I’m proud to announce my latest creation: V3GGIE, a vegetarian search engine. I’ve used the power of Yahoo’s new BOSS Search API and focused the attention on vegetarian and vegan friendly resources. V3GGIE makes it much easier to find what you are looking for.
This means you can find a corn chowder recipe without wading through thousands of clam chowders. You can quickly find the buzz from vegetarian blogs, the closest vegan restaurant, and more.
The following is a short list of web sites that V3GGIE.com recognizes as experts.
V3GGIE is still a work a progress, please feel free to leave comments and suggestions for web sites to add as resources. I hope you find it as useful as I have. I especially like the Vegetarian Recipe Search.
Eating in Paris involves many choices. The first of which is “where should I go this time?” This is especially true when you have great restaurants to choose from. For instance, where do you go when you want some good, vegetarian Chinese food?
Tien Hiang and Green Garden Restaurants
Tien Hiang is a great Asian restaurant in the 11th arrindissement. It is popular, affordable, and has a huge selection of vegan and vegetarian meals. But what if you are on the Left Bank and prefer something closer to home?
The Green Garden is a great Chinese restaurant near Olympiades in the 13th arrindissement. It’s a family style restaurant with a small market with an amazing collection of faux meats. I’ve never seen faux prawn or a complete faux chicken with wings and legs.
It is a small restaurant that can fill up rather quickly. The menu is extensive and the food is affordable and very tasty. I had the steamed dumpling menu for 10.50 Euros. This included 8 dumplings and a plate of fried noodles. I new I’d be returning when I realized the dumplings were gone and I wanted more.
The fried noodles also had some extremely fresh green beans, tofu, and sprouts. Several groups arrived in the restaurant and began ordering family style. The large variety of their menu would make this a great idea.
They are very proud of their menu’s lack of eggs, genetically modified ingredients, alcohol, and MSG. There are plenty of Vegan choices on their menu and many of the dishes can be modified upon request.
Back to the choices
Where do you go for vegetarian Chinese food? Tien Hiang or Green Garden are both a bit difficult to find for the average tourist. Your decision may be based on location. Green Garden is near the Porte D’Ivry metro station, which is also the end of the #3 Tramway. Green Garden is also more spacious and elegant than Tien Hiang. Tien Hiang is closer to Pere Lechaise and is a good post-cemetery stop.
There’s something deeply satisfying about a bowl of vegetarianFrench Onion Soup. Traditionally, this dish features a rich broth of beef consume with onions sauteed to a dark color and a large crouton floating on top. All of this is smothered with melted cheese. The soup makes you feel like a warm embrace by your favorite grandmother; if it’s possible to have a favorite.
But alas, beef doesn’t sit well with the vegetarian in us. My favorite chef, Jacques Brosse, once created a heavenly French Onion Soup with a rich wine base for me. It was one of the best dishes I’ve ever tasted. Jacques is about to open a new restaurant in Paris, so watch for the news.
It was with these high expectations that I ordered a bowl of Onion Soup from Le Potager du Marais. First off, the soup was good. It wasn’t great. It didn’t make me jump up and scream “Mother Trudy, come here and give me a big fat hug!”
Frankly, I don’t think jumping up would even be possible in this tiny table with a long community table. It would have been more like asking the person next to you to stand up, pull the table out, extricate yourself between two other diners, stand up and then yell “Mother Trudy, come here and give me a bit fat hug!” The Onion soup had a rich broth but could’ve used more onions. Instead of a big hunk of crouton, the soup was dotted with smaller chunks. Frankly, the smaller chunks are much easier to manage. It was then covered with a thin layer of cheese. It was also a tad bit salty for my taste. The bread they served on the side was also a bit bland.
Don’t get me wrong, Le Potager is a popular, friendly restaurant that features a great menu of vegetarian and vegan food. There were several daily specials, including vegetable curry, broccoli soup, and pasta primavera. The other diners licked their plates clean. The lady next to me just about died when her nattily atired boyfriend held his curry plate up and licked the last drop off.
It’s just that the Onion Soup had a lot to live up to. It’s hard to beat a memory.
Le Potager du Marais is super easy to find. It’s just down the street from the Rambuteau metro. It’s a great place to get something to eat after spending a day at the Pompideu. Be forewarned, this restaurant is tiny and packed. It’s a good idea to make a reservation during peak hours. However, they are open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Surprisingly, they do not accept Cheque Dejeuner (subsidized lunch tickets for those that work in Paris).
Le Potager du Marais
22, rue Rambuteau (3°)
01 42 74 24 66
Metro: Rambuteau
Organic Restaurant
Cheque Dejeuner are not accepted
Wheelchair Friendly: This restaurant is not wheelchair friendly. It is very tight inside.
Paris is full of surprises. There are little gems around every corner. The Parisian Sweet Bar in the 12th arrondissement is an example. You’ll also find small museums, art galleries, pocket sized parks, and chunks of ancient history.
This leads me to Gout Zen. I stumbled across this restaurant while leaving an unfamiliar metro exit (Bibliotheque). The street is subterranean, with car-filled bridges above, towering buildings, old stone steps to new areas, and a green beacon of light and energy.
Gout Zen is a restaurant, cafe, and organic market all wrapped into one. It reminds me of the No Stress Cafe, near Place de Pigalle. There’s more to just eating at Gout Zen. You can rent a heated wrap for your tired shoulders at 1 Euro for 15 minutes, use free wireless, and purchase some organic food and supplies. It’s a friendly cafe that is bright and comfortable.
I had the vegetable bruschetta at 6 euros. Although a tad salty, I enjoyed the snack and used the wireless until my laptop battery died. The cafe also features some interesting vegan alternatives. I’m dying to try the faux steak au poivre. The fixed price menus range from 8 to 15 euros and include a variety of vegetarian and vegan options.
Finding Gout Zen is a bit tricky. Take the Rue Du Chevaleret exit if you are coming from the metro line 14 or RER C. You can also reach it by climbing down the steps on Rue de Tolbiac, Rue Thomas Mann, and Rue des Grands Moulins. I’d suggest using the Rue de Tolbiac steps.
Once upon a time, a small vegetarian restaurant opened on a small street devoted to butchers. The irony couldn’t have escaped them and their growing clientele. Wheat and soy proteins have replaced the ghosts of cows, lamb, and fowl on this alley behind Notre Dame.
I decided to visit Le Grenier de Notre-Dame after reading several reviews on Happy Cow, a vegetarian travel site. The reviews were mixed, so I had a back up plan. Practically next door is Cafe Panis, a sister restaurant to Chez Prosper and Lili et Marcel. I figured I could always grab a great salad at Chez Panis if Le Grenier did not pass muster. I can wait on Cafe Panis, Le Grenier was a great restaurant that served unique vegetarian food.
I’ve traveled to many countries and always enjoy vegetarian alternatives to local dishes. Soyrizo at Ranchos in San Diego, curry vegetable popovers in London, Mock duck in thai restaurants, vegetarian Ghoulash,… I couldn’t pass up the vegetarian cassoulet for dinner. I didn’t know what to expect. It must have white beans and baked with tomatoes and bread crumbs. But what else will replace the fat and meat normally found in a cassoulet?
The dish was a filling, baked vegetable dish with two types of protein: tofu and seitan (a wheat based protein). It also had tomatoes, peppers, and lots of white beans. I have to admit the seitan was a bit strange for me. It’s the first time I have tried this tofu alternative. I would have prefered something a bit more substantial in the mix, such as roasted brussel sprouts or potato. But, alas, the dish was exactly what I had hoped for: a stick to your ribs, filling, novel dish that stands out from the week of salads and cheese sandwiches that somehow find their way into too many meals.
I also had the vegetable soup as an entree. This was also a hearty soup with strong vegetable flavors and a unique topper. I couldn’t quite place the vegetable floating on the top of the soup. It reminded me of baby carrot greens. The soup was also served with a dense whole-grain bread.
The couple next to me were in Paris to celebrate their engagement. They too had found the restaurant via reviews at Happy Cow. Their meal started with an avacado dish that looked surprisingly unique to someone that grew up in Avocado country. The avocado skins were re-used as containers for a blend of avocado, tomato, and yogurt. They were quite pleased with the dish.
I wouldn’t rate this too high for your Meat Eating Friends. They’ll be impressed by the selection of vegetarian dishes, but not the taste of seitan. It’ll probably make them think twice before trying another of your recommendations.
It should be noted that Le Grenier is a small, tight restaurant. Enjoy the company next to, behind, and in front of you. The service is very fast and courteous. Reservations would be helpful during busy periods.
I skipped the dessert, but they have the traditional items: chocolate mousse, fromage blanc, fruit tarts, etc. They also feature normal coffee and a decaf coffee-alternative. Personally, I’d suggest going next door to Cafe Panis and try their tarte chocolate with creme anglais or the berry crumble. I’ve eaten more than my share of these dishes at their sister restaurants. You are also just around the corner from the Berthillon ice-cream store. just look for the line of people in a small street of Isle St. Louis. Berthillon ice-cream is worth the hype and there’s nothing like buying it from the source.
Crepes: Sweet & Savory Recipes for the Home Cook
VEGETARIAN AND ORGANIC PARIS, Locations and information about vegetarian restaurants, juice bars, organic food shops, organic bakeries and artesian wells in Paris
Green Earth Guide: Traveling Naturally in France
Hungry for Paris: The Ultimate Guide to the City's 102 Best Restaurants
The Vegetarian Traveler