I visited the AALL website today only to see in bold blue type that the annual meeting is in only 68 days! I have never been to New Orleans and am very interested to see what it's like. I can't wait to see new places, meet new people and see old friends. However, what I am not looking forward to is the food situation.
As you can probably guess from the title of this posting, I am a vegetarian. And contrary to what it appears most people believe (even here in Seattle), I do NOT eat seafood. Yes, this means I do not eat fish, oysters, crawfish, etc. Though I'm an ovo lacto vegetarian, so I do eat eggs and dairy (which expands my options but I'm not so sure how much in this case). While I can appreciate people's anticipation for the feasts that await them in a couple months, I am currently having flashbacks to my week of quesadillas in San Antonio.
I decided to see if I could find a few restaurant options. I searched Yahoo! travel, Citysearch, and went through a couple of veg-friendly lists and the handful of options I found seem to be too far to walk to. Looks like it might be a week of cliff bars and iceberg lettuce "salad."
So I'd love to hear about any places you'd like to suggest with good vegi options that are within walking distance of the convention center. Please feel free to make a comment and share. The entire AALL vegetarian constituency will thank you for it.
07 May 2007
New Orleans for Vegetarians - A request for suggestions
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5 comments:
Tina;
There's the Apple Seed Shoppe - 336 Camp Street, 504-529-3442 (Hours: 10:30-3pm Mon-Fri), which is not too far from the Convention Center. Also the Back To The Garden Restaurant - 833 Howard Ave., 504-299-8792 by Lee Circle within walking distance, and Old Dog New Trick - 517 Frenchmen St., 504-943-6368 (Hours: 7 days from 11:30am to 10:00pm) just on the other side of the French Quarter past Esplanade, not really close, but not as far away as it looks on the map. That's a start, I'm sure there will be other suggestions. V.
We are checking to see if these restaurants are indeed back in business. However, I recently went to a restaurant at 200 Poydras (near the convention center) called Gordon Biersch and they said they can even do vegan meals. The website is www.gordonbiersch.com Katie Nachod of the Law Library of Louisiana will be posting soon as she is a vegetarian and can share her experience eating in New Orleans.
This is Katie Nachod's response to my comment. I took the liberty of posting it here. Thanks Katie!
V.
Dear All:
Old Dog New Tricks is now a restaurant called 13, but it still has vegetarian and some vegan dishes, including tofu. The address is the same, but the phone number is 942-1345, and the hours are 7 days a week from 11:30 a.m. to 4:00 a.m.. The others two are still there.The Apple Seed Shoppe has salads, smoothies, and other veggie dishes, and their hours are correct below. Back to the Garden has standard healthy vegetarian fare, including salads, sandwiches, hummus, vegetarian chili, and smoothies. Their hours are 8:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Monday-Friday and 11-3 on Saturday. None of these three are that close to the Convention Center, but many restaurants will accommodate vegetarian, and even vegan in some cases, needs. For instance, the Gumbo Shop has a daily vegetarian special, usually some kinds of meatless but very well seasoned beans and rice, and they make a gumbo z'herbes, with greens and no meat.
I will post a response on the blog to reassure Tina and other vegetarians that I will be addressing vegetarian/vegan concerns in the printed restaurant guide.
Katie
The address for the Apple Seed Shoppe is 201 St. Charles, about a block away from where it used to be.
From Tom Fitzmorris, the local radio foodie:
First of all, may I ask that you refer your readers to the list of open restaurants around town? I update it daily, it lists every restaurant currently open, has addresses and phone numbers, and gives my ratings for all those I've been able to check since the storm. This version of it is arranged by cuisine:
http://www.nomenu.com/RestaurantsOpenCuisine.html
About vegetarianism:
My answer to this is the same as to anyone else looking to satisfy a dietary need--low-fat, vegetarian, whatever. First pick a good restaurant, using the usual criteria (reviews, ratings, guidebooks, or buzz--as you like). Then look over the menu to see what kind of food the restaurant serves, to discover what they're likely to have in the kitchen. Based on that knowledge, tell the waiter what your special diet is, followed by VERY SPECIFIC IDEAS for dishes that will satisfy your needs. Along these lines: "I'm thinking of something like a risotto with asparagus and mushrooms and maybe a little crushed red pepper, with no cream or cheese." The good restaurants will be able to prepare a fine dish along the lines you dictate--either by adapting a regular dish, or just coming up with one from scratch. That's what makes good restaurants good--they know how to cook. Then he can go to the chef and get it done. If you can't do that, then you need to study up some more on your diet. You can't expect the restaurant to understand your special needs; they have to cook for the mainstream. The special orders have to come from you. The biggest mistake (in New Orleans, anyway) is to look for a restaurant that specializes in your diet. You may assume that it will be much less interesting that the mainstream places, and probably even terrible.
Tastefully yours,
Tom Fitzmorris
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