Dining with Dara: Eat your vegetables; vegetarian dining options
Posted at 3:08 PM on January 5, 2012
by Minnesota Public Radio
(11 Comments)
Filed under: Food
Eat healthier by adding more vegetables to your diet as part of your New Year's resolution. (MPR photo/Julie Siple)
By Dara Moskowitz-Grumdahl, Minnesota Public Radio
What do the actor Brad Pitt, former President Bill Clinton, and Socrates have in common? All are vegetarians.
Bill Clinton, once famous for his fried chicken eating ways, is actually a vegan today. Eating more vegetables, and less meat, is a popular New Year's resolution, and vegetarian dining options in the Twin Cities are available.
Cultural anthropologist Margaret Visser's 1988 book "Much Depends on Dinner: The Extraordinary History and Mythology, Allure and Obsessions, Perils and Taboos of an Ordinary Meal" discussed how so many of our everyday food traditions descend from ancient Anglo-Saxon rituals. For instance, Visser said that a lot of the ways that Americans prefer food — a whole roast chicken, a big pork chop — actually comes from medieval, Anglo-Saxon traditions meant to prove that food wasn't adulterated, in a what you see is what you get spirit.
In this New Year's resolution season, it is difficult to adhere to meatless Mondays and plant-based meals when the Western tradition is that of pork chop on a plate. But what if you leave that tradition?
Ethiopian restaurants, like the Blue Nile in Minneapolis, or Fasika in St. Paul offer a whole different way of eating. Diners use injera, a whole-grain pancake made of the high-protein grain teff, to scoop up different stews made of various legumes and vegetables. Both restaurants offer vegetarian sampler plates that are full-on feasts, and a completely different way of eating your vegetables.
Cultures with a strong current of Buddhism are great places to find spectacular vegetarian food. Dancing Ganesha in downtown Minneapolis has an extensive vegetarian menu. Their charred baby eggplant with roast peanuts in a fresh coconut curry is magical, smoky and fresh in the most spectacular way. In Eagan, Sambol restaurant specializes in both Indian and Sri Lankan cuisine. Their black lentils are nearly as good as foie gras.
Thai restaurants are another resource for eating vegetables. In St. Paul, Supatra Thai makes a papaya salad that is perky, energetic and zingy with lime it tastes like it could dance off the plate. In Minneapolis, Naviya's Thai makes exquisite curries — big thunderous green curries, deep and dusky massaman peanut curries. They use fresh, beautiful organic vegetables, broccoli as bright as emeralds — it's beautiful to see.
It's an interesting way to think differently about resolution season: Look to another culture, and see how they've been managing to move vegetables to the center of the plate — for thousands of years.
Ethiopian
Blue Nile
2027 E. Franklin Ave., Minneapolis
612-338-3000
Fasika
510 Snelling Ave N, St. Paul
(651) 646-4747
Indian & Sri Lankan
Dancing Ganesha
1100 Harmon Place, Minneapolis
(612) 338-1877
Sambol Indian Cuisine
1260 Town Centre Dr., Eagan
(651) 688-8686
Thai
Naviya's Thai Brasserie
2812 W. 43rd St., Minneapolis
612-276-5062
Supatra's Thai Cuisine
967 West 7th St., St. Paul
651-222-5859
Dara Moskowitz-Grumdahl is a longtime food critic and the senior editor of Minnesota Monthly.
Comments (11)
I would love to know how to tell waitpersons that I don't tolerate heat but love flavor. They seem to equate spicy with heat - not flavor. There is a huge difference. I love garlic, cinnamon, etc. but heat not only makes it hard for me to breathe, it destroys all flavor for me. Thanks
2012 will be the year I become a vegan. I've been a vegetarian since 1993, but Pres. Clinton has inspired me to 'go all the way.' Like him, my health is poor (one of the reasons I turned to vegetarianism) and I would like stretch the time I have left--more time and greater strength and vitality during that time. As he did, I read the book "The China Study" and have been thouroughly convinced that I can reverse some of the illness in my body. I actually saw him up close and personal 14 months ago (election gathering) and recently saw him on TV--he looks fabulous, at least 10 years younger! I hope to do the same and surprise the docs during my cancer screenings with total remissions! I'm quite excited by the possibility!
Great article but I am amazed that the both Tom and Tara think that Indian food + vegetarianism = Buddhism!! Please goggle the word "Ganesha" and be mindful of other cultures.
Thanks for showcasing all of these tasty veg options in the Twin Cities. I would have to differ slightly with Ms. Moskowitz-Grumdahl and say that the lentils at Sambol are significantly tastier than foie gras. The painful forced-feeding of ducks and geese for foie gras is unpalatable.
I love that this article features some of the most delicious vegan-friendly cuisines available in the Twin Cities. I especially love the veg sampler plate at Kilimanjaro and both Amazing Thailand and Sen Yai Sen Lek have vegan menus. And the mango with coconut cream and sticky rice desserts make me swoon!
But foie gras? No way is the diseased livers of ducks and geese a measuring stick by which to measure any decadent dish. Foie gras cannot be produced without inducing disease in the animals slaughtered for their livers. They are force fed until they develop hepatic lipidosis and the goal is to get the animals as sick as possible and kill them before the disease does. It's horrendously cruel.
There are a variety of exotic, exciting, delicious dishes out there to indulge in without inflicting violence on any animals. Just look for the vegan options and enjoy!
I agree with Sarahjane on this one. Comparing lentils and diseased, fatty duck liver is enough to make me want to puke! Lentils don't have to suffer the way these poor ducks being painfully force fed do.
I'm with Sarahjane. Comparison to foie gras seems like a mean-spirited way for the author to state that her personal preference is for the organs of exploited animals ... "people who don't eat meat may like this vegetarian stuff, but it's not as good as duck liver." What a slap in the face to many of the readers who might have otherwise fully enjoyed this piece.
Great article! Thanks for the veggie restaurant recommendations. I've been looking for these in MN monthly, but haven't seen much coverage.
Ecopolitan in the Uptown Minneapolis neighborhood is the Twin Cities only 100% vegan, organic and raw food restaurant. And very, very tasty!!
www.ecopolitan.com
Vegetarian way of life is sexy. I've been a vegetarian when vegtarian ways were not cool. Good to see it catching on -- for so many reasons.
Great website, I really enjoyed your entry.
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