Friday, August 7, 2009

THE PLANT CAFE ORGANIC




NEW Discovery: THE PLANT Cafe Organic at Pier 3 on the Embarcadero!
This location just opened a month ago!
This is their 2nd location. The original location is on Steiner Street and was formerly Lettus Organic Cafe. They Changed the name to the Plant Cafe.
The Plant Cafe is vegan and gluten-free friendly.
All their ingredients are organic and fresh from the farmer's market at the Ferry Building.

The new location has a sit down restaurant AND a to-go cafe across the way that opens early at 7:30am for breakfast. They BOTH close at 10pm.

Both have similar menus with a few exceptions.
The restaurant has indoor sitting as well as outdoor sitting with a great view of the bay.
We ate there almost everyday, Sun thru Wed.
We went there for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The first night I ordered PIZZA with tomato sauce, roasted garlic, and thinly sliced tomatoes.
The crust was so thin, you could almost see thru it.
My husband ordered a CORNMEAL ENCRUSTED TEMPEH with mashed coconut milk yam and a spicy guacamole salsa and freshly sauteed green beans and corn.
We shared the AVOCADO GRAPEFRUIT SALAD.
And for dessert, CHOCOLATE POTS DE CREME, made with tofu.
DEEEEEELICIOUS!!!
I forgot my camera, so no pics.

On our second visit we went for lunch and again we sat out by the water.
My husband ordered the BBQ TEMPEH PANINI and I ordered the PLANT BURGER.
We shared the AVOCADO GRAPEFRUIT SALAD again.
And then we ordered, what we both agreed, is THE best dessert ever, THE RAW RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE WITH BLACK PEPPER RASPBERRY SAUCE.
Sounds strange, right?
Black pepper in dessert?
But believe us, it actually worked.
Unfortunately, my husband didn't care much for his panini.
I just think the tempeh looked a little undercooked and needed more BBQ sauce.
The Plant burger is AWESOME!
The patty is BEET RED!
We loved that it's in between toasted bread instead of a heavy burger bun.
Condiments: Tomato, avocado, baby greens, caramelized onions, and vegan aoli.

On our third visit, we went for dinner (not pictured).
This time my husband's sister joined us.
She's vegan and gluten-free.
We sat outside so we could enjoy the Bay, the lights coming from Berkeley and a partial view of the Oakland Bay Bridge.
My husband and I ordered a Plant Burger and shared it.
Sister-in-law ordered the QUINOA BOWL with sauteed vegetables and greens in a GINGER-MISO sauce.
We also ordered 2 Avocado Grapefruit Salads to share.
For dessert, we ordered 2 RAW RASPBERRY CHEESECAKES WITH BLACK PEPPER RASPBERRY SAUCE.
The entire meal was GREAT!
I'd like to mention that our waiter, Jeffrey was the most attentive and courteous waiter we've ever come across.
THANKS JEFFREY, FOR MAKING OUR LAST DINNER IN SAN FRANCISCO A MEMORABLE ONE!!!

The following morning, all 3 of us walked to the Plant Cafe to have breakfast and then make the 6 hour drive home.
For breakfast, they mostly offer pastry items, desserts, and BLUE BOTTLE coffee.
All three of us each ordered the RAW RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE.
We couldn't leave San Francisco without having one more slice each.
Sister-in-law also ordered a fruit salad that came with raspberries, honeydew melon, strawberries, and starfruit.
Husband and I also shared a plum scone and a chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting.
Once again, everything was delicious and fresh.

What's neat about the cafe, is that you can take your order to go, or you can sit UPSTAIRS in the seating area that's a loft overlooking the front counter. From there, you can see the water behind the cafe or Embarcadero street in the front.

With every visit, we either ordered french press Blue Bottle coffee, soy mocha, or soy latte.
The Plant Cafe only uses Bluebottle Coffee.
Blue Bottle Coffee roasts organic beans and bags them within 4 hours to prevent oxidation.
They're bases in Oakland and only sell in the city of San Francisco or you can buy their preroasted coffee online.



We highly recommened THE PLANT CAFE, either the restaurant or the cafe.
Both are GREAT!


WHOLE WHEAT BREAD WITH OLIVE OIL

AVOCADO & GRAPEFRUIT SALAD WITH WILD ARUGULA & SHAVED FENNEL, TOSSED IN A CREAMY BLACK PEPPER & MACADAMIA NUT DRESSING
PLANT BURGER MADE WITH LENTILS, MUSHROOMS, BEETS, CASHEWS & BULGUR WHEAT . SERVED WITH GRILLED ONIONS, LETTUCE, TOMATO, HOUSE MADE PICKLES, VEGAN AOLI & MIXED GREENS DRESSED IN CHAMPAGNE VINAIGRETTE ON WHOLE WHEAT BREAD WITH A SIDE OF ROASTED FINGERLING POTATOES.

BBQ TEMPEH WITH CHIPOTLE BBQ SAUCE, ROASTED RED ONION & AOLI

BLUE BOTTLE SOY MOCHA
RAW RASPBERRY CHEESECAKE WITH BLACK PEPPER RASPBERRY SAUCE AND FRENCH PRESSED BLUE BOTTLE COFFEE

3 comments:

Velva said...

Everything looked good. Although, I am not a vegan, I am always looking for better ways to improve my cooking skills. I think a vegan meal provides good, healthy food in their more natural state. I think it just take a bit more planning.
THanks for sharing!

¡Yo Soy Liz! said...

oh man, i am going to san fran this week and i think i know where i will be going for lunch!!!

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

I'm glad it worked out for you!