Going green

I keep on referring to things like "if you're under 30" when talking about these restaurants, and it's because it's relevant.

When Guy and I were first starting out as a couple, we were vegetarians. The reasons why we switched are many, and for another day, but "back then," it was difficult to be a vegetarian. Apart from the fact that the farmers market phenomenon was just starting, eating out was not easy. Yes, you could scramble together a meal by asking for, e.g., a salad and spaghetti with plain tomato sauce, you found very little out there designed to cater to vegetarians.

There were two restaurants, however, that started the trend. One was Moosewood, in Ithaca New York. Moosewood, which has changed its mission somewhat, served very hearty, very good honest food. Molly Katzen, the first chef there, was and is not a vegetarian; however, a cook who understands what he or she is doing can work in any medium. And for many of us, Moosewood and its cookbooks remain a key part of what we cook, and our history. We may not refer to the books a lot anymore, but we remember them, we remember Moosewood, and we love it.

On the other coast, there was Greens. Greens took another approach. Greens made vegetarian food elegant. Set in a huge, airy, historic building right on the San Francisco bay, the cooking was "haute" by the standard of the day (still is, in my view). Greens made vegetarian dining elegant, although you didn't have to dress up for it. Reservations were not easy to come by, and for us, it was a "special event" restaurant when we came here.

The world caught up to vegetarian cooking, and it's easy to let Greens get eclipsed by other trends and restaurants. And as the current chef, Annie Sommerville told us last night, Greens, like any restaurant "has had its ups and downs." Guy and I would agree. We have had fabulous meals here, we have had mediocre meals here. We have had superb service, we have had downright BAD service. We've had good attitude, we've had bad attitude.

Things are on the up now.

One thing to know: if you're a vegan, you can eat at Greens, but you have to work. Dairy very much rules, and it's hard to turn down some of the dishes. I want to sit there and eat at Greens for three solid days. I certainly did last night.

The front of the house can be a bit snooty. They've never been able to work this out completely, but it is a fact. Once you sit down, however, things change. The restaurant serves no hard liquor, but the wine list is amazing, as is the menu of non alcoholic drink. Organic beverages are featured, including wines, many of which are very good.

Onto the food. There are always incredible salads. A soup. A pizza. Two pastas. A dish with an Indian bent. And "which one, which one, which one." After much agonizing, we settled. Our friend Phil was with us.

Grilled asparagus panzanella, a salad of wonderful bread croutons, cheese, greens, thick asparagus, and lovely manchego cheese. Wilted spinach salad - BARELY wilted, with other greens, feta, olives onions. MMM. Lettus and wild arugula. Cherries, almonds, blue cheese. One winner after the other.

A respite of andante cheese (not available outside of the area, made by a Korean violinist turned cheese maker), Mt. Tam, a cheese that beat the French in the "cheese olympics " (yes, they exist), with salad, and bread.

Onto main courses. Ravioli filled with fresh pea filling, fava beans, onion butter and a broth of great complexity. A vegan brochette with fruited rice. And then a pizza, my first pizza of the trip, of roasted potatoes, green garlic, fontina cheese, sundried tomatoes. So good, so rich, I couldn't finish, but I did. (the pizza dough is the dough recipe I use when making pizzas. It's great).

Too full for dessert, except for a plate of sorbets- blueberry, raspberry and huckleberry. They insisted that they were new and market fresh, I'm not sure about that. But they were wonderful.

You should get the books and cook from them. It's fun to look at them. The first one was impossible to cook from in NY, because the ingredients weren't available. Now they are. And the cooks have "gotten it," and now the recipes are all workable. I make many of them.

Even if you don't like vegetarian food, you should bring a camera and take pictures. And just smile a lot. This is a great place to spend some time.