03 May: A Traveler Runs on His Stomach (Part 2 of an Open-Ended Series
Our search for a vegetarian restaurant that rivals the haute cuisine of Seattle's Carmelita and Cafe Flora still has not uncovered the Holy Grail. We visited Le Soleil Gourmand Saturday night, which, while not strictly a vegetarian restaurant, seemed like our best shot. One review warned meat lovers to stay away as there was little on the menu to entice them.

The menu's main thrust was a series of assiettes, or platters with a collection of different foods that are thematically brought together--akin to a collection of Italian nibbles like sausages, cheeses, tapenade... oh what the hell is that called? It's 7 in the morning and I can't get back to sleep after a surprise call from the States on my cell phone, but my synapses aren't firing in synch yet and I'm losing a word or two along the way. Right. Well, you get the point. One of those... types of dishes. (If I had an Internet connection, I wouldn't be putting you through my typed-out thought process, but alas....)

Anyhoo, the assiette concept seems to be a popular one at vegetarian restaurants, as this was also the main thrust at The House of Punishment macrobiotic restaurant we visited the previous week. But the assiette that Mrs. F had at Soleil Gourmand was far more successful--i.e., it had a bit of flavor that wasn't dependent upon the liberal use of shoyu sauce. She chose the Mediterranean plate, which had all the things she loves--tapenades, cheeses, roasted vegetables (just like that Italian thingee I was talking about in the last paragraph... geez, I need some coffee). I went with an upside-down tomato tarte, which was tasty (with a nice commingling of tart tomato and balsamic vinegar sweetness) if a bit insubstantial. (I'm not looking for American-sized portions here, just something that's worthy of a main course.) Oh, and as a slight nod to meat-eaters, my plate had just a bit of thinly Parma sliced ham sitting alongside the salad.

Overall, a very nice dining experience, but just not the kind of inventive vegetarian cooking that I'm sure could spring up from the French tradition if they could only drop the need for meat with every dish.