5 Vegetarian Dishes to Eat Right Now

Erika Kwee June 19, 2019 4:00AM

Photo by Julie Soefer

Tropicales translates the "toast" in avocado toast to a crunchy tortilla made from blue corn.

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Looking to celebrate summer with some lighter fare? Look no further than the following!

Avocado Toast from Tropicales: One could argue that avocado toast is an evergreen food, but the tropical vibes of Tropicales demand a visit right now. Their ingenious twist on avocado toast places mashed avocado on top of a blue corn tlayuda, accompanied by refried beans, cotija cheese and mango pico de gallo. If you've never tried fruit on your avocado toast, now is the time.

Crudite at Vibrant: Vibrant is a popular hotspot for brunch, but I prefer it for dinner—so much so that I returned twice in three days, mostly to eat this crudite platter again. A platter of raw vegetables aren't typically top of my list when I eat out, but I can't sing enough praises about this particular crudite platter. For starters, there are no plain raw vegetables—instead, roasted broccolini and tangy pickled carrots to dip into generous ramekins of rustic hummus and a coarse, hearty romesco. Perfectly soft hard boiled egg halves, thick wedges of seedy crackers, juicy figs and plenty of briny olives round out what is kind of reminiscent of a fantastic cheese board, sans cheese.

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Tomatoes three ways from Nobie's.

Photo by Erika Kwee

Tomato Threesome from Nobie's: Summer is upon us, so it's high time to feast on summer-ripe tomatoes! The tomato threesome at Nobie's features, as the name would hint, tomatoes three ways: as a runny tomato jam, in a meltingly tender confit, and as raw tomatoes adorning a mound of house ricotta. A sizeable wand of focaccia for sopping it all up doesn't hurt.

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Vegan dumplings and glass noodles from Dumpling Haus.

Photo by Erika Kwee

Vegan dumplings from Dumpling Haus: Tis the season for outdoor dining, so head to Axelrad for a cool drink with a side of dumplings. The vibrantly green vegan dumplings are great with a side of the tasty gluten-free glass noodles (pan-fried pork and chicken dumplings are also available). You can find the Dumpling Haus pop up at Axelrad most Fridays starting at 5 p.m. until they're sold out.

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The peach pie cupcake is a seasonal offering at Sprinkles through 6/30.

Photo by Erika Kwee

Peach pie cupcake from Sprinkles: In my book, dessert counts as a dish. Make sure to get to Sprinkles before the end of the month to try their seasonal peach pie cupcake. This is one of my favorite cupcake flavors to date with a brown sugar cake base that tastes like actual pie crust. Topped with a brown sugar buttercream rolled in pie crust crumbles and jammy, cinnamon-spiced peaches, this is a brilliant fusion of pie and cake in one.