Despite what my mother may think — which is that vegetarianism will be the next big thing — when most carnivores hear the words “vegetarian restaurant,” the tendency is to retreat rather than venture forth. But Green Zebra, a vegetarian-focused small plates restaurant, shows carnivores just how good vegetarian cuisine can be.

Named after the beautifully striped green heirloom tomatoes (see photo above), Green Zebra is more than three years old, but the vibe and concept of the restaurant is a breath of fresh air. The menu’s emphasis is on seasonality and creativity. The dishes are scrumptious, and since it’s all small plates, you can try a variety of them. The ingredients and produce are fresh and the dishes concocted, rich or simple, are always flavorful.

I was attracted to the evening’s fall harvest tasting menu, which consisted of roasted spaghetti squash, curried cauliflower soup, celery root beignet, tagliatelle, and brioche donut. My friend ordered the fresh burrata cheese Niçoise, sweet onion soup, sweet potato tart, and truffle risotto. Between the two of us, we got a pretty good grasp on the spectrum of chef Shawn McClain’s inventive vegetarian cuisine.

Here are two highlights from the meal:

The burrata cheese Niçoise salad with haricot vert, a sliver of anchovy, quail egg halves and caper berry was amazing. There’s been a big burrata — fresh mozzarella with a softer mozzarella and cream-based core — craze this year, but most of what I’ve tasted at restaurants has not done the cheese justice. It must be extremely fresh to retain its delicate creaminess, and Green Zebra has gotten it right. While the quintessential salade Niçoise elements are present in this dish, they are sparingly interspersed so as not to overwhelm the burrata with too much flavor; they accent the cheese with just the right amount of aroma and finesse. This is a truly elegant dish that I want to revisit over and over.

Another favorite from the meal was the sweet onion soup. I tend to sidestep onion soups because I assume they will all be French onion soup, with shredded onions in broth covered with a thick layer of cheese then baked — fragrant but sometimes too rich. I guess I don’t think much out of the box, but thankfully Chef McClain and chef de cuisine, Andrew Gietzen, do. The soup is an onion purée whipped with cream and garnished with herb crouton and scallions. Green Zebra doesn’t skimp on butters or creams — just because it’s vegetarian doesn’t mean that it has to be bland or non-fat. The soup absorbed only the sweetness of the onions and none of the pungency, which made it go down as silky smooth as the texture itself.

Green Zebra is modern in décor, and, though it’s bustling throughout the evening, the atmosphere is laidback and the service friendly. The prices of small plates range from $7 to under $20. And the five-course tasting menu is a reasonable $55. My friend and I both agreed that if we lived in Chicago, we’d visit Green Zebra at least once a week. It’s such a pleasure to eat vegetables in season, especially when they are ingeniously prepared and satiate both the palate and the mind.

Note: There are usually one or two non-vegetarian items on the menu for meat-eaters. On the night of this specific meal, there was a roasted day boat cod with cardoon, puy lentils, escarole and pearl onions.