By Aditya Bhosale
If you are looking to try out plant-based foods or are already a plant-based foodie, then The Greyhound Café, located in the Great Valley Shopping Center, is strongly recommended.
The vegan restaurant opened in 2017 under the sole ownership of Joseph Solar. His menu mainly serves Italian and Mexican style dishes, but also offers a variety of pub food. The café received BuzzFeed’s Best Wings in Pennsylvania award for two years in a row!
The café’s barbecue and buffalo wings, made and seasoned from Gardein, a spice made of soy, wheat and pea proteins, vegetables, and ancient grains, are on another level. Perfectly marinated, they are great as an appetizer or even a main dish! The Gardein product is primarily used as a meat substitute.
According to Mr. Solar, the café enhances the Gardein products with their own special seasonings to make the dishes uniquely his own.
“Many of the recipes that I create are from my own personal experiences. And the chefs and I go through a taste test to make sure it is precisely how we want it,” said Mr. Solar.
When deciding on the type of fare he would like to cook and serve, Mr. Solar shared that his stepdaughter was an influence in his decision. She said to him, “If you love me, you’ll go plant-based.” And with love in his heart, he decided to take her recommendation, and that decision changed his life. In addition, the name of the restaurant was inspired by Joseph’s wife’s experience with rescuing Greyhounds in our area and their avid passion for them.
So how does one turn Italian and Mexican food into vegan cuisine?
The Italian cuisine offers a variety of foods that you would never have thought to be plant-based! For example, they have Rigatoni Fra Diavolo, buffalo chicken pizza, and even chicken Alfredo! All these original Italian dishes contain meat, but The Greyhound Café uses special recipes to make them seem as if you are eating chicken or beef, when in fact you are not.
However, his menu does not stop there! Mr. Solar also has a huge variety of Mexican traditional foods that are usually heavy in meat, but by using his specific recipes and techniques, his chefs can do the impossible and make them all plant based. A few of the many Mexican dishes he has to offer, are the stacked nachos, the "life changing" chicken chimichangas, tacos ala plancha, and a chicken Milanesa. One of his most popular Mexican dishes is the fried fish tacos! Some of his meals, such as the tacos ala plancha, allow a customer to choose between beef, chicken, or portabella mushrooms!
I personally had the amazing opportunity to try some of their food, and I have to say, it was some of the most flavorful that I have ever ordered from a restaurant. I had the pleasure of having the Rigatoni Fra Diavolo, which had a perfect spice level when it came to the plant-based sausage. Along with that, I had the Penne al Vodka, in which the sauce was well seasoned with hints of spice. The pasta is cook “al dente,” is firm to the bite, but tender, in other words, perfecto!
As for the Mexican menu, I taste tested the “fish” tacos, and they were the best I ever had, plant-based or not. They are served in soft tortillas and packed with crunchy salad on the inside. The chimichanga, a deep-fried burrito with rice, beans, cheese and assorted “meats,” had the perfect texture and broke down in your mouth with savory goodness. The plant-based meat was well blended into the wrap and worked well with the mouthwatering guacamole! For those looking for a guacamole appetizer, Mr. Solar also serves homemade tortilla chips.
Mr. Solar and his family believe that by eating a meat-free diet, they can reduce environmental toxins and damaging chemical outputs that are associated with those animals and their production.
In addition to café’s passion for maintaining and encouraging vegan diets, they are also involved in the Support and Feed Organization, which provides resources to plant-based restaurants in Los Angeles, New York City, and Philadelphia. During the COVID pandemic, The Greyhound Café has donated over 1,000 meals through Support and Feed!
My recommendation would be that you give them a try, and I guarantee that you will find a meal that will satisfy both your tastebuds and your wallet.