Locanda del Lago
For dineLA.com
Meatless Monday was initially inspired out of necessity. The U.S. Food Administration implemented “Meatless Monday” and “Wheatless Wednesday” under President Herbert Hoover to conserve limited resources during World War I. Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health’s Center for a Livable Future revived the idea in 2003 as a public health awareness campaign. According to the initiative’s website, “Going meatless once a week may reduce your risk of chronic preventable conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. It can also help reduce your carbon footprint and save precious resources like fresh water and fossil fuel.” Considering the potential impact, a number of LA restaurants have committed to the cause.
Hooker-Poletti became aware of Meatless Monday through Locanda del Lago (231 Arizona Avenue, Santa Monica, 310.451.3525) patron James Cameron and quickly became convinced, “Restaurants have a great opportunity to, very diplomatically, inform people, who may otherwise be unaware, of how easy they can contribute to a healthier planet.”
Given that motivation, Chef Walter now uses Monday as “a day to reset the body eating vegetables and dairy free dishes,” and as a forum to practice his “0 km provider” philosophy, which supports the local economy while limiting ingredient transport pollution. For Meatless Monday, he scours the Saturday farmers market and employs “new techniques that preserve quality and characteristics of each ingredient.” A recent example is Verdure Carta Fata, a “Market Rainbow” of vegetables that’s cooked in parchment paper (fata) to retain moisture and flavor, and at dinner, is even presented tableside, drizzled with olive oil and three-year-old balsamic. Unlike some veg-exclusive chefs, he also utilizes sustainable seafood on Mondays for preparations like pan-roasted John Dory with a sauce of cherry tomatoes, basil and white wine.
Pizzeria Mozza (641 North Highland Avenue, Los Angeles, 323.297.0101) typically offers several meatless options, including crispy goat cheese with Umbrian lentils and squash blossom pizza with tomato and burrata. On Mondays, they also feature fluffy ricotta cannelloni doused with tomato sauce and blanketed with molten mozzarella and Parmesan. Next door, Osteria Mozza (6602 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, 323.297.0100) features a five-course vegetarian pasta tasting. Molina and his culinary compatriots utilize seasonal ingredients like butternut squash and mushrooms in winter, with accents like walnuts and amaretti cookies, and progress with the seasons.
According to Reardon, “We want to provide a vegetable-centric alternative that encourages our guests to explore meat-free dining.” To build each week’s menu, he relies on what’s “in season, local and fresh.” A market driven menu provides “freedom to offer new and unexpected dishes.” Recently, he delivered a sweet roasted beet salad with tangy goat cheese, crisp watercress and lemony dressing; a plate of egg fettuccini folded with olive oil-braised artichokes, roasted tomatoes and sharp Pecorino; and warm, tart blackberry cobbler with a polenta crust and lavender honey ice cream.
Tender Greens co-founder Erik Oberholtzer was inspired to launch Meatless Monday after hearing a KCRW segment on the subject. “The name Tender Greens suggests we’re vegan, vegetarian or a marijuana dispensary,” he says. “I thought it was an opportunity to reach out to vegetarians and say, one, we recognize the importance of vegetarianism, and more importantly, Monday is that recovery day.”
Each Monday, specials boards are entirely meat free, advertising seasonal soups, plates, salads and pastas. Our recent trip to Tender Greens Hollywood yielded corkscrew shaped pasta tossed with spring onion confit, crunchy sugar snap peas, artichokes and Parmesan. “We try and do food that’s vegetarian but people don’t recognize it as vegetarian,” says Oberholtzer. “They just recognize it as good food.”
