Not that long ago, the word "vegetarian" was reserved for hippies with a hankering for soybean casseroles and bean sprouts. How times have changed. Today, it takes a lengthy list to describe the varying enthusiasts of vegetarian cuisine. At one end of the spectrum, vegans don't eat any animal products, including eggs or dairy products. Next come ovo-vegetarians, who do eat eggs. Put lacto- in front of the word vegetarian and add dairy to the diet. Pesco-? Add fish. Pollo-? Fowl. At this rate, can carne-vegetarians (meat-eating) be far behind? More than defining preferences, this collection of terms illustrates how today just about everyone is claiming some kind of commitment to the once-lowly legume. Their reasons for choosing a vegetarian diet are as varied as the nomenclature — from health and ecology to ethics and ethnicity. But the interest in vegetarianism is on the rise among consumers overall-and restaurateurs would be wise to cultivate a green thumb.

It's not just for vegetarians anymore

A sign of just how popular vegetarian cuisine has become is the fact that the 1998 winner of the Julia Child Cookbook Awards Best Cookbook of the Year is Deborah Madison's Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone.

"Any restaurant, whether it's a fine-dining restaurant, cafe or cafeteria, would do well to have vegetarian options not just for vegetarians but for everyone," explains Madison, who in addition to writing cookbooks and teaching is the founding chef of Greens, San Francisco's renowned vegetarian restaurant. "At one restaurant where I worked, we always had a vegetarian entree, but we never called it vegetarian. We wanted the food to stand on its own through descriptions, so we'd say, for example, 'Saffron Risotto Cake With an Asparagus Ragout.' And we found that we always sold out even though we weren't selling only to vegetarians. What that showed me was the food sounded interesting and was a nice change from the usual salmon/chicken/lamb entrees."

Everyone does seem to be getting in on the act. The National Restaurant Association's Tableservice Restaurant Trends — 1998 found that more than half of tableservice operators with average per-person check sizes of $15 or more reported that vegetarian dishes were being ordered more frequently than two years ago. It also found that more than one-third of the consumers of vegetarian items indicated they were ordering more of them than they were two years ago.

Upscale restaurants are now offering elaborate vegetarian preparations that bridge the gap between tofu and tenderloin, while fast-food restaurants are featuring vegetarian sandwiches and wraps. Even street vendors are serving up well-dressed tofu hot dogs or one of the increasingly popular soy burgers now in the marketplace. In other words, things have come a long way from the days when dining out for vegetarians meant choosing from a limited selection such as grilled cheese sandwiches, salads and baked potatoes.

Cultivating creativity

Madison encourages chefs to go beyond the vegetarian dish-du-jour mentality that relished eggplant parmigiana in the '70s, stir-fries and pasta primavera in the '80s and more recently, portobello-mushroom everything. She also shuns the idea of offering diners a plateful of side dishes. "A mishmash of side dishes is not good enough anymore," Madison explains. "They don't necessarily go together, and they don't have structure. Vegetarians understand about structure and balance, color and texture. Chefs would do well to further explore all the wonderful things that can be made. They can get out the cookbooks if necessary, though they usually can make something good from ingredients they already have without too much expenditure of thought and time."

Christopher Brandt, chef at The Food Studio in Atlanta, welcomes the challenge of vegetarian requests. His restaurant uses a sophisticated computerized reservation system that allows him to plan ahead for vegetarian guests, but it's the impromptu orders that feed his creativity.

"I let the guests know what ingredients I have that capture that moment in the season," Brandt explains, "and, if I get the go-ahead, I put together something for them that's not on the menu. That gives me and my staff an outlet of creativity above what we normally do — a chance to have some fun with the food. And that's good for business — creating a customized plate for my guests makes them feel very special."

In the hands of the right chef, vegetables rise above the status of mere sides or substitutes for meat. Their unique individual flavors are robust enough to stand all on their own, even in, of all places, a steak-and-chop house. Victor Giancola recently opened Il Paradiso Steak and Chop House in Asheville, North Carolina, after building a successful following at his downtown restaurant, La Catarina Trattoria.

"The steakhouse is quite a phenomenon these days, which has a lot to do with the economy — during good times, people eat steaks and drink expensive wines," Giancola says. "We find — and I've been hearing this from others in the steakhouse business — that we attract some closet meat-eaters. They may not usually eat meat, but they are choosing a specialty place like ours, because we do a dry-aged steak in the tradition of the great old steakhouses in the United States. But in a town like Asheville, with so many strict vegetarians, when they come here with their meat-eating friends, we make sure they have plenty to eat, too."

In any steak-and-chop house, potato dishes are staples, and two of Il Paradiso's three potato dishes are vegetarian: "Patate Tartufo," thinly sliced roasted potatoes laced with truffle oil; and "Patate Francesco," a spin on Potatoes Rousti, a Swiss/German potato pancake with Giancola's addition of grated horseradish and a dollop of whipped ricotta on top. Other recipes feature plentiful garlic, fresh greens, pignolia nuts, olive oil and pasta, for a wide range of vegetarian possibilities.

Unearthing the possibilities

According to a variety of sources, the rising interest in vegetarian cuisine is no fad. The American Dietetic Association's 1997 position paper on vegetarian diets cites findings on the positive relationships between a vegetarian diet and reduced risk for conditions such as obesity, coronary artery disease, hypertension and diabetes. The American Cancer Society and the American Heart Association also call for more consumption of fruits and vegetables. As a result, even seniors are showing an increased interest in vegetarian meals, according to Charles Stahler, director of the Vegetarian Resource Group (VRG), a nonprofit organization that educates the public about vegetarian and vegan diets. "We just created a meal plan with the National Meals on Wheels Foundation. Vegetarian meals were tested at 25 sites in New York City. And we think that as the baby-boomer generation gets older, it's going to demand more meatless foods."

The VRG publishes Vegetarian Journal and a line of books including the Vegetarian Journal's Guide to Natural Foods Restaurants in the United States and Canada. To accommodate the increased number of vegetarian-friendly restaurants, that book recently expanded by 76 pages. In addition, VRG recently hired a foodservice advisor, particularly with institutions, hospitals and colleges in mind, to handle requests from dietitians and chefs who want to add vegetarian options but want expert direction.

College students promise to become another strong market. According to a survey conducted by the National Restaurant Association in conjunction with the National Association of College and University Foodservice, as many as 20 percent are vegetarians and the number is rising. As a result, colleges across the country — from Pennsylvania State University and Duke University to the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley and the University of San Diego — now offer at least one vegetarian entree at every meal. Duke goes a step further and offers vegan dishes such as "African Vegetable Stew" and a variety of grains. As these students graduate and enter the work force, they are sure to bring their vegetarian preferences to the mainstream dinner table.

An increase in ethnic populations throughout the country also is changing our eating habits. "Children of 10 or so years ago began eating tacos and burritos at school," Stahler explains. "Now those kids are adults out in the marketplace, and they want more than meatloaf and gravy."

Although they may not find tacos at La Valentina de Mexico, they will discover creative ethnic cuisine at Dallas's only four-star Mexican restaurant, where owner Americo Circuit recently developed a vegetarian menu. "My chef and I worked on the vegetarian menu to include all the traditional items that we use in our cuisine," Circuit says. "We wanted it to have the same concept as the restaurant and not break with the flavors of Mexico. When I visit the tables to explain the specials of the day, I suggest the vegetarian menu. That's often when they decide to try it, especially the women."

...we all scream for greens

When he opened his restaurant two years ago, Circuit's customers said they were disappointed that he did not include a vegetarian menu. One page of the menu is now dedicated to such elaborate vegetarian entrees as "Chili Poblano Relleno de Huitlacoche" (poblano pepper stuffed with an exotic black corn truffle), and "Kalpully" (tortilla layers, spinach, poblano peppers, cream corn covered with casse sauce and Oaxaca cheese). "They read our reviews and advertising," Circuit adds, "and they came back. They were very grateful that I created the vegetarian menu."

Both Circuit and Giancola report that sales of the vegetarian entrees average 20 percent on any given night, and that they are keeping pace with other entrees. Brandt's figures are lower, about 5 percent during the week with an increase on the weekends. As for the cost of preparing vegetarian entrees, Brandt reports that it is about the same as fish and meat dishes, because he uses organic and heirloom produce (grown from non-hybrid seeds) and the entrees often take more time. Giancola finds that compared to his prime cuts of meat, even his custom-grown organic produce is less expensive, although he agrees about the difference in preparation time. "There's more prep time for the vegetables. The steaks you throw on the broiler, there's not much involved there. On the other hand, the vegetables, you have to clean them, cut them. There's a lot more handling involved."

Not so at La Valentina de Mexico. "I think the vegetarian menu is easier to prepare than the regular menu," says Circuit. "It's not so complicated, because you are not adding meat, chicken or fish."

What they do agree on is training their waitstaff about the menu, especially the vegetarian offerings. "We explain to the waitstaff the needs that our guests have," Circuit continues, "and every time we have a new recipe, we have a presentation in front of them. We cook for them and then they taste the recipe. That way they can explain our recipes to our guests. We also teach our recipes to our customers so they can cook them at home."

Brandt offers his staff similar training to enhance the entire dining experience. "The servers are very knowledgeable about the food and wine. We're not just about wonderful food or great service. It's everything from the moment you make the reservation all the way through."

Circuit goes so far as to say that his new vegetarian menu is a means of building customer loyalty. "My philosophy is that my customers are not just my guests," he says. "Everyone is a new friend for me, and I am always trying to make more friends."

Back to top