h monthly visited our West Hollywood location and published a great review about the delicious food and gracious service at RFD. According to the reviewer, “Real Food Daily is, quite simply put, deliciously tasty and highly creative.”

QSR Magazine interviews Ann about the positive benefits of being green and how green practices at RFD help to influence and impact staff retention and motivation.

In this month’s Vegetarian Times, Ann shares her thoughts on utilizing frozen vegetables for peak flavor and variety during the long winter months!

Golden Gravy and Acorn Squash stuffed with sweet rice, currants and vegetables smothered with a golden gravy!

Two great recipes!  Download the PDF to read the full text.

GOURMET FOOD FOR THE BODY TEMPLE:

Balance the “good-for-youH with the sumptuous, at a cafe that gives license to indulge. Real Food Daily, a gourmet vegan restaurant that hums with a rush of famished post-yoga customers at lunch time is perfect for people-watching, while the URTH Caffe serves healthy, organic dishes for a bellyful with no regrets.

We think these two veg cooks belong on the Food Network, but until then you can find Toni Fiore’s Delicious TV show (delicioustv.com) on PBS stations across the country, and Ann Gentry’s Naturally Delicious on Veria TV (veria.com) on the DISH Network.

STACEY BENDET, 30 – OWNER AND DESIGNER. ALICE + OLIVIA

Snack stop:  I often go to Real Food Daily. an organic place in West Hollywood. I like their nori rolls with sweet brown rice and tempeh.

Every year, more and more exclusively veg restaurants pop up across the United States like stars in the night sky- too numerous to count. While each has its shining attributes, we wanted to know our readers’ go-to restaurants from coast to coast, in five geographic regions: the Northeast, the Midwest, the South, the Northwest. and the Southwest.

Nearly 700 readers voted in vrs 2009 Dining Out Awards. casting their nominations for five regional winners and a roster of specialty award. Including Most Fabulous and Totally RAWsome! From the Big Apple to the Bay Area, the sheer number of eateries that garnered votes reflects that vegetarianism is alive and well in  very neck of the woods in America, And that, dear readers, is something we can all be happy about.

Stocking at least one kind of soy, wheat or vegetable protein makes it easier for kitchens to deliver nutritionally balanced vegetarian choices. Ann Gentry, founder and CEO of organic-vegetarian restaurant Real Food Daily in Los Angeles and Santa Monica, Calif., and Janine Doran, executive chef of vegetarian eatery Cafe Flora in Seattle, break down the available options and how to use them.

• Tofu is made from liquid that is extracted from ground, cooked soybeans and pressed into blocks. Gentry recommends first steaming tofu to help make it easier to digest and then marinating it to add flavor. It can then be baked, broiled, grilled or sauteed,

• Tempeh is made from fermented, cooked soybeans formed into cakes, Like tofu, it also benefits from steaming and marinating. Tempeh can be used interchangeably with tofu, Gentry says, but it works better than tofu for crumbling.

• Seitan, often called “wheat meat,” is made from wheat gluten, and its chewy consistency, makes it a popular substitution for meat in sandwiches and main courses. Doran, who uses seitan in recipes such as grilled fajitas, says the product doesn’t absorb as much flavor from marinades as tofu or tempeh, so it works best when cooked and served with sauces.

• Textured vegetable protein (TVP) is a dried, granular product made of soy flour from which the soybean oil has been extracted. Once it is soaked and rehydrated, Doran says, TVP can be used just like ground meat.