National Culinary Review

FLAVORS

This tlayuda tradicional, one of La Gloria’s most popular dishes, is a thin, crispy, grilled corn tortilla with black beans, queso Oaxaca, and fresh lettuce, tomatoes and avocados.

also an occasional contributor to Chicago’s Local Beet, a publication that promotes eating close to home. “What people sometimes don’t understand is that if you feature more vegetables, especially those that are gorgeous and market fresh, and don’t screw them up, you will do better financially,” he says. “Pound for pound, they cost less than meat.

in Oaxaca to cocteles de marisocos (a fresh seafood cocktail) from Veracruz.

“My family grew over 100 different vegetable varieties each summer, and we ate them all. Our dinner was a much more balanced meal than most people’s in that the focus wasn’t on protein. For me, accentuating vegetables in the kitchens here gets me back to a connection with my childhood.” Sheerin finds that vegetarian-based dishes can be exciting and motivating for his staff. “I have an interesting kitchen,” he says. “I have a lot of people who want to be career cooks, and I also have quite a few people who want experience but who will move on elsewhere for different experiences. They want a challenge. To do interesting vegetarian entrées takes skill and innovation on the part of the cooks, but it also involves the wait staff, who have to tell the story of the dish—where it came from and why we are using what we are using now.”

MEXICAN MARKED WITH A “V” In San Antonio, Johnny Hernandez recently opened La Gloria Ice House with the intent of bringing authentic Mexican street food to a town better known for its fusion Tex-Mex cuisine. The restaurant is located on the grounds of the former Pearl Brewery, a 22-acre complex along the San Antonio River undergoing extensive restoration and home to restaurants, a farmers market, cultural institutions and the newest outpost of The Culinary Institute of America (CIA).

“We have been adapting menus for
vegetarian, gluten-free, vegan—you name
it—forever in our catering business. We are
a service industry, and that is what we must
do. So we definitely had that in mind when we
created the La Gloria menu. And as we are
evolving, I am thinking that we probably don’t
have enough regular vegetarian options on
the menu. We could probably use a few more.”
Hernandez, a CIA graduate and a member
of its Latin Foods Advisory board, owns
True Flavors Catering, the MesAlegre
Chefs Table, Johnny’s Market and Market
Depot in San Antonio. “I had the idea for
La Gloria years ago,” he says. “The people,
passion and flavors that flow through
Mexico have always been the inspiration
in my cooking, and my goal is to preserve
their craft and bring a bona fide Mexican
dining experience to San Antonio.”
Vegetarian entrées are marked with a “V,”
and include quesadillas with queso Oaxaca,
and a queso panela (or basket cheese, as it
retains the markings of the basket in which
it is molded) with grilled cactus in tomatillo
sauce served in a molcajetes, a traditional
Mexican mortar and pestle that keeps the
food piping hot. Blackboard daily specials
include tamales of spinach and mushroom
or bean and cheese.

Depending on availability, the menu may feature a roasted eggplant with arugula coulis, Camembert-stuffed zucchini blossoms, or a wild-mushroom strudel with herb goat cheese and a balsamic teriyaki sauce. There is always a Green City Market salad filled with seasonal greens and vegetables, and a Chef’s Seasonal Soup, as well as a market-based vegetarian entrée.

Hernandez has traveled throughout Mexico for years, intensely in the interior for the past five years, gathering techniques and menus. The La Gloria menu reads like a culinary map, from tacos al pastor in Mexico City and tlayudas (a giant corn tortilla cooked over a comal toped with queso Oaxaca and meat, chicken or beans)

Giving vegetables a prominent place on the menu is not a trend, it is a growing movement based on health, environmental and, for some, animal-treatment issues. And as an increasing numbers of chefs are discovering, it can also lead to a lot of creative fun.