The Purple Onion

The Purple Onion

44 Inn St

Newburyport MA

Cuisine: Cafe

Vegetarian Options: Vegetarian Friendly

Price: $7-$11

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Looking for a nice summer day trip not too far from Boston? Check out the Purple Onion, a small hole in the wall café, located in scenic town of Newburyport MA. This inexpensive café offers many vegetarian dishes that are different than your standard sandwich and salad affair. Outdoor seating is available, making it a great place to sit back and relax in the summertime. I ordered the black bean and lime rice bowl ($6.95) a dish made with black beans, white rice, sautéed onions, tomatoes, lime juice, and topped with sour cream, guacamole and a touch of hot sauce. This dish was unique but it had too many tomatoes and onions and it was a bit spicy for my liking. Although I did not love my dish I would go back to try the other vegetarian dishes and to enjoy the beautiful views in Newburyport MA.

http://www.thepurpleonion.com/

Cucumber Raita

Growing up in an Indian family, Raita has always been a favorite of mine especially in the summertime. Raita is great as a snack or a side dish that complements the spicy flavors of curry dishes. I have been cooking Indian food since I was 14 ( thanks to my mom). Here is my recipe for Cucumber raita. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1 Cucumber, peeled, grated or diced into small pieces
1 tsp Coriander power
1 tsp Chili powder ( as desired)
1/2 tsp of grated Ginger (Optional)
1 tsp Cumin powder
2 cups Nonfat Plain Yogurt
1 tsp Sugar
Salt & Pepper to taste
1tbsp fresh coriander/cilantro leaves (Garnish)

Serves : 4-6

Beat or blend two cups of yogurt and add water for desired smooth consistency. Mix all the ingredients together and add salt, pepper and sugar. Garnish with coriander leaves. Serve chilled.

Hints: If you can find roasted cumin powder this makes this dish even better. My mom makes this at home by roasting cumin seeds in the toaster oven or a pan and then blends the seeds to create a powder. Gives this dish a bit of a smoky taste. You can also add tomatoes and onions to this dish as well as a spoon of mint green chutney if you have some.

Sorellina

Sorellina
1 Huntington Ave
Boston Ma 02116
617-412-4600
Cuisine: Italian
Vegetarian Options: Vegetarian Selective
Price: $25-$50

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Sorellina, located on Huntington Ave in Boston, serves Italian-Mediterranean food in a trendy setting. I went to Sorellina for a work meeting and had a delightful experience. The décor of Sorellina is old Italy meets contemporary America - the restaurant screams sophistication. The mural at the back of the restaurant adds a sense of mystery to the dinning experience.

As an upscale restaurant, I was surprised to see a few good vegetarian options on the menu. The waitress worked with me to create a meal that was overall exquisite. For an appetizer I opted for the Mushroom brodo soup for $14, a mushroom broth based soup with spring vegetables that can be made vegetarian upon request without the prosciutto. The soup was okay as it had a tad too much oil, making it too greasy for my liking. It reminded me of a soup that you could buy packaged in a supermarket. The Insalata, for $15, was a mixed green salad with goat cheese and walnuts was pretty standard.

Now the pasta at Sorellina is where this restaurant separates itself from the rest. Instead of getting one pasta dish, I ordered two different half orders of pasta, each for $17. The fettuccine mixed with mushrooms, black truffle butter and parmesan cheese was simple yet fresh and tasty. The Ravioli stuffed with a smooth blend of mint and sweet pea, bathed in a light tangy cream sauce with almonds was outstanding. This dish is normally made with crab meat but it can be made vegetarian upon request. I was amazed with this dish; the stuffling of the ravioli reminded me of a mild sweet version of the Indian mint green chutney.

I had a great time at Sorellina and although the restaurant is expensive I would be back for a special occasion or nice night out on the town.

http://www.sorellinaboston.com/

Tapeo

Tapeo

http://www.tapeo.com/

266 Newbury St. Boston MA

Cuisine: Spanish Tapas

Vegetarian Options: Vegetarian Friendly

Price: $7-$10 per tapa

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Tapeo’s, a two story restaurant located on trendy Newbury Street, offers tapas in a rustic Spanish tavern like setting. The downstairs, is cozy and intimate with pots and pans on its brick walls. The upstairs of Tapeo’s is vibrant and lively and has a nice view overlooking Newbury Street. During the summertime, the outdoor seating at Tapeo’s is the place to be. There are only a handful of vegetarian friendly restaurants on Newbury St and Tapeo’s offers several tasty vegetarian tapas.

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As a vegetarian, I love tapas and depending what you order, it can be a healthy low carb meal (a difficult find for a vegetarian). For mother’s day, I took my parents to Tapeo’s for dinner. Both my parents are vegetarian and between the three of us, we had six vegetarian tapas and one dessert. Generally I would recommend 2-3 tapas a person but we were looking for a light dinner. The vegetarian tapas are very similar to its sister restaurant Dali, but what is great about Tapeo’s is they do accept reservations and you generally do not have to wait long for a table. The garlic soup, my favorite, was off season and was thus not available. We instead opted for the asparagus soup, a thick creamy soup, which was too bland and needed a bit of spice. The sautéed artichoke hearts and portobello mushrooms were simple but filled with flavor. I really enjoyed there Queso Con Miel, a fried goat cheese mixed in a sweet onion and honey sauce. We were glad we saved room for dessert, the tarta de chocolates, was a rich chocolate delight.

Service:
Service was great for the most part. Our waitress did forget to bring us our bread at the start of the meal but she was very friendly and helpful with the menu. However she did seem a bit rushed with the bill.

We had a fun time at Tapeo’s and I will continue to return for great food and a chance to dine on Newbury street.

Pros: Great food, Reservations accepted, Outdoor seating available during warm months, Several Vegetarian Tapas

Cons: Street Parking, Tapas can be expensive

Teatro

Teatro, 177 Tremont St, Boston MA
http://www.teatroboston.com/
Cuisine: Italian
Vegetarian Options: Vegetarian Selective
Price: $15-30

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Last night I went to Teatro, an upscale Italian restaurant overlooking Boston Commons. Renovated from a synagogue, Teatro’s décor is elegant yet trendy with an arch like ceiling that gives you the feel that you are dining in an ancient Roman theater. Located in theater district and next to a movie theater, Teatro makes for the perfect date spot.

Teatro offers unique yet tasty cocktails, and I ordered the White Grape Cosmo, which as the name suggests, is made from white grape juice and the green grapes in the drink was a nice touch.

For appetizers we had the arugula salad with lemon, and olive oil and the Eggplant Francesca with tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. The arugula salad was nice and light, pretty standard, but I always like to have some greens with my pasta. The eggplant Francesca, a side dish, (also served as main entrée) was excellent! It is an eggplant dish ( similar to eggplant parmesan) that is lightly breaded and baked with cheese in a fresh tomato sauce. I am not usually a fan of breaded eggplant because it always tastes fried and heavy but in this dish the eggplant was soft and juicy.

Teatro's menu has a few vegetarian dishes and I had the Spinach and Mascarpone Ravioli with crème Fraiche & Parsley. The ravioli tasted fresh and was filled with spinach and a touch of mascarpone cheese. The sauce was smooth and silky and was not heavy like most cream sauces. My friend who is non vegetarian ordered the Chicken Marsala and said it was one of the best Chicken Marsala dishes he has had in a long time. For dessert we had the Pineapple Gratinata with Pineapple Sorbet and Passion Fruit Syrup. This dessert was okay, not too heavy making it a nice healthy option.

The service at Teatro was a bit slow. Our waiter was friendly, but was not very attentive and was slow in bringing and clearing our dishes.

Overall I enjoyed my time at Teatro, a great date spot, that offers a few good vegetarian entrees in an upscale elegant setting.