Carmelita

The restaurant Carmelita is about two miles from my home. It naturally caught my attention when it first opened up 11 years ago as my name is also Carmelita. We tried to go there for dinner a couple times but there was a long wait for a table and parking was difficult to find. It’s too bad it took us a decade or more to return.

Carmelita is an elegant, upscale vegetarian restaurant. Many non-vegetarians love it and the food is really tasty. We decided to go there for my birthday a couple weeks ago. This time we were happy to see that there was no long wait as we had experienced years earlier. In fact we were the only couple in the place! We enjoyed a leisurely and delicious dinner in an elegant atmosphere.

We had some yummy bread and a tasty cheese plate before our meal. My husband had Potato-Gruyere gratin with Swiss chard, leek cream, and fennel-radish salad with croutons. And I chose the Baked Roman-style gnocchi, lemon cream, rapini, pearl onion, pine nuts with blueberry sauce. The presentation was a work of art and both our meals were just delicious.

Walter is pretty open minded about food and isn’t a strict meat eater. Before dinner though he told me he “had a protein jones.” So I was a little nervous about whether he would enjoy his dinner. In the end he loved it and his meat craving went away entirely.

If you are vegetarian or enjoy vegetarian food from time to time I recommend this place for a special occasion. It’s a bit pricey for every day (at least on our budget) but definitely worth a visit if you want a special evening out.

We celebrated my friend’s birthday here on Saturday night. Jess is a vegetarian and wanted to go somewhere fancy(ish) that had more than one vegetarian option on the menu. She also said that it was her birthday and she didn’t want to have to watch us eat “little baby animals”. Fair enough, Carmelita’s it was.

We loved the cozy atmosphere, the leaf ceiling tiles and the funky random details: old car side mirrors converted into lamps, a sting of old postcards strung on a wire across a Venetian plaster wall, a random top hat and gloves floor tile near the door, the velvet curtains and old movie theater seats.

Rarely have I been to a vegetarian restaurant where so many things sounded delicious and I had to have an extra minute to decide (and I should point out that I was a strict vegetarian for 10 years so I have been to many a vegetarian restaurant). Jess also appreciated the option of indecision rather than choosing between 2 unappealing vegetarian dishes.

We started with a platter that consisted of: A feta spread, a roasted red bell pepper spread, olives, preserved chanterelles, a hunk of Manchego cheese, a truffle olive oil (that was wonderful), and flatbreads. We also shared a goat cheese crostini with walnuts and figs, and a few bottles of wine.

Jess and Gavin had the gruyere and leek tart that came with a green salad in a fried potato birds nest, very pretty. Scott had a winter root casserole and I had gnocchi with baked plums. It sounded strange, which is why I ordered it.

All the dishes were flavorful and fulfilling; I never longed for more substance as the meal was very satisfying.

Carmelita’s gets cuisine; typically I find vegetarian restaurants to know a lot about other protein options and very little about the art of cooking and cuisine. The food tends to be bland and sub par and certainly not celebratory meal quality. But Carmelita’s is clearly more about the cuisine than the lack of meat. The dishes were interesting and well presented. It is obviously a great choice for vegetarians but I would encourage you meat eaters not to shy away.

I’m a vegan and I appreciated the menu stating “vegan” or “vegan option” under items.

This place is a little fancy (i.e. expensive) for a poor college kid like me, but luckily my yuppie sister paid. Our check was about $107 after tax and tip for 3 glasses of wine, 1 antipasto platter, 2 entrees, and 2 desserts.

I had the winter squash angolotti for my entree. For dessert I had the phyllo purse, and a small taste of the pear sorbet. All washed down with Terra Rouge red wine. Very delicious. Quite possibly the best meal I’ve ever had.

at carmelita’s i had possibly the best meal i’ve ever eaten. winter squash angolotti with porcini mushrooms and lacinto kale with a sauce of apple cider vinegar puree and sage oil. dessert was a phyllo purse with dark chocolate, bananas, toasted coconut, and pecans with a cinnamon brandy sauce. all this washed down with a glass of nice 2002 “syrah – mourvédre – terra rouge” wine. soooo yummy!

I went there awhile ago, so I don’t quite remember details, but I do remember that it was a bit overpriced. It was unnecessarily expensive, when I could have gone somewhere else that had the same quality for half the price that Carmelita charged me. It has a nice atmosphere though!