by NANCY CIPES

Award-winning chef Michael Mina opened his fourteenth restaurant and his first in Los Angeles, the “high concept” XIV on the Sunset Strip, last October. Decorated in the style of Louis XIV, it is chateau chic, and diners are treated like royalty.

The high concept here is social dining. To Mina the idea is “to have an incredible meal with friends and great conversation all night.” The restaurant is designed with Angelenos in mind, perfecting vegetarian and vegan menus that mirror the main menu so that people can dine together and socialize freely no matter how they choose to eat. At XIV guests can order a la carte, choose their own dishes, or have the chef select a tasting menu of 8 or 11 dishes or the “14 experience.”

“People are tricky here,” admits Executive Chef Steven Fretz. “They spend more time outdoors, they’re more health conscious and they eat better. So we designed a menu with dishes that are ‘user friendly’ for vegetarians and vegans.

“Mina’s famous caviar parfait appetizer, for example, is recreated for the non-meat-eaters with seeds from a Japanese pine tree. It looks exactly like caviar when it’s marinated in tamari,” Fretz says. Ahi tuna tartare on one menu is offered as turnip tartare on the others, and the foie gras terrine is replaced with one made of pine nuts, but both versions come with rhubarb mostarda, saba and flatbread.

There are nine vegetarian entrées and eight vegan, all of them incorporating many of the same ingredients found on the full menu. Sweet potato hash with grilled pineapple, cornbread and star anise mimics the duck entrée, and the chickpeas and raita that are served alongside the lamb dish are paired with a grilled vegetable skewer instead.

“I wanted to make sure,” says Mina, “that the vegan and vegetarian menus matched the full menu in flavors, texture and satisfaction.” Finally, a four-star restaurant where vegans and vegetarians aren’t treated like second-class citizens!

XIV also features seasonal farmers’ market salads that range from classic to cutting edge, as in peach and heirloom tomato with watercress and manchego cheese. According to Michael Mina, “fresh, local and organic ingredients absolutely create the most flavorful dish.” Fretz agrees. He works closely with his “produce guy,” who scouts the state for the best fruit and vegetables. “I can trace back everything I buy to its origin,” says Fretz, “so I know I am getting the best possible product on the planet.”

The bottom line is that at Michael Mina restaurants “we don’t say no,” Fretz says emphatically. “If you want a vegetarian or vegan meal, if you want your fish steamed and your vegetables prepared without oil or butter, we’re going to give you exactly what you want with a smile on our face. And it’s going to be the most delicious food you’ve ever eaten.”

NANCY CIPES is a Los Angeles County Master Gardener and a Certified Edible Landscape Designer. She can be reached at organicediblegardens.com.