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Friday, January 9, 2004

 

Taking the vegetarian plunge

Restaurants serve up a variety of tasty dishes for the neophyte.

 

Raw food: Chef Ursula Horaitis of the Good Mood Food CafÈ in Huntington

Beach offers all-raw blueberry pie, which is made from young Thai coconuts

and blueberries in a nut crust. The cafÈ specializes in raw dishes but also=

 

serves some baked goods.

Photos: ROSE PALMISANO, The Register

 

 

 

By MARY JO GRIFFITH

Special to the Register

 

With the new year comes the old resolutions.

 

To honor my latest vow to eat healthier, I've found a few places to get the=

 

recommended daily allowance of fruits and vegetables, and then some.

 

An abundance of fresh, seasonal foods and the judicious use of spices at

these vegetarian havens make it hard to leave hungry. The universally

friendly atmosphere of these counterculture cafes makes vegetarianism seem

like a club I want to join.

 

The omnipresent propaganda slogans lend a peculiar charm to meatless

restaurants everywhere: " We do chicken rights. " " Vegetarians are sprouting

up all over. " " Don't mess with Bess, " writ large above a cow's mug whose

gaze does not quite manage to be menacing. Where to find them

 

Native Foods

2938 Bristol St. at The Camp, Costa Mesa

(714) 751-2151

ï Open: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. daily

ï EntrÈe range: $6.50-$9.75

ï Menu: Vegetarian/Vegan, some raw food options

ï What to order: Bali surf burger, ensalada Azteca, soups, chai tea

 

 

 

Good Mood Food CafÈ

5930 Warner Ave., Huntington Beach

(714) 377-2028

ï Open 8 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Friday, 8 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Saturday and 11

a.m.-2:30 p.m. Sunday

ï EntrÈe range: $5.50-$8.50

ï Menu: Vegetarian/vegan, raw menu, organic options

ï What to order: Mushroom sandwich, green power soup, mock tuna salad,

seasonal juices, almond milk, desserts du jour

 

Some definitions are helpful for those newly treading health-food territory=

..

" Vegetarian " is a catchall term for a diet that does not include meat or

fish. Many vegetarian menus feature soy-based (tofu, tempeh) or wheat-based=

 

(gluten, seitan) alternatives to meat. A vegan is one of the strictest type=

s

of vegetarian: Vegan-friendly food contains no animal products of any kind

(no dairy, eggs, etc.)

 

" Organic, " in its common usage, refers to food that has been cultivated and=

 

processed without chemical fertilizers and insecticides or artificial

additives. " Raw " food has not been heated above 105 degrees, to preserve

vitamins, minerals and enzymes.

 

Native Foods in Costa Mesa is nothing if not accessible. There are a number=

 

of safe adventures for the vegetarian or natural-foods neophyte. Ordering a=

 

tempeh (tem-pay) burger or a seitan (say-than) " steak " for the first time

might seem intimidating, but you will be comforted by the food's familiar

preparation and presentation.

 

It seems to suit the upscale, outdoorsy types in batik print scarves and Ug=

g

boots who frequent The Camp, located across from The Lab mall. Native Foods=

 

makes a natural fit at this " retail community " of yoga, scuba and cycling

stores surrounded by spare modernist landscaping.

 

Native Foods' round building with its tented top is one of four restaurants=

 

featuring the creations of well-traveled chef Tanya Petrovna. The skylight

and a bank of windows that wraps halfway around the building bring the

outdoors into the smallish space. A giant propeller fan keeps the air

circulating. Small gourds do for decorations, and green ground cover grows

in a planter on an outdoor table.

 

The menu offers an appealing variety of wraps, rice bowls, pizzas and

appetizers in addition to the staples.

 

Try the Bali surf burger ($6.50), a thin, square patty of sautÈed tempeh on=

 

a grilled whole-wheat bun. Though you risk being nickel-and-dimed into a $9=

 

burger, it'd be a shame not to toss in caramelized onions, mushrooms,

cheese, guacamole or chili, (50 cents to $2 extra).

 

The mayo is nondairy and the cheese is made from a mix of cashews and

sunflower seeds. I ordered my burger with 'shrooms and cheese; I couldn't

taste the cheese, but the burger was plenty moist and tasty.

 

The Ensalada Azteca is a chopped salad of romaine lettuce with cucumber,

tomato, jicama and avocado dressed with an ultra-light mango-lime

vinaigrette. The addition of quinoa (keen-wah), the protein-rich seed of a

South American plant, makes this a meal that will stay with you. The " fun

mung " soup of the day (mung beans, yams, garlic and spices) had a nice,

sweetly complex flavor.

 

One sip of the homemade Guru Chai and you'll wonder why you settle for the

powdered mix at those other places.

 

If eating at Native Foods is like climbing a rock while safely roped-up for=

 

those new to vegetarianism, dining at the Good Mood Food CafÈ is like

jumping off a cliff strapped to a hang glider.

 

The mostly raw food menu is hard-core health food at its best and is never

less than interesting. This is probably not the place for those with nut

allergies, as nuts are key ingredients in everything from salads and soups

to drinks and desserts.

 

Instrumental music and a swirl of soothing blues and greens make it easy to=

 

chill out here. A shelf of reference books provides a source of information=

 

on nutrition and other topics. The best source of information on the

premises, however, is chef Ursula Horaitis.

 

A tall woman with wavy blond hair, thick rimless glasses and a German

accent, Horaitis is the heart and soul of Good Mood Food, which she operate=

s

with her husband, Gerry. She greets regulars with hugs and cheek kisses and=

 

sheds light on the menu, which varies with the seasonal availability of

ingredients.

 

She was raised in a village in Germany's Black Forest, studied nutrition an=

d

environmentally friendly architecture and moved to California in 1999. The

couple opened Good Mood Food in April in a Huntington Beach strip mall

anchored by a 24-Hour Fitness gym.

 

The menu has grown to include some cooked items, such as whole-grain breads=

,

and you can have your Green Power Soup ($3.90) heated to 105 degrees ñ but

it's not encouraged. Room temperature best suits a bowl of this green and

frothy blend of cucumbers, kale, parsley, celery, sunflower seeds, ginger

and other spices. It's served with flaxseed crackers that have been

dehydrated rather than baked.

 

Nut burgers, spinach quiche, pizza with almond " cheese, " lasagna and

zucchini noodle pastas are among the options.

 

The small but mighty marinated portobello mushroom sandwich ($5.50) comes

with tomato, avocado, greens and nut mayo between two slices of flatbread

made from corn, almonds and flaxseeds. The fist-size mound of mock tuna

salad ($6.50) is a clever mix of dill-spiked sunflower seed pate served ato=

p

organic greens.

 

Lunch specials ($6.90-$9.50) are served from 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and include sou=

p

or salad, entrÈe and sometimes dessert. The new Sunday brunch buffet ($22)

is a good way to try a variety of salads, breads, soups, cereals and baked

goods.

 

It would seem hard to go wrong ordering a dessert at Good Mood Food CafÈ,

especially if you go with one of the specials. Cinnamon rolls, creamy apple=

 

pie and banana drop cookies all are delicious.

 

If you really want to jump off a culinary cliff, however, ask the chef if

she's made any durian cheesecake. A slice of this sweet, creamy ñ and

notoriously stinky ñ Southeast Asian fruit layered between two nut crusts

pushed my nose and timid tongue to the limit. Happily, they both lived to

leap again.

 

Many ethnic restaurants uphold a long tradition of regional vegetarian

cuisine. A couple of places to try are The Wheel of Life (Thai and Chinese)=

 

at the Heritage Plaza Shopping Center, 14370 Culver Drive in Irvine, and

Rasthal (Indian), 2751-2755 W. Lincoln Ave. in Anaheim. Welcome,

glitterglow!