Do you love your greens? When you go out to eat, are you tired of bland, tasteless, and frozen veggie burgers? Are you sick of settling for a last-minute toss of noodles and broccoli? We feel you. For this month’s Quick Bites we went on a search for some of the area’s best veggie dishes. Good thing for us, Truckee/Tahoe is very much veggie friendly.
I nearly cried when I got home from Cottonwood Restaurant and realized I had forgotten the remainder of my fantastic butternut squash enchiladas ($19). ‘Should I call?’ I thought. Ridiculous. But it was difficult to let go of the fabulous meal. The casserole-style enchiladas were filled with layers of tortillas dipped in house-made mole and ingredients such as dried ancho, roasted peppers, chocolate, pumpkin seeds, and tequila. Then they were baked with butternut squash and cheddar cheese, and finished with drizzled sour cream and toasted pumpkin seeds. The dish is mild and comes with tortilla chips smothered in sour cream, spicy Serrano chili sauce, and house-made cilantro sauce. If you’re looking for a delicious appetizer, the butternut squash raviolis ($11) are another favorite veggie option. Info: 10142 Rue Hilltop Rd, Truckee, (530) 587-5711, cottonwoodrestaurant.com, open daily 4:30 to 10 p.m. ~ Emily Dettling/Moonshine Ink
To find out the scoop on some of the best vegetarian dishes in the area, I decided to go to an expert — Karen Honeywell, who owned the popular vegetarian restaurant Seedling in Tahoe Vista in the mid-1990s. (Ironically, the Old Range Steakhouse is now in the former Seedling space.) ‘A lot of times when I go to a nice restaurant and order vegetarian, I end up with a veggie pasta dish,’ Honeywell said. ‘I am almost always disappointed by the vegetarian choices.’ Not so at Wolfdale’s Cuisine Unique, where Honeywell raves about the Zen Plate ($24), which is made up of vegetables, lentils, tofu, and butternut mashed potatoes or Jasmine rice. ‘It’s different and high quality,’ she said, noting that the lentils are a nice touch.
For something totally new and different, Honeywell couldn’t say enough about the Sri Lankan Vegetable Curry Dish ($10.95) at Indu’s Asian Noodles and Curry in Incline Village. Formerly Asian Noodles Too, the restaurant came under new ownership a year ago, adding Sri Lankan food to the Chinese and Vietnamese cuisine. The veggie curry dish has tofu, mixed vegetables, and lentils, and includes brown rice. ‘It’s awesome because it’s so unique,’ said Honeywell. ‘How many times have we all done Thai? Sri Lankan is different. This is my newest, latest vegetarian find.’ Info: Wolfdale’s Cuisine Unique, 640 North Lake Blvd, Tahoe City, (530) 583-5700, wolfdales.com, open daily 5:30 to 10:30 p.m., closed Tuesdays. Indu’s Asian Noodles and Curry, 868 Tahoe Blvd, Incline Village, in the Christmas Tree Village, (775) 831-8317, indusasiannoodles.com, open daily 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., closed Thursdays. ~ Melissa Siig/Moonshine Ink
Every time I go out to breakfast, I am tempted by eggs Benedict — poached eggs atop an English muffin, smothered in lemony butter saucy goodness. And every time I order it at a new place, I am always disappointed. It’s just never as good as it is at Fire Sign Café. There’s something about Fire Sign’s hollandaise, and the fact that you can switch it up between a classic version to the sausage Bakers Benedict, the smoked salmon Cape Cod Benedict, and my favorite, the veggie Benedict ($10.25/full portion, $8.10/half). I’m no sworn vegetarian, but I can’t resist the plump avocado and juicy tomato on a bene’ — it just pairs perfectly and is always my first choice over Canadian bacon or sausage. (And I love bacon, so this is huge.) Next time you want eggs Benedict, head over to Fire Sign and give the pigs some rest. Info: 1785 West Lake Blvd, Tahoe City, (530) 583-0871, open daily 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. ~ Julie Brown/Moonshine Ink
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