Open now for about three months at the corner of Allen St. and Park St., Grindhaus Café has brought a vegetarian dining option to a part of the city that has long needed one—even with Café 59’s legacy, Merge up the street, and Amy’s farther north.
As the city’s demographics change, so do its tastes, and Megan Stewart’s corner café, modest but cozy, is making the tentative first steps in committing an entire menu to non-animal products; most of its menu is vegan and all of it is vegetarian. That makes it the only all-vegetarian restaurant in Buffalo. (Dosa Place, in University Plaza, is all-vegetarian as well, but it’s in Amherst.)
This means little or no honey or dairy, and not a single animal-based protein. No token turkey clubs or chicken broths here.
This isn’t meant to deter the meat-eaters (I am decidedly one, as is my dining partner). Owner Megan Stewart and her business partner, Alicia Vetter, offer freshly ground and brewed coffee, espresso and teas with a brief list of homey dishes with familiar names: there’s a BBQ Cole Slaw ($4), a tempeh-based “Waldorf” salad ($6), a “VLT” that subs vegan seitan for bacon, and homemade puddings for dessert. It’s obvious that the food is made with care and is meant to comfort.
During a Saturday visit, we went with empty bellies and a lunchtime hankering for caffeine. Here’s what we found:
Solid coffee service, cozy space
A native of Ann Arbor, Mich. Stewart is a recent Buffalo transplant, and at the moment she sources her coffee from Ugly Mug, a Ypsilanti roastery. Grindhaus plans to offer six different roasts, as well as house-made syrups. This time they were out of my favorite Ethiopian Yirgacheffe, so I went with another, Tanzania Pea Berry, a fruity, bright brew, served in a Mason jar over ice. My friend enjoyed a hot cup of loose-leaf Earl Grey from Teahaus, another Ann Arbor brand. Soy, almond and coconut milks abound for those who take cream in their cappuccinos or lattes.
We ordered at the counter, settled in at a table with our drinks and took in the students studying, the cheerful plants, the chalkboard menu and bare Edison bulb lamp. It felt like Allentown.
A plant-based take on classic flavors
The menu’s four “handhelds” are all $6 and come either as sandwiches on spelt bread or as a wrap. You can order one handheld and one of four side salads ($4 each) for $8. We got the Eggless Salad Sandwich, the slaw and a Smoked Tofu Salad with fusilli pasta, chickpeas and cucumber in a Buffalo-style dressing.
I happen to love egg salad, in part because, well, eggs and mayonnaise. So I was curious about Grindhaus’ version, which uses vegan mayo.
Stewart said it’s the standard recipe, only instead of the egg yolk she uses bean brine—the viscous juice in canned beans. “It’s like gold—great as an egg substitute in anything, including baking,” she told me. Made with soft crumbled tofu, dill and the mayo, the sandwich (pictured at top) was drier and less silky than regular egg salad, although the dill added flavor. The lettuce was fresh and the thinly sliced bread was packed full.
In the smoked tofu salad, the smoke was too subtle, as were the chickpeas, which provided nutrition but little taste. Thick fusilli pasta, too, never fails to under-impress. Overall, the salad needed more seasoning oomph than the hot sauce could provide.
The slaw, however, was great: a little tangy, a little tart from split cranberries, with a good mix of textures and cabbage that still snapped without feeling raw. It could take on any eggy-mayo slaw at the backyard picnic.
Avocados make great mousse
Think you’d hate chocolate mousse made of avocados? Think again. I happen to adore avocados, while my husband (who loves chocolate mousse) loathes them.
The silky, dark mousse ($4) at Grindhaus changed his mind when I brought home a taste. Made only of cocoa powder and avocado, and sweetened with maple, it was delicious with the faintest hint of earthy fruit.
There’s more to come
The Grindhaus menu was just refreshed for fall, with new kale and Moroccan couscous side salads. Future iterations may include hot meals, breakfast items and more pastries – right now they serve Biscotti for Everybotti ($2.25), which is locally made and vegan. Let’s hope for great soups and other cold-weather fare. (I hear vegan pot pie is worth trying.)
The latest menu:
Info: Grindhaus Café, 160 Allen St. 725-6300, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. weekends. @GrindhausCafe on Twitter, Instagram: @grindhausbuffalo