Additions such as pomegranate seeds and cheese can refresh guacamole.

Diners needn’t be vegetarians to appreciate the bounty of vegetables, legumes and grains that enriches Mexican cooking and that often is more important to a dish’s flavor profile than are proteins. R&I’s 2008 New American Diner Study finds that 24% of adults say they sometimes order an entrée based on the side dish that accompanies it.

R&I’s research also finds that one-quarter of adults say they occasionally order a meatless entrée. Kara Nielsen, trendologist with San Francisco-based Center for Culinary Development consultancy, says that more Americans are interested in meatless fare even if they don’t define themselves as vegetarians. Her read of consumer behavior is that concerns about food safety, animal welfare, health and wellness, and the environmental impact of meat production is driving this shift. “Now is the perfect time for restaurants to offer more choices to their customers,” she says.

Some chefs are ahead of the curve. Born and raised in Monterrey, Mexico, Chef Arnaldo Richards always has celebrated his country’s rich culinary heritage at Pico’s Mex-Mex, his 24-year-old restaurant in Houston. His menu spotlights traditional Mexican cuisine, and one of the most noteworthy—and labor-intensive—items on it is Chiles en Nogada. Richards says that one-third of those who order it opt for the vegetarian version.

He stuffs roasted poblano peppers with a mix of wild and long-grain rice, garlic, herbs, cinnamon, cloves, olives, almonds, raisins and peanut sauce. What really makes the dish sing is a cold, creamy walnut sauce. Preparing the sauce is a two-day effort. Fresh shelled nuts are plunged into boiling water and then allowed to cool in the emptied pot. After an overnight soak in milk, the nuts are separated from their papery “skin” and combined with crème fraîche, queso fresco, requesón (Mexican ricotta), dry sherry and agave nectar. A sprinkling of red pomegranate seeds adds the finishing touch.

Besito Restaurant’s Tamale de Elote partners a tamale with shrimp and chile-chipotle adobo.

At four-year-old Taléo Mexican Grill in Irvine, Calif., owner Nic Villarreal and Chef Jose Acevedo are inspired by the food they ate as children. For Grandma Simona’s Warm Rice Salad, prepared à la minute, Acevedo tosses steamed basmati rice with tequila vinaigrette, finely diced green and yellow squash, dried apricots, blueberries and currants.

“He made my family recipe even better,” says Villarreal. The dish is available à la carte or beside grilled Yucatán-style halibut that is decked out in mango-vanilla sauce and macadamia salsa.

Turning to his own roots, Acevedo cooks nopales as his mother did, sautéing cactus with onions, peppers, tomatoes, cilantro and oregano and then letting the mixture simmer for five minutes. “At first, I threw a lot away,” Acevedo says. “People didn’t want to order something they’d never tasted. So I started giving guests a side on the house, and now I’m making it all day.”

Other customer favorites at Taléo include spinach-and-mushroom enchiladas topped with spicy-sweet yellow mole made from yellow peppers, onions and squash cooked in vegetable stock, and a Latin Caesar salad featuring crumbled cotija, house-made bolillo croutons and a creamy chipotle dressing.

“People come to a Mexican restaurant expecting certain kinds of food,” Villarreal says. “We offer those but have expanded the repertoire.” The response to what the restaurant is doing, he adds, has been great. “Even in these tough economic times, we’re still showing positive sales growth.”

Nearby, Cristina Ceja serves Mexican food to Whittier College’s multicultural mix of students three times a week. Ceja, an executive chef with Palo Alto, Calif.-based Bon Appétit Management Co., which manages the college’s foodservice program, has gone beyond menuing nachos and fajitas to turn students into fans of a fire-roasted-tomato salsa de molcajete that she spoons on breakfast omelets, enfrijoladas (cheese enchiladas topped with bean purée) and steamed tamales de elote, made from corn she grinds on-site.

Shiitake and button mushrooms add flavor to tamales at Hugo’s.

In a typical Mexican restaurant in the United States, shredded iceberg lettuce and chopped tomatoes are the designated vegetables. Not at Besito Restaurant, a white-tablecloth operation with locations in Huntington and Roslyn, N.Y., and another in the works for Connecticut. Chef-owner Matthew Lake provides a more-authentic dining experience, enticing diners to experiment with indigenous Mexican vegetables by pairing the unusual with the familiar.

A chicken breast is served with calabacitas, a zucchini-like squash stewed with chipotle purée, roasted garlic, onions, tomatoes and epazote; steak is accompanied by chayote squash tossed with rajas (roasted strips of poblano chiles).

The chef’s quesadillas calabaza appetizer—a flour tortilla filled with Oaxaca string cheese, roasted green chiles, mushrooms and squash blossoms and capped with salsa verde cruda—has been well received, and the chef isn’t surprised. “People recognize the word quesadilla,” says Lake, “and that makes the dish customer-friendly and less intimidating.”

Since its launch nearly 15 years ago, Denver-based Chipotle has sought to appeal to everyone from hard-core carnivores to vegans. Each of the national chain’s more than 700 locations has just 16 items on the line, including slow-cooked black beans and four kinds of salsa, and four basic meal presentations: burrito, taco, bowl or salad.

But, explains company spokesman Chris Arnold, that equals about 65,000 possible combinations. “Our mix-and-match approach allows everyone to eat in a way that’s consistent with their preferences and beliefs,” Arnold says.

Masa, a fine-dining venue in Minneapolis, takes its cue from contemporary upscale restaurants in Mexico City. “We went there and discovered the depth and breadth of what the hip young chefs are doing and incorporated it into our menu” says Jay Sparks, executive chef for D’Amico & Partners, whose other concepts include Café & Bar Lurcat, Campiello and D’Amico Cucina.

That appreciation for Mexican cuisine’s breadth of flavors finds expression at Masa in dishes such as black rice, made with squid ink and calamari with tomatillo sauce, and arroz verde, a combination of rice, puréed poblanos, jicama and apples. Maize-based dishes, such as corn dumplings in a spicy mushroom sauce, are listed in a separate section to draw attention to them.

“There’s so much more to this cuisine than meat, a sea of red sauce, a pile of refried beans and mounds of melted cheese,” Sparks says. “We offer diners something different and delicious.”

1. In mixer with paddle attachment, combine masa with lard and chicken stock. Mix on medium speed for about 20 minutes. Season with salt to taste.
2. Heat oil in large sauté pan; add garlic, onion and mushrooms; sauté until tender. Add parsley and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
3. Drain corn leaves. Working one at a time, lay out leaf with pointed end down. Scoop about 1½ oz. masa onto leaf and spread, forming a rectangle lengthwise about ¾ in. from the top and 1 in. from each side. Masa should only extend halfway down leaf. Spoon about 1 Tbsp. filling on top. Roll one side of leaf over filling; roll other side over to enclose it. Fold up bottom and tie tamale closed with strip torn from another leaf.
4. To serve, place tamales vertically in steamer with open ends up. Steam, covered, for about 30 minutes or until they fluff up and become somewhat firm. Serve immediately, or cool and refrigerate. Steam briefly to reheat.

1. Roast pasilla chiles in broiler or over open flame until they are charred. Place in plastic bag to steam for 10 minutes. Remove charred skins; pull out stems and majority of seeds. Do not rinse peppers.
2. In lava-rock mortar (or blender or food processor), grind garlic, lime juice salt and pepper to paste-like texture. Add tomatoes and crush coarsely. Add onions and cilantro; adjust seasoning.