Since we visited Millennium in San Francisco, I've been looking for other fine dining opportunities for vegetarian foodies. Zips did a little research and found Karyn's on Green, an upscale vegan restaurant.
The place is a bit intimidatingly posh. Very nice neutral tones throughout the restaurant, brown craft paper with the restaurant's logo stamped on it cover all the tables.
To take the edge off, though, on the wall of the hallway leading to the restrooms, they've painted the names of famous vegans and vegetarians (misspelling at least a couple of famous names!). And Chicagoan rapper Common autographed around his name in Sharpie. And possibly Flea.
We got one of those flowering teapots of green tea, and it looked like this after the tea "bloomed."
The menu offered an appetizer of "chorizo sliders with portobello bacon, frisee, (soy) cheddar, chipotle aioli, and tomato pepper jam" , so of course we ordered it. The mini burgers (probably made with tvp) were a bit dry, perhaps overcooked and were served on mini ciabatta rolls (that were also a bit dry and tough). The portobello bacon is this crisp dark brown thing hovering on top. Eaten alone, it tasted like a burned bit of something. Eaten with the slider, it tasted like a burned bit. The chipotle aioli was delicious (served with the steak fries, which I'll get to in a sec), and the tomato pepper jam was also oddly tasty. It was sweet and tomatoe-y. I felt like it was something that would get concocted on Top Chef.
While the sliders were a bit disappointing, the side of steak fries was anything but. Amazing. Delicious. Piping hot. Just salty enough. Also served with the spicy chipotle aioli and bbq sauce (Zips didn't appreciate this at all. And it tasted exactly like something you'd get in the grocery store for a buck). But the FRIES. THE FRIES. Really gourmet fries. Totally worth it.
We shared an entree (since we mistakenly thought the sliders appetizer & side of fries would be the equivalent of the second entree) and went a bit more adventurous here. Zips had decided on the Seared Tofu Gumbo with red quinoa, radicchio saute, fried leeks, and spicy tomato broth.
The whole thing was quite tasty. We agreed that we might not exactly call it "gumbo"-- that such a name suggests more spice than the dish contained. The tofu was seared perfectly, marinated and crisp on the outside. The "fried leeks" tasted a bit pickled and not fried at all. Neither of us could discern the radicchio that was under the bed of red quinoa. I thought it might be pickled cabbage or even beets. It was tangy in a nice way-- a bite of everything together was really delicious. (and another perfect protein-eating experience!)
After the experience I had with dessert at Millennium, I was up to try the dessert menu here. Zips ordered some kind of mocha cheesecake (she found the texture a bit icy, as though it had been frozen)
And I thought I'd do something different and got poached pears with a citrus cream cheese
The pears tasted like they'd been cooked in mulling spices, but were cold and crispy. The citrus cream cheese had a sort of funny aftertaste (that I also tasted in the soy cheddar on the slider), but the cranberry coulis was fantastic. It was an interesting-- not lightning-y-- dining experience, but all in all, I'd definitely eat here again. I'd try different entrees and desserts, but ABSOLUTELY order a side of fries with anything I'd be eating!
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