I wanted to share a really lovely lunch I had with my husband and parents today at Cultivate in Rahway, New Jersey. I'll apologize in advance that I didn't take pictures of everything, I was in the moment, enjoying the food and the company. That's why the fried mushrooms and French fries are already in the take-out containers in the photos below.
A lot of vegan restaurants have tables practically on top of each other, not here, there's plenty of space around each table, You can comfortably have a conversation without being overheard or without conversations around you interfering with yours.
We started with the Dahi Puri and the fried oyster mushrooms. I didn't get a picture of the Dahi Puri but the dish looked exactly like the photo on their website. They were both delicious. The Dahi Puri was a party in my mouth, so many great flavors in one bite! The mustard aioli and hot maple dip were perfect to dip the fried mushrooms, so creamy.
My dad and husband got a not a chicken and buffalo not a chicken sandwich, respectively. Cultivate uses Tindle's vegan chicken patties and they are incredible. The crunch from the batter is exactly what you want it to be. Check out the seasoning on my husband's fries, these are the Peri Peri fries and they're so good! I had the roasted pepper rigatoni which is perfectly spicy, saucy, and topped with micro greens. My mom had the wild mushroom linguine, so earthy and creamy. Long story short, everyone really enjoyed their meals. We made sure to save room for dessert, creme brûlée and chocolate chip cookies. The cookies were so warm and gooey and the creme brûlée sweet, caramel-y, and creamy.
The service is also fantastic. Each table has a QR code you scan to pull up the menu and order. I love not having menus, no wasted paper and also no touching sticky menus! Each person at the table places their own order on their phones but everything comes out together. This is the way to order food! There were servers available to answer questions, should you have any. The use of technology did not remove the personal touch. Even though you're doing everything on your phone, you can also pay cash at the counter, if you prefer.
Cultivate is a vegan restaurant but don't shy away from bringing the non-vegans in your life here. Everyone can absolutely find something they'll enjoy, the food is delicious and approachable.
Coming up this week
New episode of Did You Bring the Hummus tomorrow with Martin Ahlquist of Vystopia.
Upcoming Healing Circle, Tuesday, 4/18 8pm EDT! For more information and to sign up click here. Energy Exchange: $22. If you'd like to read about the structure/what to expect during a Healing Circle, check out the blog I recently wrote about it here.
If you have an animal-based recipe you would like help veganizing, book a free coaching call with me and we'll talk through veganizing it together. Don't have a recipe you need help with, no problem! Book a session anyway and get some free coaching! I am offering this as a free service through the end of June. As of July 1st the price will go up to $44.
I am still confused why vegan products need to use meat based names to market what they really are. Perhaps they should be creative with new names.
Many years ago someone said that SPAM, a favourite food of Hawaiian cuisine, stood for "Stuff Posing As Meat". :) That still makes me smile.
Oh. My. Goodness! We are going to have to talk! There is a vegan Creme Brûlée??? What? I had no idea... This may be the gateway that I need to make the transition :-) Glad you had a great time with your family and finding a new place.
Thanks for sharing.
Paul.