Dining Out

Mary Furr

Eating vegetarian is like going from black and white to Technicolor.

The taste is sharper, each variation defined. This seems especially true

at Happy Veggie, which opened six months ago in the Stater Bros. Center

at Goldenwest Street and Warner Avenue by chef Phuong Tran and his sister

Rose Tallman.

A wonderfully healthy lunch is Vietnamese Soy Chicken Salad ($4.95), a

big pile of thread-thin cabbage, carrots, celery and lettuce with a sprig

of mint all topped with chopped peanuts. The faux chicken pieces didn’t

add much for me -- I’ll stick to the colorful confetti-like vegetable

salad that covered a large plate.

An excellent, hot selection from the 16 lunch specials (lunch, $4;

dinner, $6.95) is Mixed Vegetable Delight -- a delicious combination of

zucchini, snow peas, droopy-headed straw mushrooms, carrots, bright green

broccoli flowers sauteed with strips of creamy tofu. Mix it with the

scoop of steamed rice for a good, hot lunch -- filling, but not heavy.

An appetizer to begin lunch or dinner is the plate of eight crispy

rolls (similar to egg rolls) served with a pile of fluffy romaine and

sprigs of mint, which Rose will show you how to prepare. Select a romaine

leaf from the plate and wrap it with a sprig of mint around the fat,

crisp vegetable-filled roll. The crispness and freshness make this the

best roll ever.

Soup ($4.95-$5.95) can be a side dish or meal with the clear broth

magnifying the stalks of bok choy, carrots, cabbage and pieces of faux

chicken or ham. The won ton soup in addition has two fat vegetable-filled

pasta-wrapped won tons -- bite-sized dumplings similar to an Italian

ravioli. The soup floats the bright vegetables with slices of tiny green

onions to make a warming and filling dish -- great if you happen to have

a cold -- some say inhaling the moist steam is a great cure.

For a vegetarian take on a traditional Chinese dish, order Kung Pao

soy chicken (lunch, $4.95; dinner, $6.95). It’s as spicy as you request,

stir fried with bell peppers, onions, bamboo, dried chili and peanuts.

The dark sauce is dense and clings to the vegetable cubes and soy

chicken. It’s especially good when stirred in with the mound of steamed

rice.

Desserts, made by Jodie Lee Ann Scales, are limited but just like

home. One day it was small slice of dark chocolate mousse ($2) creamy and

rich -- intense in flavor. Another time a tall slice of pumpkin spice

cake ($2) with lots of thick icing.

Happy Veggie is a friendly, welcoming restaurant with pale pink and

rose vinyl booths and tables. It may look ordinary but the food is as

fresh as the smile on Rose’s face.

* MARY FURR is the Independent restaurant critic. If you have comments

or suggestions, call (562) 493-5062 or e-mail o7 hbindy@latimes.com.f7

FYI

Happy Veggie

WHERE: 7251 Warner Ave.

HOURS: 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday; 4 to 9 p.m.

Sunday

PHONE: (714) 375-9505