Vegetarian | Vegetarian Experiences in Paris

Tag Archive for 'vegetarian'

Earth Cafe, the vegan restaurant in Marrakech, Morocco

Published

on June 4, 2011

in African, cafe, Outside Paris, popular, restaurant, travel, Vegan Friendly and vegetarian-friendly

. 2 Comments

Vegetable tangine in Marrakech
Boring tagine in MoroccoMorocco is a favorite destination for many Parisians. It’s warm, exotic, and French is a secondary language for most people. Moroccan food is also highly appreciated for its spices, tagines, and couscous. Ask a Parisian about Morocco and a smile appears as they remember one of the many little joys of visiting the country.

It’s possible to get vegetarian food in Marrakech. Most restaurants will sell a vegetable tagine. However, I found them to be quite boring. Perhaps I needed to visit better restaurants.

Earth Cafe

You can imagine my delight when walking through the market and spotted some hand made signs for “Earth Cafe” a vegan restaurant. I had to find this place and enjoy a good meal, it did not disappoint.

The first thing you see as you step down into this cafe is the open kitchen, a beaming chef will greet you with pride as you enter her domain. As you pass the kitchen the restaurant opens vertically. What seems like a small space grows to several floors with an open space in the center.

The menu

I was surprised to see the menu lacked tagines and couscous. How very non-Moroccan! How very refreshing after dealing with some rather banal versions found in other places.

Instead you’ll find a creative assortment of dishes that span the North African and Mediterranean flavor spectrum. My meal had a variety of vegetables wrapped in filo dough, baked and placed on the plate with mango sauce. It was delicious and very filling.

Earth Cafe also features some yummy smoothies that will hit the spot on a warm African afternoon. The friendly hosts speak French and English. The waiter even walked with me through the souks to find a hammam.

You’ll owe it to yourself to visit Earth Cafe when visiting Marrakech. You’ll get great food, great service, and a jovial, peaceful environment. The flavors are so great that your meat eating friends will also enjoy the meal.

Cafe Earth: Arset Sakia, Marrakech, Morocco; earthcafemarrakech@yahoo.com; Hours: 11am-late; Vegetarian Restaurant; Accessibility: The restaurant is not accessible to wheelchairs.

Overall: 5/5
Location: 5/5
Taste: 5/5
Service: 4/5
Vegetarian Friendly: 5/5
Vegan Friendly: 5/5
M.E.F. Friendly: 3/5

Restaurant update: La Victoire Suprême du Cœur has changed

Published

Ted

on January 13, 2010

in 4th Arrindissement, closed restaurant and French cuisine

. 0 Comments

I just noticed that La Victoire Suprême du Cœur has changed owners. This news came courtesy of the blog Vegan Paris. The restaurant has changed names and now features non-vegetarian items. Fortunately, they still have the same kitchen staff, so there should still be some good options for vegetarian diners.

Report From Vegan Paris

But sadly, it seems that the restaurant couldn’t go on without us and just a couple of months after we left they have transformed into the Foie Gras-friendly “Le Passage Obligé”
There is one bright side: the new restaurant is run by the same “équipe,” who were always fairly well informed about what ‘vegan’ means, and the menu is clearly labelled with several vegetarian and vegan options. Also, they have vegan desserts.
Paris loses a Vegan restaurant: La Victoire Suprême du Cœur becomes Le Passage Obligé

La Victoire was a high-end vegetarian restaurant in the Marais district. I’d been there a few times and enjoyed the variety of dishes.

Vegetarian in Pittsburgh (iheartpgh.com)
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The new VegEZ app for iPhone Saves Dinner (prweb.com)
Chez Grand-Mère – Le Chablis in Paris (parisvegetarian.com)

Pizzeria Hinno in Montparnasse

Published

Ted

on March 12, 2009

in 15th Arrindissement, Italian and restaurant

. 4 Comments

Last night I had a really great pizza and I couldn’t wait to tell everyone. I was exploring the outskirts of the Montparnasse neighborhood where the cafes are less tourist and more local.

I was about to eat at Restaurant aux Artistes as they mentioned several vegetarian options on their menu. However, it was getting late and I wasn’t ready for dinner in a restaurant filled with laughing, chatting, debating clients. Not that it is a bad thing, just not for last night. I wanted something more relaxing.

About a block further I came across a small pizzeria with a quaint facade and interesting options on the menu. Pizzeria Hinno is a small place with about 15 tables and several vegetarian pizza and pasta options.

I ordered the namesake pizza Hinno. It includes mushrooms, cream, an egg, and bacon. Naturally I requested it without the bacon. They have other options that would be good without the meat component, such as the 4 seasons pizza.

Pizza Hinno’s great food and service

The pizza was great. The cream and egg gave it a smooth taste. It was a very thin crust pizza and the flavors and textures blended perfectly. While I thought I was pacing myself; the plate was empty before I knew it.

No matter how good the pizza, it is only secondary to the service. The owner is the friendliest I have ever met. He has a smile that could melt Greenland and makes you feel like you are the only person in the city when he takes your order, delivers the food, or even the bill.

I left the restaurant satiated from the pizza and feeling much happier. I’ll definitely return to Hinno. It’s a destination restaurant, not the convenient place you stop off on the way home or to the hotel. I would gladly go out of my way for Hinno.

Location

Pizzaria Hinno is at 56, rue Falguière near metro: Pasteur (#3 and #12). As you exit the metro, walk towards the Montparnasse tower and it’s about a block away on the right side.

Vegan options and Accessibility

I don’t remember seeing anything on the menu that was vegan specific. I’m sure there was a green salad. However, they are very accommodating and would certainly remove the cheese from an existing pizza option.

Pizzaria Hinno has a small step at the entrance and I don’t know if the bathrooms are wheelchair accessible. The interior is small but not cramped.

Pizzeria Hinno: 56, rue Falguière (15°); 01 43 27 01 14; Metro: Pasteur; Pizza restaurant; Wheelchair friendly: Entrance has a step

Overall: 5/5
Location: 4/5
Taste: 5/5
Service: 5/5
Vegetarian Friendly: 4/5
Vegan Friendly: 3/5
M.E.F. Friendly: 5/5

Restaurant Tibetain Dolma in Rennes

Published

Ted

on January 9, 2009

in Asian, Outside Paris, popular, restaurant, Vegan Friendly and vegetarian-friendly

. 1 Comment

Crêpes filled with cheese, crêpes filled with ham, crêpes filled with potatoes drenched in a cream sauce, crêpes, crêpes, crêpes. This is what I expected to see in Rennes. And while there were certainly crêperies on every street; the city also features a wide variety of ethnic restaurants. You’ll find Indian, American, and luckily a Tibetan restaurant in the city center.

Restaurant Tibetain Dolma provided one of the best dining experiences I’ve had in a long time. It’s a small, intimate restaurant filled with charm… and that includes the people. The menu is a cross between Asian and Indian food; the flavors of India with the preparation of China.

I found the restaurant after walking around the city for hours and needed a place to plop down and eat something warm. I hardly got a chance to plop as the service was so warm and the food so interesting.

I started with a large pot of Chai tea. This is the real stuff, not the frappe-sweet version from Starbucks. It’s spicy, hot, and not too sweet. It was the second best chai I’ve ever had. The first was in the lunchroom of Yahoo! in Bangalore. The third was in a tea shop behind Pikes Place in Seattle.

The entree sounded like a curry. The menu described it as potatoes and peas in a curry flavor. What arrived were two racquetball sized, fried dumplings filled with potatoes and peas and seasoned with curry and other spices.

On the side was a home made chutney. Watch the chutney, there are some hard spices that could break a tooth. They look like raisins but are more like solid pepper seeds. Just don’t chomp down on them.

This was followed by two steamer baskets of spinach and cheese dumplings with another custom pepper sauce. The dumplings were great and quite filling. The waitress probably guessed I was American and thought I’d enjoy some chili sauce. After asking, she brought over some thicker pepper sauce. While I like the heat, the first one was more complex and tasted better with the dumplings.

The final course was home made yogurt with honey. This was the perfect finish to a fairly light lunch in a city filled with heavy crêpes. I planned on returning the next day but got sidetracked by a trip to Mont St. Michel. Which was definately a good idea.

Don’t miss this restaurant when you travel to Rennes. You’ll find warm service, great food, and a memorable meal.

Restaurant Tibetain Dolma: 36 rue St. Melaine, Rennes 35000; Metro: St. Anne; 02 99 36 84 63

Overall: 5/5
Vegetarian Options: 4.5/5
Vegan Options: 4/5
Value: 5/5
Location: 4/5

V3GGIE.com – a vegetarian search engine

Published

Ted

on September 1, 2008

in resources

. 2 Comments

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.