Vegetarians must have it rough in Alaska. I sometimes shudder at the wilted, moldy greens found in bins at the local grocery store. Most of the vegetables come from thousands of miles away, and that doesn't make healthy eating any easier.
Yet vegetarians still survive in Anchorage, in part due to restaurants such as Organic Oasis Health Foods & Juice Bar on Spenard Road.
Organic Oasis serves meat, including buffalo and chicken, but its menu leans toward healthful, vegetarian choices with wraps such as Golden Baked Tofu, vegetarian burgers, fresh juices and smoothies and even free wheatgrass shots for pregnant or nursing women.
The restaurant emits a warm, friendly vibe with soothing, rust-colored tones, dim lighting and numerous potted plants that are a reminder of the restaurant's dedication to healthful eating.
Organic Oasis serves dinner but until lately lacked a creative edge to the menu. At a recent dinner, I was disappointed by the options, all of which I could easily cook at home. The torta rustica ($14.95) was tasty enough with spinach, cheeses, red peppers and eggplant with a puffed pastry crust but was too small and certainly wasn't filling. My friend's vegetable quesadilla was filled with cheese and broccoli, olives, onions and cheese but was overpriced at $12.95.
I know vegetarians crave interesting, hot meals. After my first go-round at Organic Oasis, I felt sorry for them.
But just this month, newly anointed executive chef Justin Banta has added a few items to the menu that finally give pizzazz to the place.
Owner Steve Plante said he is slowly introducing new menu items to attract more clientele and become a "healthy nightclub" with live music and dinner.
So I was expecting a completely revamped menu. While there were some additions, the torta rustica was still there. The new items were few: a mussels appetizer, a portobello mushroom-stuffed chicken breast and a flank buffalo steak. But they still looked tastier than the plainer pasta options and the entrees from my previous trip.
My boyfriend grumbled about my taking him to an organic restaurant. I couldn't convince him to order the free-range buffalo steak, so he took a half-order of chicken nachos instead as his main meal ($9.95).
I chose the mussels in marinara ($7.95) appetizer and the char-grilled polenta ($14.95) for my entree.
A green salad came with my dinner, and I picked the homemade tarragon spirulina dressing, with olive oil, lemon juice, honey and spirulina. The dressing had a sweet touch, and the tarragon added a delicious, flavorful touch. The dressing was mixed in with delightfully fresh lettuce, carrots, sprouts and sunflower seeds. It was one of the best salads I've had in a long time.
The mussels appetizer came next and was served in a dark, shallow dish generously filled with the dark-shelled mollusks, two pieces of garlic toast and red peppers laid across the top.
The sauce was a robust tomato broth, rich with red wine and just enough heat to keep it interesting. It paired well with the mussels and tasted delicious soaked up with the garlic toast. The only thing marring the dish were the shells, which were brittle and broke easily.
But then we waited. The service was slow the first time I went, and it was even slower during this meal. It took a long time to get everything, especially our main meal.
Our dinners were anticlimactic compared to the mussels.
The nachos, with organic blue corn chips, were fine and had plenty of cheese but lacked flavorful extras such as beans, jalapenos and cheese besides melted mozzarella. There was a fruit salsa on the side in addition to the regular tomato offering and generous amounts of chicken, which was occasionally dry.
My plate had two triangles of char-grilled polenta and a pile of whole mushrooms sprinkled with goat cheese. The polenta had a crisp exterior but was a little bland and needed a salty contrasting flavor. The mushrooms also had the same problem, and the goat cheese didn't make up for it. A red wine concoction was used to cook the mushrooms, but my taste buds were already exhausted by that flavor after the mussels.
Despite the slow service and occasionally bland food, I was happy to see more dinner-oriented options on the menu. I admire Organic Oasis for trying to get more people to eat organic food. If the restaurant continues with more creative, flavorful options, it has potential to become the go-to evening option for healthful eating.
Daily News reporter Nicole Tsong can be reached at ntsong@adn.com or 257-4450.
REVIEW
ORGANIC OASIS is at 2610 Spenard Road. Hours: 11:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday, 11:30 a.m.- 10:30 p.m. Tuesday, 11:30 a.m.- 9 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, and 11:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday. Closed Sunday. Live music Tuesday-Saturday. Call 277-7882.
