My friends' restaurant needs help with their vegan menu!!!
Here's an excerpt from the message my friend sent me:
So, it's my job to come up with the vegan/vegetarian dishes and I'm stumped a bit as well. If you were to go out for dinner, in an ideal situation, what would you eat for an entree? The way we like to cook for folks who don't eat meat is via vegetables and seasonings. We're not to hip on the substitutes, so we are very interested in making a veggie...for example summer squash, stand on it's own as the star of the dish.
Mike's saying something about TVP as one of the things we could maybe use. Do you find that it's expensive?
What do you think? If you have the time, of course. The thing is, we don't have a huge vegan following (yet!), and we did not intend to be a vegan restaurant but wanted to provide something for everyone so that we would not exclude folks. in other words, dishes that are appealing and happen to be vegan.
We have nutritional yeast in house...Mike was saying that acts as a parmesan sub. Don't mind my rambling...we are on a mad dash to figure this all out! Any insight would be a huge help!
I'm going to make some suggestions, but I thought it would be cool to have some different opinions. I thought it was really cool that they are trying to be vegan friendly, so lets help them out! Thanks guys!
Here's their facebook page if anyone wants to check out the existing menu: http://www.facebook.com/pages/McCURDYS-Junction-House/164760166892271?ref=ts
You can come up with endless ideas for veggie burgers with assorted gourmet toppings and a side of frites.
I like willowbees combos of veggie burgers idea. What about bean burgers too? The world needs to know that fresh veggie and bean burgers are awesome, compared to their store bought cardboard-ish counterparts. If they got setup with food processors and quick cleaned them, they could make these to order, using any veggie, fresh or frozen, they wanted. Also, you could have veggie pot pie by the slice. And shepherd's pies by the slice. Also, oatmeal burgers with carrots and corn are YUM. These things should keep for a few days - so that you aren't throwing lots of food out day to day.
I have been doing mac and "cheese" with roasted asparagus tips at home a lot - very fast and yummy. Make your fav mac and "cheese" recipe, maybe use bowtie pasta for the restaurant version to spice it up, then drizzle olive oil on asparagus tips in a baking pan, spinkle with seasonings, and put them under broiler for a couple minutes. Then mix the tips in the mac and cheese. Filling, yummy, exotic (compared to straight mac/cheese) and easy, also asparagus will store for a while. It would also be a great way to evangelize vegan, as they would be surprised how cheezy non cheese can be.
I feel like veggie burgers are so overdone. Whenever I go to a restaurant, half the time the only thing on the menu for me is a veggie or lentil or black bean burger. Try something fresh and different with minimal processing.
Maybe Tofu and veggie kabobs with rice and flatbreads.
Maybe a tempeh, spinach, tomato, sprouts and vegenaise sandwich (Vegenaise would probably be really cheap to make in house).
BBQ Jackfruit paninis with onions, peppers, and tomato.
Try making a Curried Chickpea & Tomato burrito (Look up a recipe for indian Chole, mix with some rice and roll into a tortilla with spinach, peas, and tomato).
Vegan Pierogies ( http://www.manifestvegan.com/2009/11/appalachian-pierogi/ )
Herbed orzo with porcini mushrooms, artichokes, sundried tomatoes and sauteed asparagus.
Falafel with eggplant, sprouts, tomato and tahini sauce
Perhaps even a dish of vegan poutine; fries with some veggie gravy and daiya mixed in.
I hope the best of luck for you.
i kinda tried to find the menu with little success... what is there theme?
Wow, thanks everyone!
Amy- their theme is comfort food. If you check their facebook wall you can see a lot of their specials. I guess they took the menu down?
Maybe a vegan shephards pie type dish. When I think of comfort food I think of mashed potatoes and veggies. Something warming and hearty. Soups are good too. When I go out to eat, I don't see many soup options. Mac and "cheese" would be a nice dish too.
Salisbury "steak" is yummy...oh and the "fried chickn" from here with some mashed potatoes SOOO YUMMY! I'm craving some right now...also could do a "loaf" recipe.
mac and cheese made with Daiya cheese
Pasta is always a great comfort food item. Ravioli is something I see quite frequently as a veg option that is easily veganized without using any subs/analogs. Focus on fresh, whole foods and you can't go wrong.
I suggest a bean-centric dish... something not so obvious geared to vegans, so meat eaters could like it too.
perhaps a vegan baked bean recipe? there are tons out there..
a vegan chili.. although not that seasonal now..
or a vegan minestrone with lots of vegetables
pasta with lots of vegetables..
kale salads..
hummus
this would be a great appetizer: spicy artichoke heart dip
http://tastespace.wordpress.com/2011/02/01/spicy-artichoke-heart-dip/
It's always nice to have a vegan burger option. At least you know it will be filling.
Soups:
Lentil soup
Vegetarian chili
I would love to be able to get a vegan French onion soup at a restaurant.
Entrees:
Falafel and mezze
Stuffed shells with tofu ricotta (Ultimate Uncheese has a nice spinach manicotti recipe)
Sides:
Potato salad
Creamy Peanut Kale
Cauliflower Poppers
eta: This may just be me, but I don't like to cook fried foods (especially deep-fried) at home; so I like to get them at restaurants sometimes. Not that I would want fried stuff to be my only option, mind you. Some vegan fried appetizers might be fun.
You guys have awesome ideas! I passed this link along to my friend!
Anyone in the Providence area should check this place out by the way!
I am with blinknoodle.
There should be a substantial protein component in the dish and beans would accomplish this without screaming "vegan," especially if they were prepared in an interesting manner.
Without a protein component, people will not feel full and sated. In the end it will do more harm than good because it will reinforce the stereotype of veg food as not filling and substantial.