Bay Area Trip Part 4: The Plant Cafe (Marina District)

This place has got to be one of the best places that I've EVER ate at.  The Plant Cafe uses 100% organic local ingredients.  Although it is not fully vegan, I honestly felt like I was eating at an all vegan restaurant because of all the vegan foods to choose from.  Much of our thanks has to go to Executive Chef Sascha Weiss who previously served as vegan Millennium Restaurant's Executive Pastry Chef and famous vegan Ravens Restaurant's Sous Chef in Mendocino.  So you can imagine the high expectations I had, and they were definitely met.

Quinoa Bowl- substituted brown rice, sauteed veggies in ginger miso sauce, with side of sauerkraut.

I scouted for the most macroveg dish on the menu and to my surprise found that every vegan offering was pretty much macro.  I finally decided on the Quinoa Bowl and here's my little tip for ordering it even more macro ;)  Ask to have brown rice substituted for quinoa, add tempeh, and order a side of sauerkraut.  Boom!  The perfect macroveg meal!  This was so delicious, the best part being the ginger miso sauce (stay tuned for a future post on my take on this sauce).  The veggies were sauteed perfectly and the tempeh was filling.  Definitely order this dish and you won't be disappointed.

Wasabi Burger made with The Plant Burger patty (lentils, beets, mushrooms, cashews, bulgur wheat), served on sourdough bun with tomato chutney, grilled onions, lettuce, raspberry aioli, side salad, and pickles.

My good friend Karly ordered one of the famous Plant Burgers, the Wasabi Plant Burger.  Immediately you are taken aback by the colors.  Never have I seen a more beautiful burger.  Made with just lentils, mushrooms, cashews, beets, and bulgur wheat, this is the ultimate macro burger with no flour!  Imagine that :P  I got to have a bite with some of that aioli and it was the best veg burger I've ever tasted, especially with the raspberry aioli.  There was so much flavor and the bun was very soft.  Only downfall is that the patty seems to fall apart easily so be sure to use that knife and fork.  Also, Karly pointed out that it's unfortunate that sweet potato fries are not an option with this burger, which I agree would seal the deal.

You can definitely see Chef Weiss's pastry skills from Millennium with The Plant's extensive display of vegan desserts and pastries.  Although I did not try one of the sweets that day Karly had a vegan chocolate cake and she protests that it's amazing. There were at least 8 vegan goodies including coffee cake, cookies, and brownies. 

Another great thing I love about The Plant Cafe is their juice and smoothie bar. Their juices have uplifting names like "healthy sunrise" and "good start," and their smoothies can be made with either organic soy or almond milk.  An additional bonus is their daily specials menu.  As you can see on the left, this includes a vegan soup and vegan entree (usually a tempeh special).  They also have a daily special kombucha flavor, that day it was watermelon :)  Kombucha on tap is amazing!  

Overall, I think The Plant is a must go for an SF trip.  They have multiple locations (including one in SFO Terminal 2!) and you can find something for everyone in your party.  The service is fast, friendly, and it's really easy to order substitutions.  If you're dying to try that infamous Plant Burger but can't make it out to SF, try this recipe below to make it yourself ;)

The Plant Burger-serves 6

3 small beets, peeled & chopped
1/2 c green lentils
1/2 c bulgur wheat
1/3 c raw cashews

1 cup mushrooms
1/2 c minced yellow onion
1 tsp fresh thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbsp + 1 tsp sesame oil, divided
2 cups water, divided

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the chopped beets on a lined baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes until tender. 
2. While the beets are roasting, combine the lentils with 1 1/2 cups water in a small pot on the stove. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes until lentils are tender.
3. Bring 1/2 cup water to a boil. Add the bulgur then turn off the heat and cover for 10 minutes. The bulgur should absorb all of the liquid and be tender when done.
4. Heat one tsp oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add minced onion, mushrooms and thyme and cook for about 6 minutes. Both onions and mushrooms should be softened.
5. Place raw cashews in either a food processor or Vita-Mix and process until they become a flour. Then, add roasted beets, cooked bulgur, onions, mushrooms and rosemary and process until combined.  
6. Add cooked lentils and continue processing until everything has combined but still on the “chunky” side. Remove mixture from either food processor or blender and place in a large bowl.
7. Heat up the remaining oil over high heat. Divide mixture into six veggie burger patties and carefully cook each side for about 5 minutes, until golden and crispy.

The Plant Cafe (Marina location)
3352 Steiner Street
San Francisco, CA 94123  
Tel 415 931 2777
Fax 415 931 2719
Email contactmarina@theplantcafe.com

Mon - Fri 10:30am - 9:30pm

Sat - Sun 9:00am - 9:00pm

brunch Sat & Sun 9:00am - 2:00pm