Carmelita and Huge Dandelion Things

Grilled white and green asparagus, pistacio-tarragon emulsion, miners lettuce and hearts of palm salad -vegan 

We had a (mostly) smashing dinner at our neighborhood veggie restaurant last night. I say mostly because this place, Carmelita, can be hit or miss. Their seasonal menu always sounds fabulous, and you can get a great meal there...but sometimes not so great. Last night was definitely a hit...with only one little miss. For starters we had grilled asparagus (above) in a pistacio-tarragon sauce...hit! (Sorry about the dark shots)

We also had this deliciously moist foccacia with a tangy and citrusy sun-dried tomato pesto...hit!

Homemade foccacia, truffled artichoke-sun dried tomato spread -vegan

PizzaFor mains, I ordered this foraged mushroom and nettle/spinach pesto pizza, topped with mizuna rabe. The crust was absolutely perfect and very tasty, and the mushrooms were tender, grilled to perfection and drizzled with balsamic vinegar. The nettle-spinach pesto was earthy, rich, and full of flavor, and the raw rabe on the top added a fresh and peppery finish...definitely a hit and the star of the evening!

Nettle-spinach pesto, grilled spring onion, foraged mushrooms, seasonal greens, balsamic -vegan option 

Now for the miss part...this would have been a perfect dish as well if the linguine weren't overcooked. Such a basic mistake...not sure how a place that makes the rest of the food so delicious and beautiful can screw up on pasta..but it appeared that they cooked the fresh pasta like you would have done dry pasta, and as I said, the result was not good...would have been lovely otherwise as all the other flavors and ingredients were well-conceived and very good. I loved the little chive flower garnishes.

Housemade linguine, snap peas, morels, chive-pistacio pesto - vegan

We took a bit of a walk around the neighborhood afterwards and cut through the food co-op parking lot...they really have lovely gardens surrounding their lot. You'll find all sorts of wonderful aromatic shrubs, herbs, and vegetables growing there. Last night, I was struck (not literally...the dandelions were very peaceful) by these extra large dandelions. They are growing about 5 -6 feet high! I think these are wild variety...not sure whether they are technically called dandelion, but I'm sure they are in the same family at any rate.

Update From the Comments: Apparently, these plants are most likely salsify...and they are in the same family as dandelions: Asteraceae.

mammoth dandelion-type plants (salsify), worthy of prehistoric times