National Culinary Review

WARM VIBE

In New York, Sarma Melngailis, owner of Pure Food and Wine restaurant and One Lucky Duck takeaway shop, opened her high-end restaurant operation seven years ago, breaking the tradition of the stark, uninviting environments that tended to describe the first generation of vegan restaurants.

“Pure Food and Wine has a cozy, sexy and warm vibe, staffed by chefs who have a passion for food and just happen to be vegan,” Melngailis says. “I wanted to open a place that would appeal to everybody, not just servicing vegan or specifically raw foodists. On a weekend night when we do 200 covers or more, a great many of our customers come to us because they like food and the contemporary dining experience first and wish to be vegan or consumers of raw food second.” She has taken vegan one step further into the raw food arena, where foods are never allowed to go above 115-118ºF and where nothing on the menu is served above that temperature, even in winter. Relying on dehydrators to “cook” and concentrate the flavor of foods, there are no ovens or stoves in the kitchen, a source of confusion to health department inspectors but a boon to a restaurant operator whose menu items are less apt to lead to outbreaks of foodborne illness.

Given that the careful preparations for much of the menu occur during before-service times, Melngailis says, “Serving our kind of food does not have to rely on really skilled line cooks, as would be needed in an orthodox meat-centric restaurant. All of the components are already made earlier in the day, and our line cooks’ skills are centered around the need to be able to

ABOVE: Sarma Melngailis’ menu items at Pure Food and Wine, including this zucchini lasagna, appeal to a wide range of diners.

Five years ago, The Veggie Grill opened in southern California. Now with seven locations and further expansion planned on the West Coast this mini chain is proving that “Vegan cuisine, which is purely plant-based, can be delicious, wholesome and satisfying, and unthreateningly familiar, appealing to a wide audience, many of whom do not identify themselves as strictly vegans or even vegetarians,” says co-founder T.K. Pillan. GOOD CALORIES

Featuring brightly colored,
contemporary décor, the
restaurants’ menus boast starters
and sides, entree salads (All Hail
Kale with quinoa and agave-
roasted walnuts in a ginger/papaya
vinaigrette is a bestseller), soups
and sandwiches and burgers, but
with a difference. The chicken is
chickin’ and the beef is made from
seasoned vegetable protein. All
offerings come in at under $10, with
all dishes produced on premises.

“We don’t promise low-calorie meals, but instead, ‘good calorie’ foods with no cholesterol, trans fats or high fructose corn syrup,” Pillan says.

“Those looking for fast-casual dining at a price point slightly above the fast food chains are flocking to this fresh concept, transcending the mom-and-pop vegan restaurants of yesteryear and shaking up stereotypes about this kind of food in the process.”

make a beautiful plate of food, not juggle sending out plates of meat or other protein cooked to multiple degrees of doneness.” Although the menu at Pure Food does not feature fake meat or mimic the flavors and textures of meat, the menu does make use of thinly sliced dried parsnip, for instance, which has been marinated in spices and maple syrup and bears an uncanny resemblance to bacon. Further, finely blended nuts, drained and pressed and sometimes fermented for a stronger, well-ripened flavor, become the basis for what otherwise might be cheese or dairy-based ingredients.

If Mario Batali offering a vegan tasting menu at his decidedly meat-focused and upscale Del Posto in New York is any indication, then perhaps it’s time for more chefs to get on the bandwagon, even with a single featured vegan special of the day (marked as such on the menu).

PHOTO CREDIT: Pure Food and Wine

Challenging oneself as a creative and resourceful chef may not be the only benefit of such an exercise. It may lead to winning new loyal customers in the process or pleasantly surprising those you already have with meat-free and dairy-free options.

ROBERT WEMISCHNER (W W W.ROBERT WEMISCHNER.COM) TEACHES PROFESSIONAL BAKING AT LOS ANGELES TRADE-TECHNICAL COLLEGE AND IS THE AU THOR OF FOUR BOOKS, MOS T RECENTLY, THE DESSERT ARCHITECT (CENGAGE LEARNING, 2010).