No Mushrooms in Fiore

*UPDATE* FOX News… I mean New York Magazine (I kid, I kid) Food Bloggers had their (inaccurate) fun with this entry. Truth be told, Fiore is a decent, affordable restaurant in my hood – I just wish they had a few more options for conscientious eaters and that they dealt with customer feedback in a more positive way. ‘Nuff said…

I attended a birthday dinner at a new Italian place, Fiore, in Brooklyn. I was shocked to find that the only vegan options were salad, and the spaghetti with tomato sauce entreé. In New York City – especially in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, I expect the restaurants to not only be smart enough to cater to the burgeoning vegan population (if not simply as an intelligent financial decision), but to be sensitive to general customer feedback of informed customers. After my meal of pasta and salad, I kindly suggested to a manager that, “my meal was tasty, and it would be fantastic if you added a few more vegan options to the menu – like a grilled portabello cap, or mushroom ravioli, or pasta primavera.” With all of the amazing vegan sausages and meat alternatives, dairy alternatives and veg-friendliness of traditional Italian food in general, I expected anything but the response I got. Not “thanks for the feedback” or “we value our customers, so we’ll see what we can do”. In a defensive tone, she said: “Portobellos cause cancer”. What? Excuse me? In an establishment serving up tons of conventional, hormone-ridden, pesticide-pumped ribs, beef, chicken, lamb, cheese, and butter – you’re telling me that portobello mushrooms cause cancer? Needless to say, I was so caught off guard that I was at a loss for words.

After a few hours of research, I’ve discovered that this is total nonsense, of course. Not only that, but the Stanford Cancer Center has recipes for portobellos on their website. Go figure. In fact, mushrooms contain selenium, potassium, copper, and B-complex vitamins, and are purported to have anti-cancer properties. Vegans have been shown to have 40% less chance of getting cancer, and meat and dairy products have been shown to cause cancer. There are mushrooms, that if eaten raw, have certain carcinogenic toxins (that cook or wash off). My only explanation for this ridiculous response of hers is that she was so offended by my vegan request that she said the first terrible thing that came to her mind.

So in the spirit of the slandered portobello, I give you a plethora of mushroom recipes from our friends at Post Punk Kitchen:

• Portobellas Stuffed w/ Lemon Scented Quinoa and Arugula
• Perfect Portobellos
• Mushroom Gravy
• Mushroom Marinara Sauce
• Seitan Potobella Stroganoff
• Garlic Stuffed Mushrooms
• Mushroom Keeche
• Somewhere In Thyme Stuffed Mushrooms
• “Cream” of mushroom soup
• Wild Mushroom Almond Pate

Local, Organic Farmers’ Market Meal

Marinated Portobello-Steak with Sautéed Purple-Scallions & Steamed Baby Bok Choy with Beets

I prepared this dish with all local, organic farm produce and bread from the Union Square Farmer’s Market in New York City. The farmers markets in New York are amazing – there is no reason not to buy ALL your produce locally. If you live in the northeast, this is a great vegan meal that’s fresh, local, and organic!

What you’ll need for dinner for 2:

• 2 large potobello mushroom caps
• 2 cups of baby bok choy
• 4 purple scallion
• 2 medium beets
• 2 pieces of whole wheat sourdough bread
• Oil & Vinegar
• 2 Tablespoons of Tahini
• 2 Tablespoons of Balsamic Vinegar
• pinch of sea salt
• pinch of pepper

Directions:

1. Gently remove the stem, and rinse the dirt from the mushroom caps.
2. In a shallow bowl, marinate the mushroom caps in the balsamic, tahini, salt & pepper while you prepare the veggies (about 15 minutes).
3. Rinse the beets thoroughly, and cut off any undesired parts, but leave the skin (it’s full of nutrients).
4. Chop Beets into medium cubes. Steam for about 20 minutes (or until fork penetrates it easily).
5. Rinse the bok choy, and steam for about 8-10 minutes. These should stay somewhat crisp and sweet. If you steam too long they will get mushy.
6. Sauté the scallions and mushroom caps on medium heat until caps have become flat and throughly cooked, and scallions have caramelized – about 10 minutes. Flip the caps twice.
7. Serve the mushrooms on a ripped piece of organic, local bread. Top it off with the caramelized scallions.
8. Serve the beets and bok choy beside the mushrooms, and drizzle with a touch of olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Add salt and pepper to taste

DB’s Etiquette Recommendation: I recommend serving this with a local, dry white wine. Be sure to tell you guest(s) about how your meal was prepared and where it came from. It makes for a more enjoyable food experience if people can understand how the food got from farm to table. Here is a list of all Greenmarkets in NYC