Ask Veggie Chic Jul: vegetarian soul food?
Rashunda asks, “Is there really such a thing as ‘Vegetarian Soul Food’?”
I’m definitely not a Soul Food expert, so I did a little googling, and found that at least some people out there think that Vegetarian Soul Food is not an oxymoron. I spent quite a while perusing VegetarianSoulFood.com and drooling over recipes such as Green Gumbo, BBQ Tofu Sandwiches, and Crispy Coconut Tofu Fingers. I can’t wait to try them out!
Have a question for Jul? It’s your last chance to ask her before she leaves Veggie Chic at the end of May!
Too funny… I had the awesome opportunity to review a restaurant for a local mag with whom I’ve worked for about four years.
The restaurant is total upscale Southern cuisine; being somewhat of a health nut (on the mild side), I wondered if I’d even enjoy the stuff. Turns out the lightly battered and fried okra was awesome! I highly recommend it as a side dish if you’re looking for veggie soul food!
Mmmm… fried okra is pretty awesome. I miss okra in general – it’s hard to come by over here!
Yes, there can be vegan or vegetarian soul food. The soul in soul food comes from the souls of people who prepare it, not from the souls of the animals who are in it.
There’s a restaurant in my hometown of Chicago called “Soul Vegetarian” that serves this very genre. I keep meaning to try it out but it’s nowhere near home. Here’s a review of it with some pictures of “BBQ Tofu”, “Jerked Tofu”, collard greens, cornbread…. yum.
http://www.pjchmiel.com/vegan/soul_vegetarian.html
Washington DC also has a vegetarian (vegan?) soul food restaurant: Soul Veg (sort of between Adams Morgan and Howard).
I recall having vegan mac and cheese there, along with other veg soul food I no longer recall.
It looks like the DC and Chicago restaurants might be owned by the same group.
You guys are making me jealous! I’m pretty sure that there aren’t any vegetarian soul food restaurants in Munich…
Jul! I am so going to miss you!
Here’s a question for you: if you could choose one vegetarian meal that is so delicious that it could convert the most die hard carnivore, what would that meal look like?
(I’m hoping it takes you a nice long time to answer so we have you with us for just a bit longer.)
Gabrielle, that’s a tough one! There are so many amazing vegetarian meals to be had, I don’t know if I could choose just one.
I’ll think about it…