Are vegetarians and vegans better human beings than those who crave flesh, fish and fowl? This is the philosophical questions that preoccupies me as I venture out with a friend one sunny Veganuary morning, to road-test Pureganic Café, the vegan, gluten-free and certified-kosher Rye eatery that moved to new premises in Harrison in November.
The new Pureganic café is so clean, I feel I”™m entering a spa. The stone composite floor and the potted palms remind me of an indoor swimming pool in a smart members”™ club and the chill cabinets ”“ all gleaming chrome and glass ”“ are so attractive they strike me more like installations in a contemporary art gallery rather than practical appliances. The contents aren”™t bad either ”“nourishing soups and broths; freshly made vegan pasta; organic pressed juices; healthy lemonades and even cold remedies ”“ delicious-looking vivid green and orange tinctures. An apothecary of yore meets California the brave.
The fact is, Pureganic isn”™t a café at all. Yes, it does sell coffee ”“ very fine Illy coffee, as it happens, professionally brewed and served in heavy china Illy cups ”“ but this is so much more than a place for a morning cup of Joe and a pastry or sandwich. Not that you can”™t eat breakfast here, because you certainly can. The tempting morning menu includes waffles, pancakes and “overnight” oats with chia seeds.
But as the day gets in to its stride, out come the soups, and the vegetable platters. The day I visit, there are large crockpots of cauliflower, zucchini and mixed vegetables with chili, and all three are superb. You order at the counter and the soups are brought to the table in generous bowls, deep-flavored, piping hot. Any fool these days can boil up some vegetables and run them through the blender, but it takes a pro to coax maximum taste out of cruciferous and root vegetables and stir and season them so judiciously that you could swear each one has been mixed with a pint of heavy cream, which, this being a vegan joint, naturally it has not.
As for the salads, around 20 of them, they are wonderfully creative combinations that may well have been inspired by the style of Yotam Ottolenghi ”“ leeks with broccoli; lentils with roasted carrots; blacked-eyed peas with sweet potato ”“ all made fresh on the premises daily. Leave space for stuffed Portabella mushrooms as well as tottering towers of quinoa and vegetables.
For assorted salads you pay by weight and yes, the dollars do pile up as the food on your plate inexorably mounts, but somehow, it”™s about value, not price. While eating at Pureganic is not an inexpensive outing, somehow you never resent paying for quality.
Mind you, you can if you wish avoid The Bar altogether and order more conventionally ”“ a kale Caesar, say, or ramen or falafel bowls from the Big Bowls section of the menu. In the menu”™s Burger section, you”™ll find white bean or lentil burgers as well as wraps and quesadillas. All the buns and patties are made in-house.
Less successful among the myriad offerings, I think, are the more obviously “ersatz” dishes ”“ penne Bolognese or the meatless Shepherd”™s pie, which I can”™t think shepherds would go crazy for, but then again shepherds”™ tastes may have changed over the years. I”™ve also made a mental note to avoid dishes with “cheeze” and “sauzage” on return visits, not because they”™re in any way bad but because I think Pureganic Café does real dishes ”“ ones that are clearly themselves, rather than purporting to be something else ”“ so much better.
It was an issue that resurfaced in the cheesecake dessert, which relied on coconut and ground nuts for substance but couldn”™t replicate the almost sweet/ sour tang of a classic cheesecake. Then again, while I found the brownie square a little dry and chalky, my pal praised its malleability and luxury chocolate content.
I still haven”™t answered my own (rhetorical) question as to whether vegetarians and vegans are somehow better human beings than carnivores. A new book by former management consultant turned nutrition and emissions expert, Jayne Buxton, “The Great Plant-Based Con,” draws attention to the amount of misinformation around both the health and environmental impact of meat-eating, and demonstrates how the benefits of plant-only diets are being exaggerated. But I will tell you that the crowd at Pureganic Café is in general a fit and healthy-looking bunch. There”™s the rosy-cheeked young lady in the Mary Quant print dress at a neighboring table; the tall, bronzed guy who looks as if he could be a ski instructor; and virtually everyone looking wholesome and outdoorsy in L.L. Bean quilted vests.
So here”™s the thing: Do people look good from following a vegetarian or vegan diet, or do naturally fit and good-looking people tend to eat more healthily? It”™s a chicken-and-egg question, if you”™ll pardon the expression.
Takeout, delivery and catering services also offered. For more, visit Pureganic-cafe.com.
