A happy meal without meat
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Mary Furr
Dear Readers:
Happy Veggie will be my last restaurant review for the
Independent. It has been a pleasure writing for the last 13 years
about the many friendly people and restaurants I have covered. I will
be writing reviews in the area closer to my home in Seal Beach. Bon
Appetit!
When you enter the door of Happy Veggie, the strictly vegetarian
restaurant in the Stater Bros. center at Goldenwest Street and Warner
Avenue, leave your carnivorous desires behind -- you’ll never know
the difference as you bite into the flaky veggie rolls appetizer
($4.95). Co-owner Rose Tallman will show you how to prepare them from
a plate of eight crispy rolls (similar to egg rolls) served with a
pile of fluffy romaine and sprigs of mint.
Select a romaine leaf from the plate and wrap it with a sprig of
mint around the fat, crispy vegetable-filled roll. The contrast of
crispness and freshness make this the best roll ever. Served with a
clear, slightly spicy dripping sauce, it is the perfect appetizer to
begin an enticing lunch.
Chef Phoung Tran, Rose’s brother, offers a menu of 1,322
preparations from medium to large soup selections to dinner entrees
and house specialties. It was from the 16 specials (lunch $4.95,
11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., dinner $6.95) that I had orange soy “chicken”
-- nuggets of soy soaking in a sweet, tangy sauce dotted with tiny
bits of orange peel. The Chinese have been cultivating soy beans for
thousands of years, which they consider one of the five sacred grains
along with rice, wheat, barley and millet. Adding soy to any dish
increases its nutritive value. Flavors in the orange chicken are pure
and uncomplicated. With it, I had a scoop of dark-grained seasoned
rice.
My friend’s selection was curry masala (lunch $4.95, dinner $6.95)
can be spicy, but you can qualify less if you like. It’s a great
selection of the freshest, most colorful string beans, cabbage,
onion, mushrooms, succulent eggplant and tofu, stir-fried in a curry
sauce. Tofu, also known as soybean curd, is smooth and creamy with a
chameleon-like capability to take on the flavor with which it is
cooked. It is high in protein and cholesterol-free, making the curry
masala a very healthful and filling dish.
Desserts are prepared by Rose and will vary from flan ($1.95) to
key lime pie ($3) to a German chocolate cake ($3) -- two layers of
moist devil’s food with the traditional thick coconut and nut icing.
Happy Veggie is a small storefront with booths -- four on each
side and several tables in the center with fresh carnations on each.
It fills rapidly and service can often be overwhelmed. Rose brings a
pot of tea -- oolong or jasmine -- and greets many customers by name.
It’s that kind of friendly place.
* MARY FURR is the Independent restaurant critic. If you have
comments or suggestions, call (562) 493-5062 or e-mail
hbindy@latimes.com
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