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Vegetarian Diet
Back in the vegetarian Dark Ages (i.e., the seventies), the standard
restaurant menu rarely had a meatless option. The most anyone could hope for
would be a rather dull plate of steamed vegetables. For anything else, you had
to go to a vegetarian restaurant.
Then came the eighties, when chefs all across the country ganged up to create a
trend toward vegetarian cooking. The impetus came from both the health craze and
the increasing interest in using only the best and freshest produce of the
season, rather than the same vegetables year-round.
Now the trend has grown up to be a certified fact of life. Inventive and
enticing vegetarian specials have become the norm, not the exception, at
restaurants both large and small, which is good news for occasional and
dedicated vegetarians alike.
Meanwhile, the good news about vegetables just keeps on coming. It seems as if
every day there is more and more scientific research pointing toward vegetable
consumption as a way to fortify our immune systems and fight off illnesses like
cancer and heart disease.
Certainly it is a respect for the health benefits of vegetables that has
encouraged the four talented chefs featured in this column to include a wide
range of meatless dishes on their menus. But taste has a lot to do with it, as
well.
— Adapted from an article by Marie Simmons, Bon Appétit, September 1997
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