The Art of Fine Dining

My Trip to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art

I happened to be with a group attending a special exhibit at The Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas.  We stopped for lunch at Eleven, the chichi café on the premises.  (Eleven gets its name in honor of the Museum's opening on November 11, 2011 at 11:11 am.)

Eleven is pleased to offer gourmet food, light years ahead of the standard cafeteria fare which tarnishes the reputation of many a fine museum.  Vegan options were advertised in the menu’s legend, along with vegetarian and gluten-free selections, but the menu changes every three to four months, and this “season” didn’t offer any actual vegan dishes.  I had to be creative.

The white bean soup lived up to expectations.  Even without the jalapeno cornbread (it contains butter) it was a filling bowl of savory beans in a rich vegetable broth with a stewed tomato as the centerpiece.  You know you’ve picked a good dish when several people at your table want to taste a sample.  

But there was still plenty left to warm my tummy on this frigid winter day.  Had it not been so bitterly cold, I might have considered the Autumn Harvest Salad (have them leave off the parmesan), or the Ozark All Seasons Leaf Salad (substitute the yogurt cucumber dressing with a balsamic vinaigrette.)

There’s also a coffee bar at the opposite end of the dining hall, and their latte was delicious.  (Yes, they have both soy and coconut milk.)

This was a simple enough lunch, but very filling.  Prices are a smidge high, but then, you’re in a world class museum whose admittance is free, so enjoy the fabulous collection before and after your vegan repast.  It’s food for the soul.

The cornbread I took a pass on at lunch reminded me of my own beloved vegan version of this classic dish:

1 cup each whole wheat flour and stone-ground cornmeal

1 tablespoons baking powder

1/3 cup brown sugar

2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon oil

4 tablespoons melted margarine (cooled)

1 cup soy or almond milk

Mix all ingredients, but not too thoroughly; leave texture course

Pour into a greased 9” pan and bake at 400 ° 25-30 minutes

Serve hot with non-dairy spread and agave syrup – D-lish!

KHANA INDIAN GRILL

Khana is a very user-friendly purveyor of Indian cuisine.  They’ll cheerfully answer any questions which might come from the uninitiated, and believe me, I put them through their paces.  I got both a meal and an education on my lunch hour.

Indian cuisine is all about the spices, lots of them.  As many as ten spices can be combined to form what is known as a masala, which is then used to flavor sauces, soups or a main dish (known as a curry).  This isn’t the pitiful shake of salt and pepper Americans are used to.  Exotics such as saffron, cardamom, and curry leaves are added to more familiar players such as ginger, nutmeg, and hot chilies to create unusual yet mouth-watering combinations.

The Vegan Coconut Malai Curry  comes with slender, long grain basmati rice, blended with cloves, cinnamon, cardamom and bay leaves.  Malai translates as “cream”, but in this vegan incarnation it’s rich nutty coconut milk, blended with a flavorful curry.

The Vegan Coconut Malai Curry

For the side carbohydrate I substituted the traditional naan flatbread because naan contains yogurt and egg.  Paratha bread is a flaky wheat flour creation that is India’s answer to the croissant.

My lunch partner ordered the Samosa.

Samosa and Sambar

It is little crispy pastry pillows stuffed with potatoes and peas. They are complimented by ramekins of tamarind (a pulpy fruit) and cilantro chutney.  It was a cold day, so she also ordered the Sambar, a spicy lentil soup with green beans, carrots and squash.

Neither of us left hungry, nor did I suffer the indigestion for which I had braced myself.  Either my pallet has matured, or these folks really know how to make excellent Indian food.  I would check the box next to “both of the above”.

A word about where we ate as well as what we ate.  The décor is as authentic as the food.  Check out the imported hand-carved pendant lights.  Khana is also eco-conscious, outfitted with sustainably forested furniture, and using biodegradable serving ware for to-go orders.

So, for your next vegan adventure, travel to the subcontinent, or better yet, to 2101 North College Avenue in Fayetteville to Khana Indian Grill.

 https://khanaindiangrill.com

The best resolution for a new year is...

pledging to give the vegan lifestyle a try!

Hope this video gives you some inspiration!

A (living) Turkey and Some Mistletoe....

Not everyone reading this blog will be Christian, but unless you’re in a coma, it cannot have escaped your notice that we’re in the midst of a buying frenzy capable of melting a credit card, have double booked office parties, family gatherings, lunches, dinners and cocktail hours, have strung lights, tinsel, garland, popcorn, mistletoe and greeting cards over every conceivable passageway, and entered the ‘glitzy ritzy yet I can’t seem to get past the blues’ season of the year.

As I sit here alone – no, actually, in solitude, on this cloudy first Christmas in Arkansas, I am reminded of what Christmas should really mean to me.  It should be an opportunity to contemplate the loving lessons of Jesus, who set the supreme example of kindness, forgiveness and compassion.

So, as I baste my tofurkey with vegetable broth and put a generous dollop of Earth Balance margarine on my mashed sweet potatoes and organic spring peas, I wish all of you

Peace, Good Will Toward 

all Living Beings.

Diana with Neptune on Farm Sanctuary's West Coast Shelter
1998

*****

P.S. Sliced banana with Soy Delicious non-dairy coconut whip topping sprinkled with coconut chips makes a delightful light dessert after a festive meal.  Truly a vegan response to banana cream pie!

PETRA CAFE - Around the World in 30 minutes

Mediterranean cuisine is always a good bet for vegans, and Fayetteville’s Petra Café is no exception.

I’ve been to the actual Petra excavation while travelling in Jordan, and I would say the food at Petra Café is pretty authentic, replete with all the savory herbs and spices, mint, zesty lemon, generous amounts of olive oil and enough garlic to make any vampire think twice.

I devoted my first visit to their perennial favorite - the Petra Platter.  This dish gives the relative newcomer a sampler of the classic dishes from this culture – the crisp chilled tabouleh salad (diced onions, cucumbers, tomatoes, parsley and bulger wheat) falafel, (fried chick peas topped with creamy humus), a side of baba ghanouge, (pureed eggplant, sesame seed paste and mint) and slices of fresh warm flat bread.

Their split pea soup (Wednesdays) and lentil soup (Fridays) are also vegan, and there’s the super pocket which combines all the ingredients in the Petra Platter in a flat bread rollup.  I also discovered foule on the menu, and was told it was middle eastern chili.  Must try that the next time I stop in.

Open limited hours – Monday through Saturday, 11-2:30.  It’s cozy seating, so plan on arriving before the lunch rush or doing carry out.

The awesome Petra Platter

PETRA CAFE
31 E Center Stree
Faeyetteville, AR
479-443-3090

https://www.facebook.com/thepetracafe/

PENGUIN ED'S BBQ

Penguin Ed’s is a very popular local BBQ spot (actually three spots) in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

No, they don’t serve penguins slathered in hot ‘n sweet sauce.  They offer the usual BBQ fare of chicken, ribs, and pulled pork, but a diner can also enjoy the several virtually vegan options: garden burger, black bean burger, portabello sandwich and veggie sub.  (Ask them to substitute mustard for mayo and leave off the cheese.)

I say “virtually vegan” because I was not able to get a definitive answer on the ingredients of the Kaiser roll which comes with the sandwiches.  Whole wheat bread can be substituted, but even there, I was not able to determine if honey or any whey products were used in the bread.

And here’s where I get “right sized” about my vegan crusade.  Others can be firm in their resolve to get the full verification of ingredients of any restaurant meal, and I commend them for their efforts.  I’ve found it works better for me to ask the question and get the conversation started.  I engaged with co-owner Diane Knight on vegan choices and complimented her efforts to revamp their menu in recent years to introduce many gluten-free and vegetarian options.  These are steps in the right direction.  Nit picking over a roll’s content wasn’t as important to me as making this connection with my server and the owner.

I can personally recommend their flavorful garden burger or their juicy portabello sandwich complimented by home fries.  Dig in!

Fayetteville Arkansas locations:
2773 East Mission (Mission and Crossover)
230 S East Avenue
6347 W Weddington Drive

http://www.penguineds.com/menus-locations/mission-menu/

SALVAMEX

There I stood at the window outside a Mexican Restaurant in Springdale, Arkansas.  I was looking at the menu.  Every meat, pork and poultry dish you can think of was not only described, it was pictured in glorious color, with ample cheese and sour cream rounding out the meal.

Sigh. 

I stood there in vegan purgatory.  It was a Holiday.  I was hungry and nothing else was open.  I’d been forewarned by a fellow-vegetarian that the city of Springdale was “soulless”, being the epicenter of the Tyson empire.

I stepped inside.

“Do you have any vegetarian options?  I mean, could you make a dish on this menu and leave out the meat ….”  My words trailed off as Alice took over enthusiastically explaining she had vegan (vegan!) friends who came in frequently, and she knew just how to adapt her traditional Salvadorain/Honduran cuisine to accommodate the vegan diet.

Five minutes later I was enjoying a sumptuous burrito chocked full of rice, pinto beans, lettuce, tomato, onions cilantro and just the right amount of salsa.  I asked her to take my picture –  “Woman plunging into burrito – yum!”

The site of my love affair:

Salvamex Taqueria Y Restaurante

Check them out on Facebook and

visit them at 130 E Emma, Springdale, AR