Photo by Andrew W. Schmidt
Photo by Andrew W. Schmidt
Perhaps you’re a vegan in need of a break from steaming your own kale. Or you’re heading out on the town with friends that include one or two who don’t eat meat. Or more likely, statistically, you’re an open-minded omnivore on the prowl for a veggie, or vegan (even more cleansing — minus the dairy) dinner out.
Where to go. Greens? Millennium? Whoops, it’s too late to get reservations at either. Hmmmm... Who’s been there?
In the land of some of the most adventurous, politically aware, health-minded diners in the world, why can we only think of a couple of vegetarian restaurants to choose from? One would think there would be an abundance of such spots. Oddly, there isn’t. But there are also a lot more vegetable-based specialty restaurants here than you think … just a little under the radar compared to the more upscale top-billers.
Friendsofanimals.org publishes a vegan restaurant guide for the Bay Area that lists 18 purely vegan/vegetarian restaurants in SF alone, with six more in Berkeley and five in Oakland. Their SF list includes fantastic places you may not know existed, such as New Ganges Restaurant (amazing Indian) in Cole Valley-Inner Sunset, Lucky Creation Vegetarian Restaurant (Chinese) in Chinatown, and Bok Choy Garden (Chinese) on Clement in the Richmond.
Demographics Might Not Be What You Think
Yes, there are probably more vegetarian restaurants in San Francisco than Dallas-Fort Worth. But isn’t there room for even more? Surely there’s a huge unmet demand for these types of places in this area of all areas.
According to a 2006 poll of American adults by the Vegetarian Resource Group, only 2.3 percent of the U.S. population over the age of 18 is vegetarian, or about 5 million people nationwide. Who would be shocked to learn that those 5 million vegetarians skew slightly higher to the West Coast in terms of distribution across the country? Yet the San Francisco restaurant scene offers fewer veggie restaurants in ratio to the national average of vegetarians as a whole. According to Citysearch, the Bay Area has 13,297 restaurants. With only 65 listed as being vegetarian (and “specializing in vegetarian” [some meat]) that’s just one-half of one percent (0.5%) of our restaurants that are niche vegetarian. By this logic, the Bay Area could support 240 brand new vegetarian restaurants, assuming our area is only average in its population of vegetarians.
So, why aren’t more restaurateurs and activists opening up shop?
Competition Tough, Veggie Trend Tempered
The reality is that many café-style vegetarian places have failed in the last five years, including restaurants such as Parawdise, Roxanne’s, Roxannes-to-go, and Urban Forage’s three locations.
According to industry convention, one-in-five new restaurants fail. Who knows why this is. Some open a restaurant because they love cooking and entertaining friends, which is not, alone, the best business plan. Some places expand too quickly, or simply get mismanaged. Well, veggie/vegan/slow/raw food restaurants share these challenges, and also have a set uniquely their own.
The restaurant industry is competitive, and if your restaurant has a narrower menu than the next guy, it can make it difficult to draw customers. Five years ago, there was a huge demand for “exotic” vegan and vegetarian places, because people had more money and were more adventurous. “Veggie/vegan places were popular then because they were new, different, but interest waned,” says Erica Culp, manager of Millennium. In the post-boom era, she says, the average Bay Area resident is more careful about where to spend their dollars.
In addition, niche vegetarian restaurants compete not only against each other, but against mainstream restaurants. That’s because those of us “with food issues” (as we say in California) know that restaurants serving meat dishes are also serving better, more imaginative veggie-based alternatives. Meanwhile, a dyed-in-the-wool steak guy wouldn’t be caught dead in a “tie-dyed” vegetarian restaurant.
In urban settings like San Francisco and more enlightened areas like Marin and Berkeley, this phenomenon is not always the case, however. In fact, 50 percent of Millennium’s clientele are meat-eaters. The local vegan raw food Mecca, Café Gratitude, also serves as many non-vegetarians as vegetarians.
Unfortunately, this does not suggest that half of all meat-eaters (the other 97.7 percent of Americans) seek out veggie restaurants.
Another hurdle for the niche is that although we are health conscious here in the Bay Area, in general, we are also sensualists who want to feel treated when we dine out. It’s an image problem. “Vegan food has the challenge of overcoming the image that it’s whole wheat unflavorful hippie food,” says Matthew Engelhart, co-founder of Café Gratitude.
And today’s market requires restaurants to have more than just great food. “Serving the highest, freshest, purest food on the planet alone is not enough,” says Engelhart. Attention has to be paid to amenities, ambience, etc. “We offer an experience, an atmosphere of sacred gratitude.” Gratitude is a haven of positivity — from the kind wait staff, large tables for communal dining, warm paintings on the walls, to the cards at each table filled with Zen wisdom. Even the names of the dishes are part of the experience, like “I am Bountiful” and “I am Lusciously Awake.”
Not A Lot Of Green
Another hurdle: selecting the freshest, best organic produce is more expensive than buying in bulk from a mainstream supplier. So the ingredients are better, but pricier. And making things worse, revenue doesn’t exactly pour in from high-margin alcohol sales the way it does at the steakhouse with the single malt whiskeys. Most restaurants survive on alcohol sales, while the clientele of vegan/vegetarian restaurants tend to be a health-conscious group that doesn’t drink large quantities of alcohol. Alcohol sales represent less than four percent of Café Gratitude’s revenue. “We just don’t have a drinking crowd,” says Engelhart. “We include beer and wine on the menu as an invitation for everybody to come, but don’t sell a lot of it.” Millennium’s alcohol sales are also low.
Vegan/veggie eaters tend have socially conscious jobs such as teachers and activists, so their economic status is not conducive to fine dining. “In general they are a sensitive group of people that don’t go spending their money easily. Their dollars are going to other places. Maybe great causes,” says Culp.
“Beeting” The Odds
Millennium, however, is enjoying its best year yet. Their recipe for success? Besides having the same head chef since day one (back in 1994), they have a loyal following, and an aggressive marketing plan that includes a strong email list. Their special events keep their clientele’s interest alive, from private winemaker events, to an annual heirloom dinner and chili and beer dinner, with hand-picked tomatoes and chilies straight from the farm. Every weekend, an insert menu highlights a special ingredient such as mushrooms, or root veggies. Perhaps most seductive of all, are the monthly “Aphrodisiac Sundays,” held on the Sunday closest to the full moon, where aphrodisiac foods are offered in a four-course prix fixe package in conjunction with The Hotel California with a hotel room. A true urban getaway that attracts mostly local San Franciscans as guests.
Future Of Veggie Restaurants
Despite challenges, Bay Area veggie restaurants’ numbers are growing. On the whole, there are more veggie/vegan/slow/raw food restaurants in the Bay Area today than there were five years ago.
That said, the jury is still out as to whether the market is saturated. While some restaurants like Greens and Millennium don’t see a higher demand for vegetarian fine dining, there are clearly plenty of others that see opportunity.
The Medicine team picked San Francisco as the optimal city in 2005 to serve New Shojin style refined cuisine from Kyoto, the only one of its kind in the country. Located downtown, they’re enjoying especially great success with the lunch crowd.
Ken Kuet, General Manager of Bok Choy Garden in San Francisco’s Richmond District, is convinced that the demand for vegetarian restaurants will continue to rise. Just two months ago, he and his family bought the 10-year-old restaurant, and business, he says, is booming.
He’s updated the menu to include more organic, fresh vegetables he gets from the market every morning, shifting the menu away from mock-meat to dishes with fresh veggies like crisp asparagus, pea pods, water chestnuts in mushroom sauce sprinkled with honey walnuts. A born carnivore and Marines veteran, he’s eating vegetarian more and more simply by eating the restaurant’s food. Feeling a notable change in his energy and overall health, Kuet says he’s committed to serving food that shows people that vegetarian fare can taste delicious. And he’s not alone in his optimism.
Already successful niche restaurants are also expanding. Cha-Ya opened a San Francisco location on Valencia Street six months ago. Herbivore’s Berkeley location opens this month, and Café Gratitude will open its fourth location, this one in San Rafael, next month.
New On The Scene
At brand-new Asian organic/slow food destination Umami, you won’t be pressured by your server to move for the next dinner seating. The traditional Asian restaurant, serving traditional dishes from numerous countries, opened last month in San Francisco’s Marina District, and takes “slow food” almost literally. “Rather than rushing off, diners tend to hang out with friends, make an evening of it. That’s at the heart of izakaya (sake pub) dining,” says Chef Sam Josi.
Josi’s step-grandmother’s Oak Hill Farm in Sonoma provides produce to the restaurant. The 45-acre farm produces more than 200 varieties of vegetables, fruits and flowers grown using practices that far exceed national organic protocols. Umami — meaning “savory” or “rich”— is the fifth flavor our taste buds register, according to Japanese researchers. And it’s the latest place that’s showing Bay Area diners how flavorful vegetables can be.
Laura Browne is a San Francisco freelance writer with a passion for food. While living in Paris five years ago, a breathtaking farmer’s market materialized at her doorstep twice a week. She experienced how melons and tomatoes are capable of tasting, and has been scouting out fresh produce ever since.
Niche Vegetarian/Slow Food Near You
SAN FRANCISCO
Alive! Restaurant (vegan, raw, organic) 1972 Lombard Street (415) 923-1052 (Marina)
Ananda Fuara (meatless with vegan options; International) 1298 Market St. (415) 621-1994 (Civic Center)
Bok Choy Garden (vegan) 1820 Clement St. (415) 387-8111 (Richmond)
Café Gratitude (raw vegan organic) 2400 Harrison St. (415) 824-4652 (Mission); 1336 9th Ave. (415) 824-4652 (Inner Sunset)
Cha-Ya (vegan; Japanese Zen Buddhist) 762 Valencia St. (415) 252-7825 (Mission)
Daily Health (vegan; Natural food store with deli and eat-in section) 1235 9th Ave. (415) 681-7675 (Sunset)
Enjoy (meatless with vegan options; Chinese) 754 Kirkham St. (415) 682-0826 (Sunset)
Feel Real Organic Vegan Café (Vegetarian) 4001 Judah Street (415) 504-7325 (Outer Sunset)
Golden Era (meatless with vegan options; Vietnamese) 572 O’Farrell St. (415) 673-3136 (Tenderloin)
Greens Restaurant (meatless with vegan options; Upscale California cuisine) Fort Mason Building A (415) 771-6222 (Marina)
Herbivore (vegan; patio seating and daily brunch) 983 Valencia St. (415) 826-5657 (Mission); 531 Divisadero St. (415) 885-7133 (Western Addition)
Judahlicious (meatless with vegan options; Juice and snack bar with a selection of soy ice cream) 3906 Judah St. (415) 665-8423 (Sunset)
Juicey Lucy’s (vegan; organic, macrobiotic, raw, Buddhist Vital Food and Gourmet Juice) 703 Columbus Ave. (415) 786-1285 (North Beach)
Lettus Organic (full organic menu, a few select meat dishes) 3352 Steiner at Chestnut. (415) 931-2777 (Marina)
Lucky Creation Vegetarian Restaurant (vegan) 854 Washington St. (415) 989-0818 (Chinatown)
Medicine New-Shojin Eatstation (vegan; Japanese Zen Buddhist) 161 Sutter St. (415) 677-4405 (Downtown)
Millennium (haute vegetarian) 580 Geary St. (415) 345-3900 (Union Square)
New Ganges Restaurant (meatless with vegan options; Indian) 775 Frederick Street (415) 681-4355 (Cole Valley)
Shangri-La (meatless with vegan options; Chinese Buddhist) 2026 Irving St. (415) 731-2548 (Inner Sunset)
Umami (organic, slow food; Japanese Sake Pub) 2909 Webster Street (415) 346- 3431 (Marina)
BERKELEY
Café Gratitude (meatless with vegan options; Raw, organic) 1730 Shattuck Ave. (415) 824-4652
Cha-Ya (vegan sushi; Japanese Zen Buddhist) 1686 Shattuck Ave. (510) 981-1213
Ital Calabash (meatless with vegan options; Ethiopian, West African, Jamaican, Organic soul food, juice bar) 3031 Adeline St. (510) 836-4825.
Raw Energy Organic Juice Café (vegan) 2050 Addison St. (510) 665-9464
Udupi Palace (meatless with vegan options; South Indian) 1901 University Ave. (510) 843-6600
Vegi Food Restaurant (vegan; Chinese) 2083 Vine St. (510) 548-5244
OAKLAND
Golden Lotus Vegetarian Restaurant (vegan) 1301 Franklin St. (510) 893-0383
Ital Calabash (meatless with vegan options) 1405 Franklin St. (510) 836-4825
Manzanita Restaurant & Bakery (vegan; Macrobiotic) 1050 40th St (510) 985-8386
New World Vegetarian (vegan; International Cuisine) 464 8th St. (510) 444-2891
Supreme Vegan (vegan; California cuisine) 906 Stanford Ave (510) 655-0132
This list (amended here by Common Ground) is available at friendsofanimals.org, which also publishes vegan restaurant guides for New York, D.C., SoCal, Portland, Ore., and Seattle.