Veggie dining reaches Zenith

Zenith Tea Room

86 South 26th St., South Side

(412) 481-4833

Zenithpgh.com

Any… Zenith Tea Room

86 South 26th St., South Side

(412) 481-4833

Zenithpgh.com

Any stick-in-the-mud carnivore who tells you that life without meat is an unfilled existence obviously has never been to The Zenith, one of the most popular vegetarian restaurants in the city. At a time when many scientists are beginning to acknowledge that our distant ancestors were less like the masculine, club-wielding “Man, the Hunter” and closer to “Man, the Gatherer – and occasional Scavenger,” it doesn’t seem so strange anymore to adhere to a diet based on vegetables, fruits and other non-meat treats. If you’re a vegan, vegetarian or just a standard meat-eater who wants to expand your diet as well as your perception of food, visit Zenith for their cheap but bountiful Sunday brunch and do a little shopping too – the front of the store is dedicated to antiques, collectibles and a flock of quality vintage clothing.

Besides the mass of odds and ends in the front of the store, Zenith’s two dining rooms are littered with paintings, old-fashioned lamps, mirrors, an ancient cash register and a massive headstone. Assorted chandeliers, chairs, wooden boxes and blankets hang over the entire room. One dining room is lit by plant-filled windows; the numerous lamps in the others create a warm character. Customers generally sit at five-person tables holding various placements, chalices and, on this October Sunday, a couple of gourds. The atmosphere is very communal – lots of people know each other and many are just as ecstatic to be there for their 100th time as their very first time.

Sunday brunch is always busy – get there early so you won’t have to wait. But even waiting at Zenith isn’t so bad – they provide free coffee and you can sit on their lawn chairs outside, browse the antique shop or chitchat with some other hungry folks. If you’re lucky, the owner will stop outside for a cigarette and complain to you endlessly about “sitters:” those who take up room in her restaurant by reading books once they’ve finished their meal. This becomes a nuisance when 30 hungry patrons are clawing at the door.

The mostly vegan Sunday brunch brings you coffee or one of their 100-some-odd teas, an entree and access to their buffet and cakes for $10. All of the items are vegan besides the scrambled eggs – clearly a breakfast staple that isn’t worth faking. But if you’re into faux meat, try out the tofishy sandwich as your entree, or the delicious cinnamon French toast with apple pear topping if you’re feeling like breakfast. Zenith’s menu changes weekly, but on this particular day they also offered blueberry pancakes with blueberry sauce, scrambled eggs with artichokes, red peppers and Romano cheese, a “tofu dinner,” and a TLT sandwich. Teas for the day include almond spice, which is as delicious as it sounds, mocha black raspberry and iced huckleberry. You can choose from their massive list and experiment with teas with inviting names like night on glacier bay, pinhead gunpowder and papaya mint. If you love any, you can take them home in a loose bag for a small sum.

My party reported that the eggs were “just sort of like regular eggs,” the tofishy was “awesome,” and my entree, the cinnamon French toast, was thick, saucy and topped perfectly with the apple-pear combination, making this some of the best restaurant French toast I’ve ever had. The entrees are served with spicy bean rice, which doesn’t always go perfectly with all entrees, especially my toast. But there are plenty of other eats at the buffet, so leave room.

The buffet is filled with salads and mixes, mostly fresh fruit salad, green salads, pasta salads, Thai-style noodles, vermicelli, potatoes and more. All of the salads I tried, which included pasta with cucumbers, red potatoes with green beans and onions, Thai noodles and the fruit salad were individually amazing and created with precision. And the salads aren’t heavy enough to prevent you from going and getting more – I had two helpings with room left for cake. Zenith also puts out nachos and an appetizer such as grape leaves or an apple and gouda plate. All of their bread products are 100 percent vegan and are made daily by Allegro Hearth Bakery of Squirrel Hill.

And now for the cakes – the owner’s daughter chooses which cakes will be made for each brunch. There are at least eight of them, and they are neatly packed round cakes made from some of the most blissful ingredients on the planet. Pumpkin raisin spice was seasonally delicious, but blueberry hibiscus was even better. Hands down, this moist, blueberry plus heaven-filled masterpiece definitely takes the cake, and if you can score this recipe, give it to me.

If you haven’t been to Zenith, put down your hamburger and go there, especially if you have a very small perspective on the almost limitless variety in vegan and vegetarian food. Zenith is capable of producing converts, so if you’re a meat-eater who wants to hold on to your chicken and steak, you better hold on for dear life.