Vegetarian chic on Phinney Ridge.

The Place: Carmelita, 7314 Greenwood Ave, N, 706-7703, PHINNEY RIDGE.

The Hours: 5-7 p.m.

The Deal: $5 appetizers off the bar menu, $5 well drinks, and $2 off specialty cocktails.

The Digs: If the Lilith Fair had a theme restaurant, Carmelita would likely be it.

For starters, the soundtrack is nonstop girl power–Rosie Thomas, the Sundays, Kate Tucker covering Springsteen’s “I’m on Fire.” The crowd is almost all Caucasian, and either middle-aged or swiftly approaching it. The food is strictly vegetarian (with select vegan options, naturally), and if there’s a Clint Didier vote to be found among those assembled, I’ll swallow a jar of pickled eggs.

The Verdict: Look, I love chewing the flesh of deceased animals. So when I declare a vegetarian restaurant to have rendered me fat and happy, that’s high praise.

On the specialty cocktail side of the ledger, Carmelita delivered a classic–and classically potent–Manhattan. But it was $9 after the happy hour discount (normally $11). The bourbon fizz, discounted to $7, is more where you want to arrive, price-wise. Composed of Maker’s Mark, amaretto, tamarind-ginger lemonade, and ginger beer, it’s a drink you don’t see too often, and it’s creatively and deliciously rendered here.

As for the food, no animals. But you already knew that. The mini pizzas–one features ‘shrooms, seasonal greens, and nettle-spinach pesto–were plenty good, and the beet chips were salty as Ruffles. But the real star of the bar menu is the spaghetti squash bonbons. I could gargle them all night, and even in the morning.