If you aren't aware of it, Tucson is a wonderful place to be a vegetarian. We have wonderful Ethnic markets, health food stores and Co-ops in which to select the finest organic, wholesome foods that have not yet been tainted by chemical agri-business. There's really no need to shop the commercial supermarkets when we can choose, instead, to support such local businesses as the Food Conspiracy Co-op, Tucson Cooperative Warehouse's Cash and Carry, Aqua Vita, the 4 New Life Health Center locations, 17th Street Farmer's Market, and the many wonderful Asian, Indian, and Middle Eastern Markets. (Though some grocery chains now offer token organic produce and "health food" items, I'd rather support those establishments that care about the physical and economic health of the people in the community.)
Although there are only a couple of purely vegetarian restaurants now open in Tucson (the Casbah Teahouse and Govinda's), many wonderful local restaurants offer wonderful surprises and treats for diners who eschew (pun intended) meat and animal products. For the last several months, my partner Donna and I have enjoyed dining in many of the local restaurants and then coming back and reporting to our readers, through this fine publication, what we have especially enjoyed and what we think our readers will like. (A tough job, to be sure, but someone has to do it.) I don't like to call it a review as I seldom point out the dishes we didn't like. Rather, I choose to "accentuate the positive" and praise those establishments that are innovative, conscientious and interesting in their approach to meatless cuisine. If some of the more traditional restaurants and eateries were to loosen their orthodoxies a little, the vegetarian diner might enjoy even more variety and quality than we already do. (And, a message to all you restauranteurs, as more and more people are either switching to a vegetarian diet or, at least, cutting back or limiting their intake of dead animals- let's be honest and frank here- the market for really tempting and satisfying meatless dishes will continue to grow. Are you ready for it?)
Let's all be thankful, then, for the wondrous choices we do have in Tucson, like the fantastic lunch buffets offered by Ghandi's, Sher-I-Punjab, India Ovens, Famous Pita, and Karuna's Thai Plate. Let's show our gratitude as well for Sundanse (now under new ownership), the fore-mentioned Casbah and Govinda's, The Garland, El Saguarito, La Indita, Seri Malaka, Guilin, Szechuan Omei, and Char's Thai. Don't forget the salad bar at Sweet Tomatoes (as well as their black bean soup), or the wonderful Ethiopian fare at Zemam's. And how about Delectable's, Oven's, Magpie's, and Cafˇ Terra Cotta. There are many, many more wonderful places to find transcendental cuisine in Tucson, and Donna and I pledge to keep searching, tasting and sharing with our readers what excited our taste buds.
But here's where you can help us. Though we still have a long list of places we are looking forward to trying, we'd like to hear from you what places you have enjoyed, what dishes you would enjoy again and again. If you're a vegetarian and found something you especially liked and would like to share with other meatless Tucsonans, let us know. We'll follow your suggestions and let you know how they fared (pun intended again) with us and our "taste"crew.
Just send a short e-mail message to: bababob99@hotmail.com. If you don't have e-mail, send us a postcard to: Food Matters, 2530 N. Geronimo, Tucson, Az. 85705. Let us know some of your stories and anecdotes about eating meatless in Tucson, tell us what restaurants you especially enjoy and, if possible, what dishes you most recommend to your vegetarian friends. Tell us what you would like to see in this column, suggestions, comments or, even, complaints or disageements. If you own or operate a local restaurant or market that you would like vegetarians to know about, write to us, also, and tell us a little about your business and why it would be of interest to our readers.
One final word- please, try the restaurants and businesses we report on and, if you like them, support them. Tell them how much you appreciate them. Tell your friends to support them. Otherwise all we will have to choose from will be Fry's, Wild Oats, McDonalds and Denny's. That would be a tragedy, indeed.
Robert Oser is a local chef, teacher and author of "Flavors of the Southwest" and an upcoming vegetarian chili cookbook. He currently works at the Food Conspiracy Co-op.