Dispatches From Fort Eddy

Today marked the end of a month-long experiment inside Fort Eddy: Vegetarian Month. In January, Phillip and I have consumed no meat. Paul (perhaps wisely) opted to continue his omnivorous tendencies, but because of the buying and cooking habits of 2/3 of the house he was a defacto participant.

Articulating an overarching goal for VegMonth has proved rather difficult. Issues of sustainability and moral farming certainly played a role, but mostly this seems to have been a behavioral exercise. Speaking broadly, we generally make food decisions based off what is the most appealing. Not what is healthy or adventurous. Putting any kind of dietary restriction would force us to try new meals, new recipes, and new restaurants.

Also we’re men, and we like challenges.

Now that it is behind us, we’ve considered whether we can call it a “success.” In terms of new restaurants, we were moderately successful. We went to two places that specialized in organic vegetarian food. The first, Organix, was satisfactory if a bit overdone. The second, Candle Cafe, was an excellent experience even if more expensive. Considering that we would have likely never visited these places of our own volition, the exploration of new restaurants was successful. 

For new dishes, we did fairly well, trying a variety of new foods at new and familiar restaurants. This was actually a big part of VegMonth, since generally we always go for the meat options and ignore the veggie menu entirely. Too often, though, restaurants will skimp on their vegetarian selections. However some highlights have emerged. The veggie platter at the Turkish Kitchen — one of only six vegetarian items surrounded by a sea of lamb dishes — was surprisingly delicious. This was a success mostly as a test of wills.

New recipes is harder to qualify as a success. In truth, we only tried three new recipes, but that is more than we usually attempt in a month. Furthermore, we’ve added tofu and Boca burgers to our repertoire of ready-made dinners. We were not as adventurous as we’d hoped, but we certainly did not fail. A final success.

The real test of VegMonth will not happen in VegMonth. We’ve been trying to build some better eating habits — less comfort food, more adventurous palets — and if those can stick then it will all be worth it. Personally, I’ve noticed some changes in how eat. In the past month I have become extremely interested in bitter flavors, and mushrooms of any form are more tantalizing than ever. Perhaps in the absence of delicious high-fat high-salt foods, more subtle flavors are sneaking in. Perhaps I am rationalizing.

For Phillip and I, VegMonth has ended on a high note. We went out tonight and had some delicious sushi from a place called Loop, resisting our initial urge to have steaks, giant greasy burgers, and outrageous tacos. It was an indulgence, though. One of the sushi rolls — called the Billy Joel — was two kinds of fish wrapped in three other kinds of fish. Amazing decadence.

-Max