Check Out Fourth Avenue Garden Café & Juice Bar For A Spicy Vegan Meal. By Rebecca Cook EXCLUSIVELY VEGETARIAN restaurants in Tucson can be counted using but a few digits. True, many eateries have kept herbivores in mind by featuring several meatless options on their menus, but to find a place where the entire focus is vegetarian remains a rarity. The Fourth Avenue Garden Café & Juice Bar numbers itself as one of Tucson's newest entries into this select group, even though its entrance into the fold didn't exactly add to the overall number of such establishments. Located in the space that formerly housed the vegan-oriented Sprouts Restaurant, the Fourth Avenue Garden Café has picked up where its predecessor left off and, some would say, expanded the circle of offerings to delicious effect. Owner Victor Nasser, assisted by his wife and "right hand" Esperance, revamped the old Sprouts menu and attempted to give it a more international flavor, albeit with a decided Mediterranean influence. For the last several years, Nasser's been the proprietor of the Café Casa Blanca, a small, inexpensive stop with great middle-eastern lunches and take-out located near the University of Arizona. Sprouts' demise offered an opportunity to transition into a more personally provocative culinary challenge. "We're trying to create a place where people can come in and feel comfortable," says Nasser. "In some ways Sprouts carved itself into a corner with the vegan, no-dairy menu, and that's something we don't want to do." Nasser wants to woo the mainstream--those who gnaw on animal flesh from time to time--into this vegetarian enclave, and a quick perusal of his menu demonstrates an appeal to a wide variety of tastes. Although he advocates for kinder, gentler eating habits, Nasser is adamant this does not mean he condones a diet devoid of taste sensations, a common complaint of many who've dabbled in vegetarian cuisine. "Sure, the nutritional value is important," says Nasser, "but I won't sacrifice taste to meet some exalted standard." As good as his word, Nasser has included dishes on his menu that will wake up your taste buds and intrigue your palate. A savory beginning to one meal included the spring rolls ($3.25), two delectable oblongs wrapped in crispy rice paper and filled with a simple mingling of cellophane noodles, shredded cabbage and carrots infused with the complexity of a slightly sweet and piquant curry seasoning. Served with a spicy-sweet mustard sauce, this was an auspicious beginning to our meal. Another popular appetizer, and one I noticed several diners choosing as their main course along with a small garden salad, was the sautéed portabello mushroom stuffed with a melange of seasoned wild rice, walnuts, carrots and garlic, topped with bread crumbs and fresh parmesan cheese ($4.50). Perhaps not as intriguing flavor-wise as the spring rolls, this was nevertheless a thoroughly satisfying hors d'oeuvre. The garden salad ($2.95) is a lovely presentation of romaine and red leaf lettuce, sliced tomato, cucumber, julienned carrots and red beets, red onion and alfalfa sprouts served with a lightly seasoned house vinaigrette. Separate lunch and dinner menus are offered--although many of the same dishes appear on both. The baked polenta (lunch $6.95, dinner $7.95), a dense cornbread pudding made with garlic and onions and topped with an assortment of sautéed vegetables, chopped nuts, melted cheese and a split pea sauce was a dish whose appeal grew with each successive bite. A Thai curry ($7.25) was a surprisingly risqué toss of glass noodles, red and green peppers, broccoli, zucchini, yellow squash and a bracing Thai coconut curry sauce that necessitated more than a few refills on my ice water. The standout at the Fourth Avenue Garden Cafe, however, has to be the middle-eastern influenced food, not surprising considering Nasser's previous experience at Café Casa Blanca. A falafel platter at lunch ($4.95) and the Mediterranean plate at dinner ($7.95) feature the very best this little restaurant has to offer. Take just a few of the falafel--crisp, ground chickpea croquettes with just a trace of garlicky goodness--piled into a wedge of pita and topped with a little hummus, baba ganoush, lettuce, tomato and a drizzle of tahini sauce, and you're well on your way to a sublime state of culinary contentment. The rice-stuffed dolmas (grape leaves) and tabouli (bulgar) salad are congenial accompaniments to the above offerings. Daily desserts are featured--many vegan--and are best sampled with an order of Nasser's Turkish coffee. A petite, long-handled metal pot is set steaming before you alongside a diminutive cup. Nasser himself often emerges from the kitchen just to see how you're enjoying your brew, and to let you know he makes each batch to order. If you happen to prefer your coffee a little stronger or sweeter, next time you have only to let your server know your individual tastes. If you're not a vegetarian, don't let that dissuade you from a visit to the Fourth Avenue Garden Café. Nasser's mainstream vegetarian vision ensures practically everyone will find something on the menu to savor. Photo by Sean Justice

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