essentially a toasted hamburger bun served with spicy tomato curry. The curry had a surprising tangy flavor, but the bun was not exciting. However, this dish was a repeat favorite of more than one person at the table. The onion and potato uthappam is a thick rice and lentil pancake offering yet another texture experience. Though the pancake is light on flavor, it comes with chutneys for dipping, as all the bread dishes do.

We finished our meal with masala tea. It’s a black tea with spices boiled in milk (what you might call chai). It was served in a small steel cup in a shorter, wider steel cup. You can pour the tea from one vessel to the other to cool it down and add foam (a process called “pulling”). I was not a fan of the flavor of the tea and had to add sugar to counteract the bitterness.

Overall, Udipi is an experience everyone should have. The prices are low — we walked out for $12 per person after appetizers, beverages, and tip — reflecting a no-frills approach to serving tasty, authentic dishes. Many of those dishes you won’t find anywhere else in Pittsburgh. Unfortunately, we didn’t any try of the curries, but I hear that these are comparable in quality to some of the better Indian restaurants in town. The main drawbacks are the location and the predominance of fried and deep-fried foods. You surely don’t want to have a batura or dosa to youself (or even half of one); you’d be overwhelmed by the grease. Our meal was also very light on vegetables (though that may be fixed with different menu choices). On the other hand, nothing we had wasn’t tasty, and some dishes were very good. Udipi makes up for the less-than-healthy options with spectacular fried bread feats.

[4 veggies]

Recommended dishes:

• Channa Batura
• Paper Masala Dosa
• Anything with sambar or coconut chutney

Pittsburgh’s not hurting for Thai restaurants, and they’re all pretty good. But Thai Cuisine in Bloomfield is one of the best for vegetarians. In taste and atmosphere, it’s on par with Bangkok Balcony and far better than La Filipiniana. First, though it fills up, you’ll likely have a table quickly and won’t have to listen to pan-flute soft rock. The music is subtle and the dining room has a sparse elegance, with black tablecloths and yellow napkins. (That combination seems to be common in Pittsburgh.) The service is excellent; our waitress had plenty of recommendations and could describe most of the dishes thoroughly. There’s a separate vegetarian menu with unusual mock meats (duck and scallops) and the standard tofu. (Our review is based on tofu, but we’d like to return to try the fake meats.) Finally, their prices can’t be beat. Our $9 entrees were as good as the $11 ones at Bangkok Balcony.

We began with two pots of tea ($2 each), one chrysanthemum and one ginger. Both are extremely sweet and the chrysanthemum is a bit cloying, but the ginger cuts through the sweetness nicely. Our fresh Thai cuisine roll ($4.25) had delightfully surprising bits of basil and pineapple, but unfortunately was a bit bland and dry. However, the Tom Kha veggie soup was warm and with a balance of spice, lime, and coconut milk. The soup contained mushrooms, cabbage, carrot, cilantro, broccoli, and tofu, and the broth was so good we continued to sip it long after the veggies were gone.

Take note that a spice level “5″ here is a step stronger than at Bangkok Balcony. The spice lingers and grows warm without a sharp bite.

The spicy basil noodles ($9) filled our noses with a sweet basil scent as soon as the platter arrived at the table. The dish consists of wide rice noodles with little basil leaves nestled underneath. Though the menu doesn’t mention it, the dish includes broccoli in addition to onion, bell peppers, and tofu. Josh and I tend to be wary of vegetable dishes with crunchy onions — usually they have a sharp, raw bite that overpowers the other flavors, but in this dish the onions were both crisp and mellow. Quite an accomplishment by the chef. Though the sauce isn’t complex, it’s smooth and balanced. I’d like to try this in the summer when basil is plentiful—my only disappointment was that it could use dozens more leaves.

The ginger roots ($9) consists of skinny strips of piquant ginger tossed with broccoli, pea pods, bell peppers, tofu, and onion, garnished with orange peel. The sauce is slightly thick, nicely matching sweet with salty. Unfortunately, the vegetables were a bit undercooked, so the dish was more a plate of raw veggies covered in a tasty sauce. Now, I like plates full of raw veggies, but it wasn’t exactly what we’d expected.

Overall, for the atmosphere, service, price, and the expectation that future dishes will be as good as the basil noodles, we give Thai Cuisine 4.5 veggies.

[4.5 veggies]

Recommended dishes:
* Ginger tea (sweet)
* Spicy basil noodles with tofu ($9)

A light summertime sushi with a pungent kick. Goes well with sauvignon blanc or iced green tea.

Ingredients:

• 1.5 C uncooked sushi rice
• 2 1/2 C water
• 1/4 C rice vinegar
• 2 T sugar
• 1 t salt
• 4 sheets of nori
• 1 ripe avocado
• 1 cucumber
• 1 lime
• 2 T sesame seeds

Cilantro pesto: (adapted from Vegan Planet)

• 1 large bunch cilantro (about 1 C packed leaves)
• 1/4 C pecans or almonds
• 3 cloves garlic
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 tsp salt (or to taste)

Fun tools:

• Sushi mat
• Wooden rice paddle
• Electric or paper fan

Preparation:

1. Cook the rice as you normally would, on the stovetop or in a rice cooker.
2. Peel and de-seed the cucumber, cutting it and the avocado into 1/4″ thick strips.
3. Prepare the cilantro pesto. Mince garlic in a food processor. Add nuts, cilantro, olive oil, and salt, and process until finely minced.
4. Cut two slices from the center of the lime for garnish. Cut each slice in half (a semicircle). Scoop the pulp from the remaining ends of the lime.
5. Mix the vinegar, salt, and sugar. Pour it over the cooked rice and fold in gently with a damp wooden rice paddle, careful not to squash the kernels. Transfer rice to a shallow dish and fan for several minutes to cool.
6. Lay one sheet of nori shiny-side down on the sushi mat with the long side facing you. Wet your fingers and lay about a 1/4″ thick layer of rice on the nori, leaving 1/2″ uncovered along the far side. Sprinkle sesame seeds on the rice.
7. Carefully turn the nori over, so the rice is facing down. Spread a 1/2″ thick stripe of cilantro pesto across the nori (see photo). Lay strips of avocado and cucumber adjacent to the pesto. Finally, lay in a few pinches of lime pulp.
8. To roll the sushi, lift the mat and press it against the filling as you roll the bottom edge in on itself, leaving a 1/4″ at the top. Run a wet finger along the edge and press the roll closed. Hold the roll together with the mat for a few seconds to set it. Repeat with the remaining rolls.
9. Wet a very sharp knife and cut the rolls — first in half, then in half again, and then in half again. You should have eight tasty pieces.

You know that great hole-in-the-wall ethnic place that you stumbled upon in an aging strip mall or on the edge of a sketchy neighborhood? The one that doesn’t look like much from the outside but has a certain homey charm from being family-run, and anyway the food is such a deal — big portions of authentic ethnic comfort-food — that’s it’s worth going out of your way? Tram’s Kitchen is one of those places. This Vietnamese diner has graced Penn Ave in Lawerenceville for about 10 years. It’s known to locals, and hasn’t escaped critical acclaim (several awards and favorable reviews are framed on the wall).

The decor is a little abrasive, with bright-patterned plastic tablecloths, plastic water cups, and an ATM machine, along with other features that appear to reach toward classiness, like mirrored sconces. But the smells are enticing and the staff is friendly and quick. The menu is very vegetarian friendly — most items have a choice of meat or tofu. The owner took our order and gave us recommendations on good vegetarian choices, which we followed.

We started with vegetarian spring rolls ($1.75 each). They were stuffed with tofu, fried tofu, cabbage, and rice noodles and came with a sweet dipping sauce topped with toasted peanuts. They were good, but suffered from the common spring roll affliction of being a little bland on the inside. We asked for hot tea and received large glasses of toasted corn tea, which was surprisingly tasty and went well with the food.

For entrees, we went with the Sate Soup, vegetarian ($5.95), and the Rice Noodle Lo Mein with tofu and veggies ($8.95). The soup contained broccoli, carrots, cucumber, fried tofu, rice noodles, and cabbage in a not-too-spicy yellow curry broth. It with a generous plate of fresh bean sprouts, Thai basil, and lime wedges to top it off. Overall, the flavor was excellent — rich and deep. The texture contrast between the bean sprouts and the cooked noodles and vegetables was very good. It made for an engaging, filling meal, which at that price is quite a deal.

The Lo Mein was similar to the soup but without the broth. The toasted sesame flavor on the noodles was pleasant but delicate. After a bite of the flavor-packed soup, the noodles tasted a little bland.

Overall, the food was very good, and the home-style family-run feel of the place is very appealing. Considering the low prices and expecting that we can find some more stand-out dishes on the menu, we give it 4 veggies.

[4 veggies]

Recommended dishes:

• Sate Soup, vegetarian
• toasted corn tea

Pacific Ring, the year-old pan-Asian restaurant on Murray has a lot of potential. Like its neighbor New Dumpling House, its menu features both sushi and Chinese cuisine, and like NDH, its vegetarian options are hit and miss. This review is based on the Chinese side of the menu; we’d like to return to review the vegetarian sushi options.

We began with a pot of lavender tea ($4) in a beautiful glass pot warmed by a votive candle. Lavender bits floated atop the honey-infused water, which the waitress refilled with hot water throughout our meal. Sweet-averse readers should be warned that the honey is pretty strong, but overall the tea had a pleasing scent and flavor.

Meanwhile, we contemplated the atmosphere. I really liked the dining room filled with plants; jade, birds of paradise, and small tropical trees fill the space. The wallpaper’s a bit busy and the soft hits of the eighties played on soprano sax are grating (think Kenny G playing “Endless Love”), but otherwise it’s modest and traditional.

We began with two soups: noodles in vegetable soup ($3), and hot and sour soup ($1.50). The noodle soup consisted of a flat broth desperately in need of salt and noodles too floppy to eat with the spoon. Josh commented that it tasted like cabbage water. Adding salt brought it on par with Campbell’s. The hot and sour soup was beautifully presented with shitake, scallion, and tofu, but completely tasteless.

Luckily, the wild mushroom tofu ($11) made up for the soups. Made from four varieties (oyster, shitake, button, and beech), the dish also contains asparagus shoots, red pepper, tofu, and a basic brown sauce. The tofu had a crispy shell comparable to that served at Bangkok Balcony.

Finally, our veggie moo-shu ($9) came with surprising wrappers: tortillas. The veggies had a nice crunch, but unlike the soup, the moo shu overall had a clingy saltiness that made us pretty thirsty.

So, while the mushroom dish is the only one we’d recommend, we’re hopeful that the sushi side of the menu is tastier. If we return, we’ll update this post. But otherwise, at these prices, we generally recommend Hunan Kitchen.

[3 veggies]

Recommended dishes:

• Wild mushroom tofu
• Lavender tea

It may be its lofty location above Norka Futon, or the slightly higher-than-average prices, but it wasn’t until the fourth friend’s recommendation that we finally got up to Bangkok Balcony. The trip proved worthwhile; it has excellent ambience, extensive vegetarian options, and quality food.

We visited Bangkok Balcony on the early side of a Saturday night. We were seated right away, but the large, open dining room filled close to capacity by about 7:00. The decor is both warm and modern, pleasingly lit, and, like the dress of the clientele, a step up from casual. Only the loudness of the room detracted from atmosphere. The large front windows overlook Forbes Ave in Squirrel Hill. Tables near the window can be chilly in cold weather, but afford a view of the street life below.

Hoping to warm up from the cold weather, we started our meal with a house tea (lemongrass) and a green tea. The lemongrass was delicate and not outstanding. The green tea was a grassy bagged variety and a little disappointing. Their Thai iced teas are overly sweet, as well, but certainly tasty. (How can that much fat and sugar not be satisfying?) The iced tea martini with regular vodka is delightful.
The menu has a vegetarian section, though many of the curries and stir-fries in other sections can be made with tofu. The dishes are traditional Thai, including the familiar, like red and green curry (pictured), and plenty of less familiar fare.

Looking for something other than the typical spring roll or fresh roll, we appetized ourselves with the Steam Noodle Roll. It is a large steamed rice noodle sheet rolled around a tofu and cabbage filling (similar to the Chinese dim sum dish “cheong fun”). It was nicely presented, topped with bean sprouts and cilantro and a thin, tangy sauce. The noodle texture was just right, and the flavor was light and clean, but held no surprises.

The vegetable Lemongrass Soup, on the other hand, was full of surprises. The exotic-tasting broth, at once sweet, tangy, and spicy, had multiple layers of flavor. The soup was chunky with vegetables and crisp mushrooms.

With entrees, we had mixed success. The Pumpkin Curry with tofu was simply an outstanding dish. The thick, rich sauce had good depth of flavor, including plenty of basil, and just the right amount of chili spice (we always order spiciness at a “5″ on a 1-10 scale). The tofu and vegetables were good, but the real treat was the “pumpkin”, which was probably kabocha squash (”Japanese pumpkin”), more like sweet potato than a regular pumpkin. The tender pieces were slightly sweet with a dense, velvety texture.

And then there was Praram Tofu, which our server recommended as a popular vegetarian choice. This is a big slab, perhaps a whole pound, of fried tofu strips topped with a sweet peanut sauce on a bed of spinach leaves. The sauce was too thick, too sweet, and had no depth. The tofu had no flavor on its own, and the spinach was more of a garnish than part of the dish. It wasn’t bad tasting, but it’s basically something we could easily make at home with a recipe from the back of the peanut butter jar. It was fairly disappointing.

Overall, we find the ambience — including cool dishes and fabulous flatware — is the restaurant’s strongest point. But nice presentation of the food (especially good use of color contrast), and flavor in the two outstanding dishes were close runners-up. In addition, other than the errant Praram Tofu recommendation, the service was prompt and friendly. Partly in the expectation that we can find more exceptional dishes on the hefty menu, we give Bangkok Balcony 4.5 veggies.

Update: Your intrepid reviewers are not ones to leave menu items at a good restaurant unsampled for long, so we’ve since returned and can recommend additional dishes. The yellow curry with Asian sweet potato is nearly as good as the pumpkin curry, and while Moira enjoyed the Rad Na, we would have liked to see the vegetables-to-noodles ratio increased a little before recommending it. But who doesn’t love those wide rice noodles? The lemongrass noodles (lunch portion pictured) are also wide. Oh, and ask for brown rice–theirs is a flavorful mix of brown and purple varieties.

Also, as intrepid reader Jody mentions below, their green curry paste does have shrimp in it.  But the red curries (including the pumpkin) are fish-free now.

[4.5 veggies]
Recommended dishes:

• Pumpkin curry
• Lemongrass soup
• Eggplant with Thai basil
• Yellow curry (we added vegetables for $1 extra)
• Thai iced tea martini

It’s too bad there’s not a good Mexican restaurant in Pittsburgh yet. Cuzamil, the replacement for Mi Mexico on Murray, continues the tradition of mediocrity. (Actually, Mi Mexico at least had the excitement factor of, well, cow tongue.) Perhaps Cuzamil’s meat dishes are tasty (although we doubt it), but the few vegetarian options are bland and salty, and way overpriced. On the flip side, the service was excellent, and our amiable waiter is the only thing garnering any points here.

We started the evening with $3 margaritas (it was happy hour), and given the below-freezing temperature outside, we opted for drinks with ice cubes rather than blended ice. Unfortunately, the bartender used the same amount of sugary mix as in a blended drink, so the cocktails were undrinkable.

Meanwhile, we munched chips, watched Britney’s latest escapades on Inside Edition, and listened to cheery piped-in music heavy on the synth drums. We ordered the veggie burritos ($10) and veggie fajitas ($10). Both had the same ingredients: bland pureed beans, salty Mexican rice, iceberg lettuce, and heavy cheese. Everything was a bit too salty. The onions and peppers in the fajita were tasty, but not enough to merit going back.

Our waiter was friendly, chatting us up in Spanish, and well aware of vegetarian issues. We were hoping to try the mole, but he warned us that it contained chicken broth.

Relative to the other Mexican restaurants in town (and a Mad Mex review is coming soon), Cuzamil is right in the middle. We tasted Velveeta in a burrito at Azul (on Walnut Street) once, so there is worse to be had.

[2 veggies]

A couple of people asked about the apples in the salad I made for Thanksgiving this year. Since it was really easy (barely a recipe, really), thought I’d list it here. Meyer lemons are in season from December to April, which means they’re now cheaper at Whole Foods ($2.50/lb) than regular lemons ($1 each). My mom (and wikipedia) tell me that Meyer lemons are thought to be a lemon/orange hybrid, which explains their sweetness.

Serves 4

• 1 red onion
• 1 gala apple
• 1/2 C dried cranberries
• 8 cups fresh baby spinach
• 1/2 C gorgonzola (optional)
• 1/2 C slivered almonds
• 1/2 T olive oil

Dressing:

• 2 Meyer lemons
• 2 T olive oil
• 1 T orange juice
• 1/2 T red wine vinegar
• 1/4 tsp fresh thyme
• 2 cloves garlic
• salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Slice onion and apple into 1/4″ wedges. Slice not quite through to the root end of the onion, letting the last bit hold the wedges together. Arrange on a baking sheet, brush with olive oil, and sprinkle a little salt on the onions. Bake for 20 minutes until soft.

3. Toast the almonds over low heat in a heavy skillet. Set aside to cool.

4. Zest and juice the lemons. Mince the garlic. Add the oj, red wine vinegar, and thyme. Whisk in the olive oil. Add salt and pepper.

5. Toss spinach, cranberries, almonds, onion, and apple. Drizzle vinaigrette over the salad. Crumble the gorgonzola on top.

The East Liberty Farmers Market has now closed for the season, and in honor of those farmers braving the chill for one last week, we present a melange of their best root vegetables. You can still buy local beets at Whole Foods and Giant Eagle (sometimes) for the next few weeks. The citrus enhances the sweetness of the beets.

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

• 1 large bunch local beets, including greens
• 1 jewel yam
• 4 carrots, including greens

Marinade:

• 1 orange
• 2 lemons (Meyers, if available)
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp cumin
• 1/2 Tbsp coriander
• 2 Tbsp chopped cilantro
• 1/2 tsp chili oil (to taste)
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 Tbsp olive oil

1. Trim the greens from the beets. Leave 1″ stem and the tails on