Inside My Table #91 | Restaurant listings
Veggie-Friendly Restaurants
So, you’ve read Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food and taken it to heart. Your mission: Eat more plants. But where in barbecue-lovin’ Houston can you go? It’s very easy, actually. Any make-your-own-burrito cafe, pizzeria, Southeast Asian restaurant, Chinese restaurant, Middle Eastern restaurant or Indian restaurant is going to be veggie friendly. Ditto for the salad bars, à la Sweet Tomatoes and Souper Salad, and the “health food” restaurants such as A Moveable Feast, Field of Greens and Ziggy’s Healthy Grill. Even the better upscale steakhouses, with their lavish sides of creamed spinach, cottage fries and sautéed mushrooms, indulge veggie-lovers. Here are 15 more suggestions.
1. BACKSTREET CAFE, 1103 S. Shepherd bet. W. Dallas & W. Gray, 713-521-2239. One of our favorite bistros offers several veggie items, including roasted eggplant parmesan, artichoke soup, cheese grits, savory bread pudding and an amazing antipasto di verdure (veggie antipasto platter). Wonderful private patio.
2. BEAVER’S ICE HOUSE, 2310 Decatur south of Washington, 713-864-2328. Beaver’s has made a name for itself with the Jolie Vue Farms’ sausage, pork ribs and smoked brisket, but hunt around the menu a little, and you’ll find several veggie choices: market garden risotto, “Beaver Nut Burger” made with brown rice, cashews, walnuts and cheddar, pinto bean ragu, and macaroni and cheese.
3. BENJY’S ON WASHINGTON, 5922 Washington Ave. just east of Westcott , 713-868-1131, and other location. Pistacho-crusted goat cheese cakes, margherita pizza, brie and portobello crèpes served over sautéed spinach, sweet potato risotto (includes an egg on top) and crispy tofu steak on tomato curry are a few of the plant plates offered by chef Michael Potowski.
4. CATALAN FOOD AND WINE, 5555 Washington just west of TC Jester, 713-426-4260. What! The Spanish restaurant known for its cane-syrup-braised pork belly, black blood sausages, marrow bones and crisp-fried strips of pigs’ ears has a veggie side? Yes, especially at lunch. Try the roasted portobello tartine, garlic soup, farmers’ market soup or artisanal cheeses with membrillo (quince paste) and Marcona almonds.
5. DAILY REVIEW CAFE, 3412 W. Lamar at Dunlavy, 713-520-9217. This is a treasure trove of veggie offerings. The lunch and dinner menus include Southwestern eggrolls filled with corn and black beans, penne pasta tossed with lemon butter, tomatoes, basil and spinach, oven-roasted veggie ravioli and quiche of the day.
6. DHARMA CAFE, 1718 Houston Avenue near Crockett, 713-222-6996. Stop in at lunch for a nibble of blue cheese pizza with fresh mango slices or at dinner for Caprese salad and spinach or cheese ravioli. They also offer a great Sunday brunch deal highlighted by homemade cinnamon rolls, muffins and biscuits.
7. FARRAGO, 318 Gray at Bagby, 713-523-6404. Come here for Greek pizza topped with grilled vegetables, feta and olives, the hummus and tabouli plate, a Thai vegetarian stir-fry sparked with tamarind and coconut, and lots of assorted veggie side dishes ($3 or $5 each) around which you could orchestrate a meal.
8. KENNY & ZIGGY’S, 2327 Post Oak Blvd. just north of Westheimer, 713-871-8883. Try not to look at the piled-high deli sandwiches, and zero in on blintzes with sweet cheese filling, potato pancakes with apple sauce, potato pirogen (fried or boiled), Greek omelet with tomato, spinach and feta, beet borscht and knishes.
9. MOCKINGBIRD BISTRO, 1985 Welch at McDuffie, 713-533-0200. Definitely a meat-lover’s haven – try the Kobe burger, charcuterie plate or short ribs another time – chef/owner John Sheely keep a few items on the menu for vegetarians, including a fine roasted beet salad, French onion soup, daily risotto and the most delicious truffle French fries in Houston.
10. PEPPER TREE, 3821 Richmond east of Weslayan, 713-621-9488. This pan-Asian restaurant is well known to the city’s committed vegetarians and vegans. Everything is here, from salads to noodles, from soups to dumplings and eggrolls, from fried rice to faux “duck.” Tofu makes dozens of appearances. Buffet offered Tuesday through Sunday.
11. RAVEN GRILL, 1916 Bissonnet east of Hazard, 713-521-2027. Pick a seat on the patio and order the quesadilla of the day, mushroom-stuffed baked brie, pasta primavera or margherita grilled cheese sandwich. We especially recommend the sweet potato and spinach enchiladas.
12. RUGGLES GREEN, 2311 W. Alabama bet. Greenbriar & Kirby, 713-533-0777. This newcomer, which advocates a greener way of running a restaurant, features roasted corn chowder, organic vegetable pizza, cheese panini, sweet potato fries, and asparagus with lemon-chipotle hollandaise.
13. SANDY’S PRODUCE MARKET, 12171 Katy Freeway, 281-870-9999. Try the enormous lunch buffet, which is $9.95.The 80-some items include vegetarian chili, black beans, brown rice and dozens of salads and soups.
14. SOPHIA’S, 1601 W. Main at Mandell, 713-942-7970. Most of the veggie offerings are starters: spinach and goat cheese dip with black olive tapenade and spicy roasted garlic tomato soup, for example. But we noted a few on the entrée list, too, including penne pasta with Japanese eggplant, crimini mushrooms, scallions, baby bok choy and sesame-sweet soy sauce.
15. T’AFIA, 3701 Travis just north of Alabama, 713-524-6922. Owner/chef Monica Pope has her own Saturday morning farmers’ market on the property, so you should expect many veggie offerings: portobello mushroom “steak” and a vegan seasonal soup. There’s even a vegetarian tasting menu. Don’t overlook all kinds of veggie side dishes, $7 each.
