great healthy food with lots of vegan options!. last night my wife and i were on the west side and while searching google on her iphone, she came across this place. she called and asked about their vegan options and was connected to the chef, who explained that they had gardein, vegan cheese, pizzas…which at that point, the conversation was done and we were on our way.
when we got there, we were really impressed by the size of the place, as well as the casual but well-designed atmosphere. the menu was artfully displayed on a series of chalkboards and vegan items were prominently denoted by a red "v" or possibly a check mark (not sure).
of course, we wanted to try the pizza, which we assumed was made with follow your heart cheese, but we thought we'd dig a bit to be sure. we were told it was "soy" cheese and after explaining to the guy at the counter that most soy cheese contains casein, he asked the chef to discuss it with us. although jose the chef (and owner) did not know the manufacturer, he said he got it from tama trading and i know they only carry fyh and daiya…he said it was definitely not fyh and when i asked if it was made with cassava root, he exclaimed "yes..that's it"! with that, he told us that he worked for whole foods for 4 years and has attended many classes on natural foods. he said that all of their food was made with organic ingredients.
we decided on the barbecue chicken pizza and asked them to substitute gardein and daiya cheese (and no red onions). we also ordered the gardein chicken sandwich (minus the bell peppers) and jose suggested adding daiya cheese, as it would be really good. unbelievably, the 12" pizza was only $7.99 and the sandwich, served on artisan ciabatta bread, was only $6.99…and came with a cup of vegan zucchini soup!!!
theplacehas only been open for 1 month and has a great atmosphere. it's divided into 2 sections and the right side has several loveseats and tables so you can bring your laptop and take advantage of the free wifi. they also have outdoor seating. jose told me that so many friends helped him in getting this restaurant (his dream) off the ground; painting the walls, framed pictures donated by his photographer friend, etc. oh, did i mention that they also serve breakfast, starting at 6:00 am…like a tofu scramble for only $4.99??? and fair trade coffees and blended beverages for $2.65 (tall) - $3.45 (grande)…incredible!!!
our meal arrived quickly and the sandwich was beautifully displayed on a rectangular plate. everything was expertly seasoned and top quality…this is definitely not fast food. the pizza crust was chewy and the crust was crisp, with a perfect amount of gardein and daiya cheese. we could not believe that a pizza this size and this quality was only $7.99. jose acknowledged that his prices are inordinately low, but he feels that if he can ramp up to enough steady business, he can keep them this low. his dream is to give people a healthy alternative to fast food establishments at a similar price point…mission over-accomplished imho.
grean peas is undoubtedly the greatest find in quite some time. don't hesitate to run there asap and try it for yourself. i really wish they were open today (sunday), because i would absolutely go back. sadly, jose said they're closed on sundays for a well deserved day off.