Inside My Table #38 | Restaurant listings
Bog Apples & Rhubarb (Vegetarian-Friendly Restaurants)
One potato, two potato, three potato, four—86 my order for stuffed wild boar. Okay, bad poem, but good idea. Flesh pots are out, earthy’s in—or so say the veggie-lovers who not only abound in number but in good health. Might say it’s open season on being pro-veggie around these parts. But don’t shoot them, unless the shoots are alfalfa or bean sprouts.
A MOVEABLE FEAST, 9341 Katy Freeway, 713-365-0368. Suzanne Fain et al have a dandy haven for haricot lovers. Piled-high sandwiches, soups du jour, desserts with fruit in mind beckon the loyalists to return and provide newcomers with the thrill of discovering health on the half shell. Simple, comfortable interior, and a feast of healthy stuff for sale on the side. $
ASHIANA, 12610 Briar Forest, 281-679-5555. This upscale Indian restaurant does what every subcontinent restaurant does, but in spades: divine saag paneer, inflammatory melds of potato and cauliflower, comforting lentils and the cucumber-and-yogurt dish of raita to cool down your mouth. Indian cuisine is ideally suited to the veggie-lover, offering infinite varieties of grains, vegetables and legumes, and this is among Houston’s best. $-$$
BABA YEGA, 2607 Grant, 713-522-0042. On your way to Felix to take a tortilla swim through the caloried con queso? Stop! A block up the street, under the shade of a kind old tree sits a Houston eatery of venerable longevity. One of the depots on the Grand Funk Railroad of Montrose, Baba Yega draws the weird and the wonderful into its inner sanctum. Reasonably priced, seasonally fresh food for veg-outers. $
BACKSTREET CAFE, 1103 S. Shepherd, 713-521-2239. It’s nice to be right all the time. And right’s right there for you every visit to this consistently exceptional restaurant. Green fried tomatoes have become a legend in their own time; portobellos are treated like the big wheel mushrooms that they are. Bar’s not bad for conversation and potables made from grapes, grain and squeezed potatoes. $$
BIBA’S GREEK PIZZA, 5526 Memorial, 713-861-2266. Eccentric atmosphere aside, inside is where you’ll find some of the best pizza in town. Anyone in search of a Greek salad the way the Greeks make it need look no farther. Sporting always a lively, humorous staff who seem eminently aware that at Biba’s they’re not in Kansas anymore, food’s good enough to waft over and catch the conventional noses of folks down the street at Ms. Hogg’s Bayou Bend. $
DAILY REVIEW CAFE, 3412 W. Lamar, 713-520-9217. Take a sip of the grape from a wine list that continues to win acclaim. If nobody ever promised you a herb garden, go over to the Daily Review where they pinch the herbs fresh from fragrant plants growing outside the kitchen door. Daily review of the Daily Review turns up thumbs up every time. $-$$
EMPIRE CAFE, 1732 Westheimer, 713-528-5282. Eggs Verdi might poach the strict vegan to a slow boil, but for borderline meat abstainers, there’s nothing better than this egg-and-spinach dish. Ambrosia’s in the gingerbread waffles, and all sweet courses here are above and beyond the proverbial par. Watch the world pass by, either on foot or in automobiles, because location is one of the busiest corners in Houston. Dine well, then stroll. Antique purveyors abound. $-$$
MISSION BURRITOS, 2245 W. Alabama, 713-529-0535, and other locations. When you go, ask for BEV. Not a gal, but a burrito of luscious distinction, BEV is an acronym for Big Excellent Vegetarian. Within the tortilla harina you will find a mixture of rice, pinto or black beans, roasted mushrooms, roasted tomato salsa, green peppers and guacamole. And if that isn’t enough, the Mission folks will be very glad to build a veggie burrito to your specifications. $
OUISIE’S TABLE, 3939 San Felipe, 713-528-2264. Always featured on the big blackboard that looms above the heads of diners will be found dishes so heart-smart, they deserve a graduate degree. The chef never ignores the veggie-lovers among us, but balances with dishes for everyone. Baked potatoes never had it so good (and the proof’s in the eating). Feel like we’re dining in a garden, where the garden takes precedence over all. $$
WONDERFUL VEGETARIAN, 7549 Westheimer, 713-977-3137. Welcome honorable patron to the wide, wide wonderful world of meatless and multifarious munching. If diversity in your legumes is what you want, this must be the place. Did you ever dream so much could be done with tofu? Soy beans? From root to leaf, Wonderful Vegetarian has got it covered. $
ZIGGY’S HEALTHY GRILL, 2202 W. Alabama, 713-527-8588. All health nuts aren’t in the hors d’oeuvre bowl, you know. A lot of them are over at Ziggy’s enjoying an ambiance that teems with friendliness, freshness and feasting. Keep eyes peeled for the peeled sweet potato fries served like every other dish in the establishment—bounteous and beneficial to our well-being. $
