It’s vegan season
Plant-based burgers take on Union Square
THE vegan revolution marches on — one step forward and two steps back, as Lenin would say. Celebrity chef Spike Mendelsohn is opening PLNT Burger in the heart of Union Square later this fall, Side Dish can reveal exclusively.
The Food Network star will also be showcasing his plant-based burger at this fall’s New York Wine & Food Festival Burger Bash, which he won in past years for his beef burgers — a favorite of President Obama’s at Mendelsohn’s Washington, DC, hot spot, Good Stuff Eatery.
The Montreal-born chef got his start in New York, working for top chefs and restaurateurs including Thomas Keller, the late Sirio Maccioni and Drew Nieporent.
“I’m very excited to be back in New York with a plant-based restaurant, full of advocacy and doing what is good for the planet,” said Mendelsohn, who opened 10 PLNT locations in Pennsylvania and in the DC area over the past 18 months.
The Union Square spot will be 850 square feet, focusing on take-out — with four or five seats at the counter. The plan is to open more locations in the city, he added.
“Our goal is to democratize plantbased food and feed the masses,” Mendelsohn tells Side Dish.
He’s got some competition. Nicole Marquis, the Philly-based founder of popular Hip City Veg — known as the “Shake Shack” of plant-based food — is opening her first eatery in the city next month.
Like Mendelsohn, Marquis says her mission is to make plant-based eating more accessible to all. And like Mendelsohn, she is opening in Union Square — along with two delivery-only kitchens in Brooklyn and Queens. Hip City Veg is slated to open at 28 E. 12th St.
“We are seeing an unprecedented amount of innovation, interest and investment in plant-based foods right now. My concept is to serve food that is familiar, like the fast food most of us grew up on, so people will try it, crave it and return,” Marquis said. “Most of our guests are not vegetarian or vegan. We’re seeing more people interested in eating at least one plant-based meal a day, which can lead to more. And now, with the urgency around climate change, people realize that every meal is also an opportunity to have a lower impact on the planet.”
The “democratization” of the plant-based revolution comes shortly after Eleven Madison Park — named in past years as the world’s best restaurant — announced that it was going full vegan (save for milk and honey for tea) last May.
But its $335-a-person tasting menu (wine pairing is an extra $175 per person) just got panned by Eater, which says EMP’s food doesn’t come close to “groundbreaking.” Nevertheless, EMP’s star chef Daniel Humm reportedly claims a 50,000-person waitlist.
Humm told Side Dish his restaurant wants to show diners how “delicious and magical” plant-based food can be — which could empower others in the restaurant industry to embrace more vegetable options, he said.
“There is no denying that our food system is broken and I’ve been witnessing firsthand how supply has changed,” he said. “The future of dining is plant-based. It’s the way forward for our planet. This is not anti-meat, but pro-planet.”
The gospel is spreading: The Met Ball is going vegan this year. And around 25 vegan spots have already opened in the Big Apple this year, with three openings this week alone.
There are currently more than 180 vegan or plant-based eateries operating in the city, said Matt Marshall, cofounder of @vegan.nyc on Instagram, which tracks new vegan openings.