Green Vegetarian Restaurant

1017 N. Flores, San Antonio, TX - (210) 320-5865

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Posted By Michael Stern on 7/6/2010 3:44:00 AM

For eating meat, San Antonio is hard to beat. Soul-food barbecue and bordertown barbacoa, menudo at the taquerias and macho burgers at Chris Madrid's, Tip Top chicken-fried steak and Barn Door sirloin: it's a carnivore's delight. And so it was that after four days of working hard to deplete the population of Texas cows, we actually found ourselves craving a moo-less meal. As far as we could discover, there is one game in town – Green Vegetarian Restaurant – and it is a doozy. Not only vegetarian, it also is kosher, meaning closed Friday night and Saturday; several items on the menu are strictly vegan; some are gluten-free.

The sun was blazing when we stopped in, so it seemed only right to start with an icy smoothie that blended pineapple, mango, papaya and banana in a mix known as "tropical cooler." Refreshing? More than a bath in ice water. The day's special veggie drink was a "ginger bomb" of apple juice, carrot juice, beet juice and ginger. When he saw our waitress bring it, co-owner Chris Behrend came by the table to remind us that it needed to be shaken or stirred before every pull on the straw because the juices almost instantly want to separate. But forced together momentarily they sure sing delicious harmony.

The menu offers many options, including breakfast/slash/brunches that include sweet potato pancakes, huevos rancheros, migas and vegan tacos. At lunch or supper, you can have gluten-free sushi vegetable rolls, grilled portobellos that are designed to remind you of steak, even chicken-fried steak made of "wheat meat." Of course there are salads: Greek, raw beet, raw vegetables with raw pecan hummus and a taco salad that includes soy chili. The chili, available as a side dish with other meals, does a yeomanly job of impersonating real chili, albeit not real Texas chili, as it contains beans. But the spices are right and it is an extremely hearty dish.

Among pseudo meats, few are weirder than wham, a ham substitute that has a nice smoky flavor and texture something like tender pastrami. It's the star of a tremendously satisfying sandwich named Mike (for chef and co-owner Mike Behrend), which contains jaw-stretching strata of avocados, cucumbers, sprouts, spinach leaves, tomato slices, purple onion, sliced tomato and jalapeno jelly -- all on thick slices of fresh, rugged-grained Ezekiel bread. Side dishes are listed on the menu "from healthiest to happiest" – kale salad to French fries and onion rings.

Green is a popular place located in what for many years was a landmark bakery. You can't miss it driving by. Look for the large vegetable garden out front and the line of people waiting for a seat.

Scorecard

Overall: Legendary - Worth driving from anyplace

Mike Sandwich	Hummus Sandwich
Tropical Cooler	Kale Salad
Ginger Bomb	Biscuit
Chili

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"Open wide! The Mike sandwich is a tour de force of good-for-you ingredients that include slices of vegetable protein known as wham because they resemble ham. You wouldn't mistake them for Virginia's finest, but they do taste good, especially with the sandwich's habanero jelly."
Michael Stern

"At Green, hummus isn't ordinary hummus; it is raw pecan hummus, here teamed with sliced raw carrots, beets, spinach and sprouts."
Michael Stern

"Sunday at Green: expect to wait for a table."
Michael Stern

"Green is a festive, friendly place, making the most out of a building originally built in 1896. Its stated goal is to be ''part of San Antonio’s transition from one of the fattest cities to one of the fittest cities.'' After I took this picture, co-owner Chris Behrend asked if I was an air conditioning repair man. He was having condensation problems and assumed that I photographed the silver-wrapped duct work as a memento of my visit."
Michael Stern

"This vegetable drink is health in a glass; its vivid ginger flavor is sheer refreshment."
Michael Stern

"A far cry from the chili con carne originally served in the San Antonio market by 19th century chili queens, Green's vegetarian version is deftly seasoned and ballasted with beans."
Michael Stern

"Pineapple, mango, papaya, banana and ice make this tropical cooler a hot-weather blessing. Other available smoothies include peanut butter and banana, chocolate and banana, and a very berry blend of blackberries, raspberries, blueberries and strawberries."
Michael Stern

"On a menu that lists side dishes from healthiest to happiest, kale leads the list. Despite its virtue (ok, ok, maybe because of it), it made me very happy."
Michael Stern

"From the Green website: ''We realize vegetarians are discriminating foodies, and we strive to provide a range of options for our vegetarian guests. Many of our vegetarian meals appeal to our non-vegetarian community as a way of introducing them to a great tasting vegetarian experience.'' "
Michael Stern