Gourmet vegan heaven: a visit to Ottawa’s Zen Kitchen

Zen Kitchen is located t 634 Somerset Street West in Ottawa (Photo courtesy of zenkitchen.ca)

Hillary Lutes is an inherently cheap vegetarian journalist-in-training at Carleton. She consumes copious amounts of coffee and chocolate to fuel her writing endeavors and public-transit trips across the city.

Zen Kitchen on Somerset Street West is nothing short of amazing. Hands down, it has been the best gastronomical experience I have had in this city.

We had a vibrant array of delicious, intricate and healthy dishes that were satisfying and a serious testament to vegan cooking.

A perfect spot on the patio with amuse bouche baguette and garlic truffle oil dip.

Of the many things I love in life, food and free stuff has to be near the top. Therefore, I was ecstatic when we were gifted with beautifully crafted amuse bouches, including a starter of fresh, multigrain baguette with a dipping sauce of creamy garlicky fabulousness that had truffle oil in it. I know it was introduced with a mouthwatering rendition of the ingredients, but sometimes it’s hard to listen when I’m hungry and food appears.

Beautifully presented, an endive leaf with chickpea and potato salad, sea vegetable caviar, and garnished with a fresh sprout

When the server brought out chickpea and potato salad on an endive leaf with sea vegetable caviar, I believe he said the complimentary vegan bites were because Chef Caroline was not in house. By the time a sampling of dehydrated kale chips, picked daikon, and kimchi, a vinegary combination of cabbage and other vegetables appeared, I was too busy stuffing my face to ask questions.

Fig and balsamic pizza with caramelized onions, with complimentary kale chips, daikon and kimchi in the back

For my official starter, I ordered a personal pizza. But far from being your ordinary pizza, this gluten-free flatbread (called a crostada rustic pasty) was spread with slightly gooey fig jam and balsamic reduction with a swirl of cashew-based ‘sour cream’.

There was a generous pile of caramelized onions, which tasted like candy, and an occasional smoky bite from tempeh. To top it off, there was a petit mountain of baby greens in the centre.

My main course was the ‘Indian-inspired coconut curry’ on a bed of basmati rice. My newly discovered favourite lentil, the French puy du style, was a dominant ingredient, blended with sweet potato, thin slices of carrot and cauliflower.

A mountain of curry with onion and tempeh ravioli in the back

The dish was garnished with picked red onions, which I decided against sampling, since I’d had enough vinegar with the daikon and kimchi. There was also a piece of chickpea pakora, which was the one thing I wasn’t keen on – I found it a bit too floury. Overall, the dish was a perfect balance: it wasn’t heavy on curry or coconut, but was a fresh blend of flavour.

I also had a bite of my date’s ravioli, a house-made pasta filled with a smoky tempeh and served with sautéed vegetables and tomato sauce.

One of the things I loved about Zen Kitchen was the absence of fake meat or processed soy products. I was awed by the chef’s ability to create mouth-watering dishes while staying true to the flavours most vegetarians and vegans want, which is generally not meat.

Photo courtesy of zenkitchen.ca

Since I had eaten so much for dinner, dessert was out of the question. That didn’t stop me from salivating over the menu of spicy chocolate cake with berry coulis, or a nut-crust lemon pie with whipped ‘cream’ made from coconut.

I did get a taste of chocolate to round out my palate when our bill came with mini chocolate-orange truffles. They were cold and soft and the most decadent blend of orange and cocoa.

My evening at Zen Kitchen was exactly what I needed after a hectic weekend at Westfest. If you were there, you probably saw me walking blindly down Richmond Street as one of the abnormally large-headed mascots from a CBC children’s show. You also know what kind of food I ate all weekend – pizza from Newport’s, veggie burger from the Works, gelato from Truffle Treasures – which is calling for a serious eating-habit overhaul this week.

I rolled out (almost literally: my food baby was the size of a basketball) of the restaurant ready to nap and head back at the next possible excuse.

Wow, thanks Hillary! Thanks for providing such a wonderful snapshot of Zen Kitchen! We look forward to your next adventures…

Do you have a favourite space in Ottawa that you’d like to feature? Send us a note!

Tea and brie at The Tea Party

The Tea Party Cafe

Hillary Lutes is an inherently cheap vegetarian journalist-in-training at Carleton. She consumes copious amounts of coffee and chocolate to fuel her writing endeavours and public-transit trips across the city.

Ethiopian food was supposed to be next on the vegetarian bucket list, but Sunday afternoon tea with a visiting friend and roommate was in order.

I was ravenous, so the Tea Party’s large banner across the front of its converted house-to-café digs advertising their vegetarian lunch menu was a welcome sight.

My sandwich choice was easy: I saw the words ‘brie’ and ‘guacamole’, and the contest was up. This toasted guacamole tomato sandwich was stuffed with tomatoes, peppers (one half was green, the other half was red), creamy avocado spread and melted brie.

Melted brie and pesto soup

Quite simply, this creation was delicious and filling. I might be biased, since I consider cheese melted with avocado to be the best culinary combination ever, but it was perfectly grilled with a generous amount of ingredients.

This sandwich inspired me to make the (possibly unwise) purchase of a wheel of brie at the grocery store later that day. Brie is always a dangerous purchase, because obviously one is required to gobble the full wheel in as short a time frame as possible. I proceeded to eat replicas of this sandwich at home for two days, until the brie was devoured.

Visiting friend Nikki tried a tandoori tofu sandwich. “They know what they’re doing with spices,” she said, but thought the tofu could have been cooked a little longer.

All sandwiches come with a choice of soup or salad. There were two soups of the day: a vegan spicy sweet potato, and a pesto soup with tomatoes and macaroni. We ordered both, and were sadly very disappointed with the dishes.

$7 soup and sandwich combination

Both soups tasted water-based, instead of broth. We all agreed the spicy sweet potato would have been much better if it was a puree of the rooty vegetable, as the thin consistency was unsatisfying, even with the spicy kick.

I was expecting the pesto soup to be a bowl of mozzarella-basil goodness, but sadly it was also watery. I recommend going for the salad option to accompany your meal – roommate Hilary had it and said it was very fresh. 

While we were there, the café was bustling. There was a baby shower in full swing, with balloons and ribbons, and an amazingly elegant pregnant guest of honour. I suspect the spot is usually quiet and cosy – the dining area is small but stacked with an assortment of small tables and couches lending an image of peaceful tea-drinking and relaxed conversation.

As the name suggests, the Tea Party is all about the tea, with an entire wall of loose-leaf blends in large glass capsules. There is also a considerably smaller wall of coffee options located behind the display case of baked goods.

Wall of loose-leaf teas

I didn’t even know where to start, so Nikki and I started grabbing the jars to get a whiff of the leaves. I was searching for something that smelled like fruity candy, which lead me to a lemon mango blend that poured a vibrant, fragrant pink.

Steeped lemon mango goodness

Nikki and Hilary both had roobios blends: Georgia peach for Nikki and Bourbon Street vanilla for Hilary.

Tea comes by the pot for $3 and was a delicious accompaniment to our vegetarian sandwiches.

Next time you’re in the mood for a classy cup of tea, a fresh baked good, or a delicious sandwich, York Street has a cute lunch destination waiting for you!

Thanks Hillary! We can’t wait to see what’s up next! Do you have a vegetarian suggestion for Hillary? Leave a note below!

Vegetarian Ottawa: Hillary Lutes visits Green Earth

Ottawa's Green Earth

Hillary Lutes is an inherently cheap vegetarian journalist-in-training at Carleton. She consumes copious amounts of coffee and chocolate to fuel her writing endeavors and public-transit trips across the city.

On paper, I am the perfect hippie.

Local Tourist Hillary Lutes

A vegetarian for nearly five years, I practice hot yoga religiously, ride my bike to campus, and even work at a health food store. In reality though, I am a full-time, super-cheap student with a disdain for eating things that once had a pulse. But don’t get me wrong – I’m no holier-than-thou, granola-munching Birkenstock-wearer. Heck, I don’t even particularly like carrots.

My vegetarianism started with a concern for the environment. I read statistics comparing the amount of land and resources needed for an animal-based diet versus a plant-based diet. In my mind, rainforests were bulldozed while Ronald McDonald looked on and chuckled.

I consider myself a strict vegetarian: I don’t eat red meat, poultry, or fish. Also on the no-no list is gelatin, created by boiling hoofs and bones, used in many chewy candies and yogurts. I do eat eggs and dairy, which makes me an octo-lovo vegetarian.

Now, since I am admittedly the cheapest of the cheap (hey, student life), I’m by no means an expert on vegetarian cuisine in the capital. Most days, I carry enough food in my purse to sustain me for a week. But since the weather is nice and my schedule is a (little) bit more open, I’m making it my mission to meet more veggies and acquaint myself with mouth-watering meatless dishes and a variety of patios across the city (brews and sangria are definitely vegetarian).

Inside Green Earth (photo credit: greenearthveggie.com)

My first foray into Ottawa’s vegetarian scene was at Green Earth on Preston Street for the lunch buffet – for $10, the price was right to binge on tasty veggie food. Although the restaurant describes itself as “vegetarian cuisine”, the menu is actually fully vegan.

Fresh fruit and salad from Ottawa's Green Earth

With a choice of white or brown rice, salad, soup and a number of main dishes, there was a lot of variety. The rice was sticky and perfect to combine with the mix of dishes I piled high on my plate.

My favourite was deep-fried cauliflower, something I’d never had before. It looked like Chinese food chicken balls, with a crispy shell and a surprisingly creamy center. I didn’t particularly enjoy the chow mein, which was mostly noodles (a bit dry) and sparse vegetables. There were also large hunks of very bland tofu thrown in, which took away from the dish.

A heaping pile of vegetarian goodness from Ottawa's Green Earth

The one dish I found downright weird was the mushrooms: they were cooked in a sauce that resembled and tasted like loose-leaf tea. It had a distinctly floral flavour with a spicy aftertaste. I enjoyed the soup, which had a rich combination of tofu and vegetables in an oily, peppery broth. I don’t know what kind it was, and neither did the server. The salad was hearty, with a generous combination of mixed greens and sprouts with a sesame dressing.

I found overall that the food could have been warmer: you choose your meal from the open buffet trays, which lose heat fairly quickly.

The buffet at Ottawa's Green Earth

Green Earth’s regular menu is heavy with soy protein and tofu instead of meat. As a general rule, I’m not big on fake meat, so I would ask for a vegetable substitute.

I had actually stopped in at Green Earth to pick up a snack on my way to class the night before and tried chocolate vegan cheesecake for the first time. I was astounded. It was delicious. I didn’t know soybean curd could taste so creamy, chocolately and cheesecake-like. As frugal as I am, I shelled out $4.50 for a slice of tofu cake – but it was worth it.

Creamy, delicious "cheese cake" from Ottawa's Green Earth

Even if you’re an animal-eater, I recommend a meatless meal every once in a while. And if you have it at one of Ottawa’s veggie-friendly restaurants, bonus!

Up next: I will be giving Ethiopian cuisine a taste test at Horn of Africa. The Ethiopian diet is traditionally very vegetarian friendly, plus you get to eat with your hands!

Thanks for joining our roster of Local Tourists Hillary! We’re sure our vegetarian audience is as happy to have you as we are!