I finally got around to reading the Exit133B post “DB: Buying Local” and subsequent comment brouhaha. Following in the footsteps of such noted Tacoma luminaries as Daniel Blue and RR Anderson (I swear my check is in the mail) I decided to declare this “Official Unofficial Tacoma Week of Lists.” I know this runs directly contrary to RR’s insistence that we “Make love, not lists!” As this initiative’s purpose is to further strengthen the industrial list complex I have chosen an especially authoritarian, establishment topic for my first list, vegetarian restaurants. This list is neither comprehensive nor fair.
If you can ignore this restaurant’s notorious Seattle connections you will discover the most satisfying vegetarian fair in the South Sound. For all of you omnivores out there imagine the most satisfying, mouth watering hamburger possible. Now cover said burger with a delicious BBQ sauce. Now imagine through some feat of modern ingenuity this burger did not contain any saturated fat, transfats, hormones, antibiotics or any of the other things we take for granted in the modern food supply chain. What you have left is “The BBQ Burger” and it is awesome. The beans and rice that come on the side are really good and they have an excellent selection of sodas (the Boylan’s Red Birch Beer is my personal favorite). Even committed carnivores will walk out of Quickie Two having satisfied their hunger.
I’ve written about Masa before. Ben is still the benchmark by which all of my other bartenders are judged. As such I can’t really comment on their table service as I always dine in the bar. Their happy hour menu is hard to beat. They have, what I believe is, the best guacamole in town. When I go, which is most Sunday evenings, I generally gorge myself on guacamole, veggie tacos and Negro Modelo.
What is a sushi restaurant doing on a vegetarian restaurant list? Sure, for most people, sushi conjures up images of moist, glistening raw fish. Few people notice all of the raw, steamed or pickled vegetables on the menu. A meal can be made of edamame, seaweed salad, vegetable rolls, kappa maki and avocado rolls. Two Koi is my late night destination for vegitarian fare.
4. Puget Sound Pizza (aka PSP)
When I get a hankering for pizza a trip to PSP is in order. They will, without hesitation, prepare their vegetarian pizza without cheese and will even remind you to request no butter on the crust (for all the vegans out there). When you order a pizza like this at other pizzarias you will often e extremely disappointed. What is delivered from the kitchen is often a burnt crust and a few limp pieces of onion and green pepper swimming in a sea of marinara. PSP does it right. The pizza is covered with zuchini, red onion, green pepper, black olives, jalapeño peppers and more. A PSP vegan pizza and a pitcher of Deschutes Black Butte Porter is one of my favorite lunches.
5. Pretty Much Every Thai Place
Tacoma has no shortage of Thai restaurants and I have to specifically call out the East and West Cafe Proctor and Silk Thai. Vegans have to be a little more careful at Thai restaurants because they often use chicken stock in the majority of their sauces. The upside is that most Thai restaurants are used to dealing with vegetarians so inquiries about ingredients generally do not cause the server to flee into the kitchen. Excellent vegan friendly dishes generally include Viet Curry and Tom Yum Soup.
6. Paldo World and East Asia Supermarket
Ok, so these are not actually restaurants but every vegetarian in Tacoma needs to know about them. Paldo World and East Asia Supermarket wil completely change the way you eat at home. Once you realize you don’t have to pay Metropolitan Market prices for young coconuts, lemongrass, oyster (and other) mushrooms and other “exotic” ingredients your home cooking will get much more creative. I especially enjoyed discovering the Korean and Japanese varieties of staple foods like zucchini, cucumber, hot peppers and green beens. East Asia Supermarket is cheaper, sometimes an inconceivable amount cheaper, but Paldo World has higher quality produce.