Category Archives: vegetarian

A Vegetarian Upstart in Calgary’s Cattle Country

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Roasted artichokes with pear and chestnut is just one of the innovative vegetarian dishes at Calgary's White Rose Kitchen

Roasted artichokes with pear and chestnut is just one of the innovative vegetarian dishes at Calgary’s White Rose Kitchen

Calgary is cattle country, as much for mythological reasons as for all the area ranches and feedlots. So from a culinary perspective, it’s no surprise to find an abundance of steakhouses and hamburger joints.

Or, conversely, a scarcity of vegetarian restaurants. In a city of a million carnivores, you’d be hard pressed to find half a dozen places serving tofu, tempeh and turnips.

Thus, it’s nice to see a new restaurant—White Rose Kitchen, in a onetime Bowness gas station—devoted to creative, flavourful dishes like roasted artichoke, pear and chestnut; braised broccoli rabe and fig; and fennel confit salad.

White Rose is named for an old Bowness gas station that once stood here

White Rose is named for an old Bowness gas station that once stood here

It’s not cheap. Small (mostly appetizer sized) plates are $12 and big plates $18. But chef Dwayne and partner Alberta Ennest (who also operate Big Fish and Open Range) have certainly upped the ante on the often-staid veggie world.

A veggie flatbread is one of the day's lunch specials

A veggie flatbread is one of the day’s lunch specials

This being Calgary, however, the world of beef hasn’t been entirely abandoned. A sister, attached operation is The Coal Shed Smoke House, a stationary truck where meats are smoked, grilled and braised. The resulting chorizo sausage, beef short ribs and bison burgers are mostly intended for take-away dining, though there are a handful of tables in the hallway leading to White Rose.

The carnivorous Coal Shed Smoke House sits next door

The carnivorous Coal Shed Smoke House sits next door

But this commingling has its limits. You’re not allowed to smuggle your Coal Shed beef brisket, on a paper plate, into White Rose’s calm vegetarian space.

White Rose Kitchen
6512 Bowness Road NW, Calgary
Monday to Saturday 11:30 am-9 pm, Sunday 10 am-9 pm
403-455-8055

Great, Healthy Fare at the Bronze Cafe in Las Vegas’s LGBTQ Center

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Eight Pass Route 303

Ready for something healthy and unexpected in Sin City? Just head to the scruffy fringes of downtown Las Vegas and, yes, the gleaming new LGBTQ Center, with a lovely front garden patio. That’s where you’ll find the Bronze Cafe, where Carmen greets me with a thousand-watt smile.

Beautiful front garden at the Center

Beautiful front garden at the Center

As I’m perusing the breakfast options, she asks if I’d like a sample dixy cup of soaked-overnight Swedish oatmeal, served cold with fruit and agave nectar. Yum. As I’m polishing this off, she hands me a taster of an Ethiopian teff cereal (interesting!) and a swallow of ice-brewed coffee. At this rate, I won’t have to order anything.

Finally, I  succumb to a half Tree of Life, a pita flatbread containing a cornucopia of roasted peppers, avocado, house-made pickled onions, cashew crema, Brazil nut crumble and a mango-ginger vinaigrette. It’s a delightfully different wrap and vegan to boot, like much of Bronze’s scratch-made menu. But fear not, carnivores, there’s a much-lauded maple-glazed bacon sandwich, slathered in bacon jam.

Tree of Life goodness with a healthy side salad

Tree of Life goodness with a healthy side salad

As I’m leaving, another server gives me a sample of a refreshing watermelon-chia drink. Oh, and it’s a hot day, so here’s some ice water for the road.

The LGBTQ (Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender, Queer/Questioning) Center supports a lot of neighbourhood social projects and offers meal discounts to area residents. And apparently free samples to road-tripping bloggers.

Bronze Cafe
401 South Maryland Parkway, Las Vegas
Weekdays 7 am-10 pm, weekends 10 am-8 pm
Bronze Cafe at the Center on Urbanspoon

Salt Lake City Goes Funky and Vegetarian

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This colourful flea market in downtown Salt Lake City coincided with the weekend pride festival

This colourful flea market in downtown Salt Lake City coincided with the weekend pride festival

It might be time to correct some misconceptions about Salt Lake City. Yes, it’s still a Mormon stronghold, though that grip is weakening, given only half the residents are practitioners of the faith. The weekend I visit coincides with a massive pride festival, in part celebrating a landmark court ruling that allows same-sex marriage in Utah; the decision is being appealed. There’s also great coffee and beer being brewed here, and poured down non-Mormon throats, plus more good taco shops than you can throw a sombrero at. One sure sign Salt Lake City has come of culinary age is the presence, in the city’s south, of a funky vegetarian cafe. Vertical Diner is in a casual, slightly grungy space, with stucco walls, old cement floors and a pulsing, industrial soundtrack.

Vertical Diner is a funky vegetarian place on a south Salt Lake City industrial street

Vertical Diner is a funky vegetarian place on a south Salt Lake City industrial street

My plant-based breakfast is La Mesa, a bountiful, colourful plate of hash browns, black beans and rice, melted cheese, guacamole and, a first for me, a tofu scramble. The fact the food is on my table by the time I return from a bathroom freshening indicates the tofu isn’t quite “scrambled” to order, but it’s nonetheless a nicely spiced and textured dish. Good enough that I might forsake eggs and bacon, well at least for a couple of days.

A colourful plate, featuring black beans and a tofu scramble, at Vertical Diner

A colourful plate, featuring black beans and a tofu scramble, at Vertical Diner

If a vegan breakfast seems a step too far, you can always order pancakes, which start at a bargain $1.75 each (a buck more if fruit is included). Of course, they can also come gluten free.

Vertical Diner
2280 South West Temple, Salt Lake City
Weekdays 10 am-10 pm, weekends 9 am-10 pm
Vertical Diner on Urbanspoon

Continuing the vegan theme, the Barbacoa Burrito at Buds is highly recommended. Unfortunately, the little sandwich place is closed for renovations during my visit. Next time.

Buds
509 East 300 South, Salt Lake City
Monday to Saturday 11 am-5 pm. Closed Sunday
Buds on Urbanspoon