Back in January I had a work event out in western Massachusetts so I took the opportunity to stop by the vegan haven of Northampton Massachusetts with Jay and a few of my work friends. There are five colleges in the same valley as Northampton so the area is full of college students and professors. It is a very liberal and counterculture area - ripe for some great vegan feasts. I was really surprised by how vibrant the town was. I was expecting a sleepy little rural village - but it was anything but. Northampton is full of cute little boutiques and eclectic shops and cafes.
We only had time for one meal in Northampton - so we went for brunch at theGreen Bean. It is a cute and eclectic cafe, complete with a random assortment of coffee mugs that you chose yourself. The Green Bean serves food sourced as local and sustainably as possible and their menu is full of minimally processed, whole foods. While they do serve veggie sausage and have veganaise on some of their sandwiches, you won't find many fake meats or cheeses here. Their vegan options are from traditional sources such as tofu, tempeh, and veggies.
We only had time for one meal in Northampton - so we went for brunch at theGreen Bean. It is a cute and eclectic cafe, complete with a random assortment of coffee mugs that you chose yourself. The Green Bean serves food sourced as local and sustainably as possible and their menu is full of minimally processed, whole foods. While they do serve veggie sausage and have veganaise on some of their sandwiches, you won't find many fake meats or cheeses here. Their vegan options are from traditional sources such as tofu, tempeh, and veggies.
While the restaurant isn't entirely vegan, they had plenty of options that are designed vegan, plus you can replace egg with tofu on any of the non-vegan options. I went with the local favorite - the Tempeh, Arizona. I loved the name plus I'd read it was a favorite of vegans and non-vegans alike. If it was the dish the locals kept going back to I figured I should give it a shot.
It came with their standard vegan corn pancakes, tempeh, and steamed veggies. While I appreciate the health factor with the steamed veggies, I could've used some sort of seasoning on them. I used a combination of local maple syrup and ketchup (not at the same time...) with the dish and often ate the veggies in conjunction with the tempeh. The tempeh was done very well. It was thin and crispy and had good flavor - and there was a lot of it. The pancakes were my favorite part. I love cornbread - so corn pancakes are a great idea in my opinion. They had a nice combination of sweet and savory and the local maple syrup was a great addition. They really soaked up a lot of syrup so I had to keep adding more.
The corn pancakes were an inventive option but the flavors on the rest of the dish were very simple. It would have been great with some salsa or some sort of sauce on the tempeh and veggies. While it was a lot of food - it was definitely healthy. Looking at the other items on the menu, there are many with their famous almond gravy and other additions, so I must have just picked the healthy option. Interesting that it's the go to favorite for locals - must be a healthy place!
I'm definitely going to have to go back to Northampton to check out some of their other local vegan restaurants and try some more things at the Green Bean!
It came with their standard vegan corn pancakes, tempeh, and steamed veggies. While I appreciate the health factor with the steamed veggies, I could've used some sort of seasoning on them. I used a combination of local maple syrup and ketchup (not at the same time...) with the dish and often ate the veggies in conjunction with the tempeh. The tempeh was done very well. It was thin and crispy and had good flavor - and there was a lot of it. The pancakes were my favorite part. I love cornbread - so corn pancakes are a great idea in my opinion. They had a nice combination of sweet and savory and the local maple syrup was a great addition. They really soaked up a lot of syrup so I had to keep adding more.
The corn pancakes were an inventive option but the flavors on the rest of the dish were very simple. It would have been great with some salsa or some sort of sauce on the tempeh and veggies. While it was a lot of food - it was definitely healthy. Looking at the other items on the menu, there are many with their famous almond gravy and other additions, so I must have just picked the healthy option. Interesting that it's the go to favorite for locals - must be a healthy place!
I'm definitely going to have to go back to Northampton to check out some of their other local vegan restaurants and try some more things at the Green Bean!
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