Vegetarian/Vegan Night at Fireside

With Robin's permission

Hi all,

I was talking with Lauren at the Fireside tonight about doing a vegetarian/vegan meal night once a month. She is all for it if there is enough customer participation. I told her that I would poll the forum to see what their suggestions might be. So, here's your chance. Tell us what you want. From meal ideas to what night of the week to what price point.

A meal based on your suggestions could be planned. This could be a one off event or a recurring theme night. If you are tired of being stuck having to pick and choose from only a few options off the menu, help design a whole meal and then come and enjoy it.

So, what are your suggestions? Cheers!

I'm open to just about anything -- I don't like super hot spicy things, but otherwise I have pretty broad tastes. Just needs to be meat, dairy, egg, and honey free.

It honestly doesn't bother me to only have 1 or 2 things to choose from on the menu as much as it bothers me to have nothing at all to choose from, or nothing except the "sad salad" (iceberg, carrots, and tomatoes) or the "sad sandwich" (lettuce, tomato and onion on bread) if you take the meat and cheese off of something that wasn't intended to be vegan in the first place. So I really would be happy with a vegan option or two and the ability to have their restaurant back as an option for our dining out.

For lunch, bean and vegetable wraps, hummus sandwich or wrap, salads with a broad range of vegetables and a protein source (beans, nuts) are all simple and easy to put together.

For dinner, I'm a fan of pasta dishes and those are pretty simple. Roasted vegetables are good. Even better in a sauce with the pasta. Asian dishes tend to be pretty adaptable but I'm not sure if that's their thing at the Fireside or not. Most important is thinking out of the "meat/starch/sides" box, IMO. I would hesitate to suggest seitan or tofu because both have the potential to turn out badly if it's not something that you're used to working with in the kitchen, or making in the case of seitan.

Any night except Tuesday or Thursday works for me if it needs to be one night, but as I said, I really am happy with just 1 or 2 options...currently at Fireside I think I have none.

Ok, thanks Kari! Based on my experience, the Fireside excels at pasta dishes and their roasted vegetables are available most times. They also have great black beans and sauteed spinach. The meal I had last night was pasta with eggplant ($7.99.) It was great and I believe it could be adjusted to make it compatible. That is really what brought this to mind.

So give me some examples of your favorite vegan pasta entrees. It doesn't have to be pasta though.

We'll want some apps right? What's your favorite app that falls into this category? Do you have a favorite kind of hummus? What do you want served with it? etc.

We'll want a rockstar dessert or two as well.

So, what I'm really looking for is some options from which to put together a one night vegan/vegetarian menu. If successful it could be continued. Some of the dishes might be added to the regular menu as well.

Just looking for some input from the experts here. If there isn't much interest - that's ok. Thought it worth a try!

I'm a pretty basic cook -- so I'm not sure my dishes would be what they're looking for. One cookbook that has a lot of healthy, vegan dishes in it is Appetite for Reduction by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. Books a Million had it the last time I was there, and it's pretty cheap for the Kindle. I use it on my Kindle app on the iPad. So that could be good for ideas since they do like to focus on eating healthy. Her recipes always come out great.

As for apps, I'm the wrong person to ask there...we don't typically order apps because I find them to be extra calories that fill up my stomach and don't leave room for my meal.

For desserts, I like cupcakes and vegan "cheesecakes," and Isa also has an excellent book about those.

I don't really have any "go to" recipe websites -- I use cookbooks and I have a ton of them.

I'm a follower of the Essylstyn diet (similar to vegan but excluding added oil, even olive oil). I've found that many of the vegan dishes served around town contain added oil and so are off limits. I'd appreciate fat-free vegan dishes. There are a lot of recipes at fatfreevegan.com

I got on the diet on the recommendation of my doctor (Sven Jonsson at Blankenbaker Primary Care). He holds occasional seminars at Baptist East. At the last one a few weeks ago the topic for discussion was where followers of the diet could go out to eat. I'd guess there were more than 200 people there, if that gives you an indication of the level of interest.

Ok, Richard thanks for replying. This issue is a lot more involved than I knew. Two hundred people are a lot in the same room at the same time but of course they do not comprise a significant customer base that will get restaurants to respond.

Now if even a third of that many people decided to show up at a restaurant for an evening devoted to their favorite eating needs that would work out well for all. So again, I emphasize that this is a chance for those who don't often get to have what they want but must settle for what's available to have their vegan cake and eat it too.

I appreciate the input but these responses so far are just too vague in my opinion to be particularly helpful. If this is all the guidance that comes, a menu based on it may please no one. So what do you want to eat? Maybe any fat-free vegan dish will do but what do you particularly like? Just because a dish qualifies as vegan does that automatically make it desirable.

Come on give me some specific ideas to pass on. I'm not looking for recipes necessarily, I just need enough specificity so that I know what you want. How about this?

App 1: Black bean and soy cheese quesadilla with guacamole
App 2: Split pea soup with tempeh bacon, (nondairy) cheesy toast
Entree 1: Stuffed butternut or acorn squash with tofu; sautéed collard greens
Entree 2: Pan-seared Gardein fillet with shiitake mushroom sauce; mashed potatoes and braised brussels sprouts
Dessert 1: Vegan chocolate cake with coconut milk ice cream
Dessert 2: Apple caramel bake

It took me less than five minutes to pull this from a couple of web sites. We could go that route and say here it is come get it. Or you can have some input.

[Robin Garr]

I think what would really make this interesting, Shane, would be to consciously frame it as a plant-based banquet that everyone can enjoy. Glancing over your proposed bill of fare, it looks like a strong start in that direction. Vegan cheez options can be interesting, although I'm not sure you'd really need it in two options. (According to Stan Chase of Morels The Vegan Butcher, by the way, Daiya brand is the best animal-free "cheez," and based on his incredible Philly "cheese" "steak," I'm inclined to agree. I don't think it's soy-based, though.)

I think what would really make this interesting, Shane, would be to consciously frame it as a plant-based banquet that everyone can enjoy. Glancing over your proposed bill of fare, it looks like a strong start in that direction. Vegan cheez options can be interesting, although I'm not sure you'd really need it in two options. (According to Stan Chase of Morels The Vegan Butcher, by the way, Daiya brand is the best animal-free "cheez," and based on his incredible Philly "cheese" "steak," I'm inclined to agree. I don't think it's soy-based, though.)

This is exactly what I mean. You don't want me planning this meal! So help out if your interested. If nobody is, then I'll drop it.

I've made note of a Philly chesse steak using Daiya brand animal-free cheez. Once I collect enough information to suggest a menu to Lauren I will do so. More like this please!

[Robin Garr]

I've made note of a Philly chesse steak using Daiya brand animal-free cheez.

Well, be aware that Stan is a wizard vegan chef, and it took him weeks to develop a "cheese steak" that was as good as the animal-based variety. I wouldn't really suggest just handing that to a non-vegan chef and expecting him to replicate it on the first go.

I like the idea of a plant-based meal that everyone can enjoy, and if we go that route, I would recommend staying away from vegan cheeses or trying to replicate cheese. Many vegans don't even like cheese substitutes, and they definitely don't fit with Richard's diet. I like Daiya, and Robin is correct that it isn't soy based, but it does melt well. However I know some people who detest it. And with omnis you will run into the mental comparison of the dairy cheese to the non-dairy cheese, which isn't even really apples to apples because they're very different. The "quesadilla" concept can work even without the cheese. Or maybe something more like black bean and veggie taquitos.

Sorry I'm not giving you what you want, Shane...I'm no menu writer. Recipes to me seemed like a good springboard for their kitchen finding ideas that they feel they can make work in their kitchen with their existing ingredients. Making up menus just isn't really something I have experience with. I like looking up what I get in my Grasshoppers box in the index of my cookbooks and going from there. So I guess I'm applying the same idea here -- the best way to get them to add something to the menu would be for it to be made of items that they already have on-hand in the kitchen. I don't know everything they have on hand, so that is a decision best made by them. I choose dishes by flipping through cookbooks, knowing what I have in the kitchen. I feel like it also needs to be something the kitchen staff is comfortable making, which would also make more sense for them to "choose" it rather than me.

I actually think the menu ideas you posted sound fine -- I would just try to move away from the cheese in the apps. Pita or pita chips, hummus, carrots, and cucumbers might be a good app plate...you could add more veggies for more color and variety. That would be something more for a table to share.

I'm okay with the fat free vegan thing too if that works for a larger crowd; I'm more of a low-fat vegan but I'm flexible.

I'm really not picky -- I like to try new things and that's what I go to restaurants to do...to find something on their menu that sounds new and interesting to me. I guess that's why I'm hitting a roadblock here when it comes to giving you the type of suggestions you want.

This is exactly what I mean. You don't want me planning this meal! So help out if your interested. If nobody is, then I'll drop it.

Actually, I would like you to plan the meal. My own recipes are the things I can fix myself. I'm open to new things.

[Robin Garr]

Another thought: One easy way, and perhaps the most authentic way, to look for meat-free recipes is to grab from existing tradition - particularly ethnic - rather than trying to construct new creations. Taking advantage of world recipes that have earned a place in the classic cuisine avoids the disappointment of trying new ideas that don't work out.

A quick food trip around the world:

Mexico - bean burritos (check tortillas to avoid lard); Mexican rice.

Cajun-Creole - red beans and rice or meatless jambalaya. Something like J Gumbo's Bumblebee stew.

Cuban - congris (black beans and rice).

France - look for regional ideas like pissaladiere (Alsatian onion tart) or onion soup (made without beef by long-cooked, deeply browned onions for color and flavor instead). Omelets, ideally using free-range eggs, for the non-vegans.

Italy - meatless lasagna or fettuccine Alfredo for the cheese eaters; pasta primavera for the vegans.

Middle East - Falafels! Hummus, baba ganoush, tabouleh.

India - A wealth of possibilities, curries and masalas and vindaloos with veggies as the primary ingredient. Tons of dishes featuring eggplant, squash, sweet potatoes, onions, brown peppers. Lots of aromatic spices, and start everything with tons of browned onions, ginger and garlic.

Southast Asia - Thailand, Vietnam, etc. Here's where tofu comes in, not as a bland block of bean curd but diced protein sopping up the flavors of whatever it's in, from Pad Thai to Panang Curry. Look at some of the great stuff coming out of Roots and Heart & Soy, not least the vegan banh mi.

China - Ditto on the tofu, and all manner of mixed veggie stir-fries.

And, coming back to the states, check out chef Ryan's amazing barbecue tofu at Feast BBQ before you dismiss that idea as ridiculous.

Start with these random ideas and then, maybe, drop in some of the better-quality meat substitutes - LightLife "bacon," Field Roast chorizo or Italian sausage, "Gimme Lean" burger-like stuff - in recipes that otherwise resemble their carnivorous cousins. You don't need this stuff to create a meat-free bill of fare that will be great, but I'm thinking if they want to really show off the whole range of meatless options, it might be good to try it both ways.

Actually, I would like you to plan the meal. My own recipes are the things I can fix myself. I'm open to new things.

If this happens, it will be planned and executed by Lauren Smith and Chef Jewel at the Fireside. They are perfectly capable of doing this with no input what-so-ever. What is great about them is that they welcome input from their customers. I will try to provide some input but I gotta tell ya - it feels like I'm sliding down a hot metal roof covered in okra snot!

I want some rock star suggestions for what is great to eat in this area. What's the best vegan dish you ever had? Give me your top five if you want. I don't need recipes or a full menu.

I now appeal to higher foodie entities. KenB, Antonia, Alison, DanT, Stephen, Jackie, Robin,..... Kitch Girl - HELP!

Focus on seasonal vegetables and fruits. So, so important. A plant based meal is best when you have the freshest stuff around.

Don't do tofu unless you can do it well. Please, don't even bother. Tofu is not necessary for vegetarian food. When it's done well, it's absolutely delicious, and when done badly, it's downright offensive.

I know people who make their careers as vegan chefs. They are incredibly innovative and are constantly challenging what food can do. I am not a vegan, so would not be inclined to go to a vegan dinner unless it were prepared by someone I knew to be an expert. I just like cheese and dairy too much. So a vegetarian meal with vegan alternatives to the dairy ingredient would be more appealing.

Honestly, as long as they make something vegan, I'm open to whatever they can come up with -- that's what I enjoy about the restaurant experience. My parameters are no meat, dairy, eggs, or honey -- from there, be creative, and see what you can come up with, is what I would tell them...and I look forward to trying it.

The jury is out on what the best vegan dish is I have ever eaten -- I don't have any one dish that stands out in my mind.