Great food, and the view isn't too bad - vegetarian food at restaurants in national parks

Vegetarian Times, July, 1995 by Susan DiLallo

Twenty years ago, when folks donned hiking boots and backpacks for a trek though America's national parks, they found that the food available wasn't very green. Amid the incredible scenery, natural wonders and thousands of miles of fascinating trails, park concessions and local restaurants still catered to Americans' worst culinary impulses: Burgers, fries and chips were the usual fare.

All that has changed, however; now when a vegetarian visits the national parks, he or she can enjoy the splendor of the earth as well as some of the tastiest food from the earth. These days, there are plenty of vegetarian options in every price range for those nights when you don't feel like playing campfire cook.

What follows is a review of some of the food available at three of the most popular parks in the West: Yosemite, Grand Canyon and Yellowstone.

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK

Located in East-Central California, Yosemite is a splendiferous combination of high and low country - 761,000 acres of granite peaks and domes soaring above beautiful meadows and valleys, sparkling lakes, spectacular waterfalls and giant sequoias.

Yosemite's many elevations give it a wide variety of plant and animal life; you're likely to run across bear, deer and 75 other mammal species; 220 bird species; 25 reptile species; 9 amphibian species; and more than 1,200 species of flowering plants, all coexisting among the pine, fir and cedar trees that dot the landscape.

During the summer, you can watch rock climbers scaling tremendous heights, and hang gliders slowly wafting down to earth. Nearly 700 miles of hiking trails make Yosemite one of America's most-visited summer attractions, but the winter season also gets its share of tourists who come to ski, ice skate and snowshoe. When naturalist John Muir visited in 1868 and launched a campaign to establish Yosemite as a national park, he said it had "the most songful streams in the world," as well as "the noblest forests, the loftiest granite domes, the deepest ice-sculptured canyons and snowy mountains soaring into the sky." The fires that struck in 1990 have spurred a wildflower growth that has made Yosemite even more beautiful.

DINING AT YOSEMITE

Gianna's, 40250 Junction Drive, Oakhurst, CA; (209) 683 - 3322. Owner Tony Catania and his staff are no strangers to special request5, and offer plenty of vegetarian items. Some pasta specialties include Fettucine Con Ortaggi, wide noodles with a Sicilian-style sauce of sun-dried tomatoes; Rigatoni with Cheese and Basil; and Bowties Della Casa with wild mushrooms and green onions. A popular appetizer is a vegetarian bruschetta - roasted Italian bread with olive oil, tomatoes and balsamic vinegar. This summer, Gianna's is offering an all-vegetable antipasto with roasted bell peppers, artichoke hearts and eggplant, served with a raspberry vinaigrette. Dress is casual; as Catania says, "If you're too formal, we get nervous." Lunch entrees: Begin at $8.85. Dinner entrees: Range from $9 to $13.

Erna's Elderberry House, 48688 Victoria Lane, Oakhurst, CA; (209) 683-6800. Erna Kubin-Clanin likes elderberries; she puts them in everything from salad dressing to champagne cocktails. She's clearly enthused, if not obsessed, with things being fresh and right. The vegetables are grown specially for her at nearby Free Springs Farm. On any given night, Chef Kimberly Schor transforms at least six of them into tasty purees, rice dishes and exotic homemade soups cooked up with whatever is fresh and handy - maybe wild sorrell, quinoa or morels. Erna's is an hour from the park itself, but customers say it is worth the trip - great food, lovely French provincial surroundings, nice folks and of course, Erna. Lunch: Begins at $14.50. Dinner: A six-course meal will set you back about $58 per person.

Ahwahnee Dining Room, Ahwahnee Hotel, Yosemite Valley; (209) 372-1489. An extraordinary room with huge floor-to-ceiling windows, this is the country club of Yosemite dining rooms. In keeping with the gracious attitude of the place, the chefs take pleasure in accommodating vegetarian or vegan requests. There's always a hot vegetarian entree on the menu, such as Linguine with Grilled Vegetables and Mushrooms (shiitake or oyster) tossed with pesto sauce. On another day you might be tempted by the Terrine of Fresh Vegetables with Tomato and Basil Coulis; Cheese Tortellini with Eggplant Caponata; or a Bouquet of Marinated Vegetables served with Goat Cheese. Also available are fresh fruit salads, vegetarian soups and mixed greens. All baking is done with vegetable shortening, and all frying is done in canola oil. (This holds true for the other eateries in Yosemite as well.) Unlike most places in the parks, jackets are required. Lunch: Runs between $10 to $12 per person. Dinner: Entrees start at $15.

The Loft, Yosemite Village; (209) 372-1081. Once a burger-and-beef restaurant, this casual cafeteria-style place has been converted into a pasta emporium; you can even watch the chefs make pasta in the demo kitchen. Vegetarians will find plenty of salads and dishes such as spinach linguine on the menu. There are at least three vegetable sauces to top the pasta every night. The Loft is kid-friendly too; downstairs there's a separate pizza restaurant lots of vegetarian options for toppings. You can even bring pizza back upstairs, great if the kids want pizza and the adults want pasta. Lunch and dinner: Entrees range from $4 to $6.