Dear Andrews requested information about Cafe Flora in Seattle. I have been
there a number of times. It is an excellent vegetarian restaurant, but the
food is not low fat. They can prepare items that are lower in fat, but it
is not "exciting" when they do. We do have other VLF restaurants in
the Seattle/King County area. Our favorite is Jack Sprat's in Redmond,
on Cleveland street, right downtown Redmond. Sprats is run by a physician
who is also their chef.
I hope I am not repeating myself, but it bears repeating. You can trust
Dr. Stern. His meals are less than 3 gms of fat per serving and he has
made gourmet meals that would rival a 5-Star hotel restuarant that costs
3 times as much. My favorite was hand made ravioli stuffed with squash, in
a light marinara sauce. It had no fat at all. The taste was exquisite...
beyond exquisite...I would willingly have paid twice what I did for that
flavor again. He does serve meat but he will disclose vegan items to you,
and you can always trust him.
I hope the world beats a path to his door. We drive close to 30 miles to get
there and it is worth every mile. (I hope this is not considered an
advertisement--I have no ownership interest in this or any other restaurant)--
except my own kitchen.
The Bamboo Garden in Seattle is a Glott Kosher vegan restaurant that
is actually certified by a Chasidic Rabbi. They do have items that
are high in fat, but many, many items that are very low or have none
at all. It is Chinese style. Obviously they have many very religious
Jews who drive many miles to go there. It is also worth the trip. It
tends to be a little pricey for dinners, but the portions are large
and the food is beautifully prepared. I think it is unfair to
criticize a really good veggie restaurant that knows how to serve
VLF food--that you can trust--for price.
There are so few really good veggie VLF restaurants that serve
beautifully, in my opinion they have a right to charge. Although
I have not seen anything excessive by any means.
There are also "arguments" on veggie chat groups about tipping in
veggie restaurants. Some writers have suggested that you should
tip excessively, to support and encourage their survival. I would
tend to agree. Restaurant workers are not paid well, and work
very hard. When I was practicing podiatric medicine and surgery,
I treated many restaurant workers who really suffered on their
feet. (hope this is not off subject).
True, we can complain that there are so FEW restaurants for us.
But the reverse side of that coin is that we should vigorously
support the few that exist, and praise them. Really fresh vegetables
and associated foods can be expensive for them to purchase, because
they may not be able to get certain items from local restaurant
suppliers who sell the usual "American Food Garbage" to SADs.
Mike Rosenblatt
Mike Rosenblatt
------------------------------