I know, a brewery? I would think the same thing…but I go where the wind takes me this week, and everyone seemed to finish the work day at South Street’s famous Tuesday evenings, full of cheap excellent beer and worthy grub. This review will be short and snappy.

I feared South Street would break my vegetarian streak of the week (and it was only Tuesday), but the words “portobello ravioli” called my name from the menu. I didn’t even bother reading the description assuming there was nothing in this meat related. Yes, I was right. The ravioli were giant round circles cooked perfectly and filled with sautéed portobello…they were dam good. The sauce was a crème based cheese sauce topped with parmesan cheese. This dish alone made the evening a success.

I couldn’t find anything else on the menu that appealed to my inner veggie except for the veggie optioned nachos. Did I miss something else on the menu worth noshing on?

Ravioli pic on Flikr

Popularity: 30% [?]

I had the pleasure of attending yesterday’s UVa student presentation on the Charlottesville Glocal Food System. I know, Vanillavy is handling all of the “green” stuff this week, but a flyer for the event caught my eye and I thought it would be a great break from the office. This is (what appears to be) a yearly event for a class at UVA focused on the local food economy/eco system. The class, consisting of both graduate and undergraduate sutdents, is titled “Healthy Communities, Healthy Food Systems (Part III): Global-Local Connections”. Now that is a mouthful. The following presentations were made:

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Popularity: 36% [?]

Day 2, the fight to eat vegetables continues. I feel a bit lighter and have a little more energy, but also feel a little gassy (I know, gross). Yet, the challenge goes on, and yesterday I found myself at the hippie strip mall on Preston Avenue. I mean hippie with the best of intentions. There is a yoga studio, The New Body Mind Spirit, where I had the pleasure of speaking with a hippie instructor. Apparently if you are part of the elderly or pregnant population in cville, this is the yoga studio for you. They focus more on the “intention” than the movement like a traditional vinyasa. Next door to the yoga studio is Blue Ridge Eco Shop. This is basically a store that has more green than your stomach/wallet/house can handle. They have everything from clothes to lights to cleaning products, very cool.

And then in the corner a couple feet away is Café 88. What is it with Asian restaurants and double digit numbers anyways? The previous founder/owner of cville’s vegetarian haunt Ming Dynasty, Li Chen, started a new Taiwanese café. The place is teeny tiny like a little baby, and the menu is even smaller. While some might balk at that, there is something refreshing about having limited options…there are so many restaurants out there that give the consumer so much choice, it’s a task in itself to order.

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Popularity: 31% [?]

Inspired by reading Michael Pollan’s “Omnivore’s Dilemma” as well as previous posts about the lack of vegetarian offerings in cville, I wanted to look deeper into Charlottesville’s vegetarian friendly scene. I know, Pollan’s book focuses more on “local” and “slow” food, but I have to start somewhere. This post is thus part of a multi-series journey into all things vegetarian in Charlottesville. The next couple of days will be spent only eating veggie fare in Charlottesville. Meat haters rejoice.

Despite the dreary weather, we can always rely on comfort food. And what better way to remind yourself of your American upbringing than a dinner in the city’s only Tibetan Slash Nepalese Slash Indian restaurant? I know, the logic is shocking. But the weather does inspire you to try something new, and I am very glad we did.

The downtown mall was totally dead last night…and then we came across Himalayan Fusion and the place is packed (as much as it can be on a Monday night in cville).

And as you walk in…

• Décor (check)
• Ambient lighting (check)
• Full bar (check)
• Open check (double check)
• Theme music (check)

It seemed to have all the puzzle pieces a solid restaurant has to offer, but what of the food? We decided to start with an appetizer, or how about three?

Chat Papry: Chickpeas, potatoes, and crispy wafers tossed in a tamarind dressing and finished off with a a wonderfully plated yogurt sauce. This dish is served cold and could be compared to an Indian salsa. It was dam good. The menu says crispy wafers, but they really looked like fried wonton wrappers…still good though! This dish is definitely worth a try to the shy diners…it shouldn’t dissapoint.

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Popularity: 34% [?]