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As a committed carnivore, I generally avoid eating at vegetarian restaurants. It's not that I don't love vegetables too, and it's certainly not a hard-and-fast rule, I just always feel sort of empty inside afterwards. It's like casual sex only more expensive and less gratifying. Here's the point: I finally dragged myself to dinner the Mission's Japanese vegetarian stronghold Cha-Ya (762 Valencia) after many months of the same assessment by meat-eaters and veggies alike: "It's really good, even for a vegetarian restaurant."

The exciting conclusion of my meal after the jump ...

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Don't get me wrong, I love Magnolia Pub & Brewery. I've eaten there more times than I can count and have never had a meal that wasn't satisfying. And while the house made lamb sausage with le puy lentils and bloomsdale spinach ($15) pictured above tasted wonderful -- well-seasoned with lots of rich, lamb flavor playing well off the stiff, slightly bitter edge of the spinach -- there's just something unsettling about the presentation. As my dining companion put it: "No, that dish bears absolutely no resemblance to a pile of dog crap."

-- Brian Bernbaum