Ethan and I used to take long weekends down to my parents house in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. However, after Ethan became vegan, we stopped going down there. The dining options were incredibly limited, and the grocery stores were woefully inadequate. However, when we came down this summer for a family gathering, we were quite pleased with what we saw. Now there are many new restaurants with easily veganizble options, a new Whole Foods that just opened this year and even the nearby Publix has ample vegan options. What a big difference in a short period of time. Our routine when we arrive here is to stop at the grocery store before heading to the house, figuring we will be eating in most of the time. So, we stocked up for our weekend and settled in.
We had heard of a restaurant by my parents house called Christopher’s Kitchen. Initially we heard it was a raw vegan restaurant, so we were hesitant about trying it. But, we checked out the menu online and it looked very good. We decided to stop by and check it out in person. What was going to be a “let’s look and maybe come back another time,” turned into, “we’re eating here now.” Although once, predominantly raw, Christophers Kitchen now bills itself as a 100% organic plant based restaurant, with an ample selection of cooked foods in addition to raw options.
Spicy Lettuce Cups
Caesar Salad
I started with a half Caesar salad, consisting of chopped romaine, brazil nut garlic parmesan and fresh lemon tossed with a cashew Caesar dressing and the house vinaigrette. The brazil nut parmesan was great. The salad was bright and fresh. I could have eaten more, but was happy I only ordered a half portion, which was quite generous as I wanted room for my entrée. For his starter, Ethan opted for the Spicy Lettuce Cups: 2 enormous servings of a raw slaw julienned vegetables including daikon, carrot, celery, peppers and bok choy, mango and cilantro tossed with a Thai dressing served over some lettuce. These were not lettuce cups that you could pick up to eat, but really two salads on lettuce. Two people could have easily shared this as a starter. As for spicy, there was a zing from the ginger in the dressing, but it was not spicy. We both really enjoyed our starters.
Avocado Pizzetta
For my main course, I tried the Avocado Pizzetta: a pizza crust topped with red sauce, oregano, onions, avocado and arugula topped with cashew dressing and more of the brazil nut parmesan. The pizza is cooked in a wood over, which I love. The crust was crispy on the edges and tender in the middle. The avocado and arugula are added after the cooking so you get a nice contrast between the crunch of the crust, the spice of the sauce, the creaminess of the avocado and the cool of the arugula. The pizza is only about 10 inches, so it is a nice serving for one. If you want to share it, I suggested getting a second entrée to split as well. This pizza was great.
Asian Noodle Bowl
For his main, Ethan tried the Asian Noodle Bowl: zucchini noodles topped with cabbage, cucumber, avocado, herbs, ponzu and an almond ginger sauce. This dish lived up to its spicy label. Ethan really enjoyed it. The portion, while not huge, was definitely generous and enough for a full meal.
Caramel Bar
Ethan skipped dessert, but I didn’t. I tried the Caramel Bar: Christopher’s Kitchen chocolate filled with caramel sauce. I was rather disappointed with this one, but to be fair, I am not a big fan of dark chocolate. The chocolate overpowered the little bit of caramel inside. As a fan of caramel, I was really hoping for more filling.
House Salad
We went back for a second night as we so enjoyed our first meal there. On our second visit, Ethan started with the Caesar salad and said, “this is the best vegan Caesar I’ve ever had.” It really is amazing. I started with the House Salad, a mix of greens topped with zucchini bacon, died cranberries and the house dressing. The zucchini bacon was interesting – not crispy or crunchy like other vegan bacons, but more like a jerky texture. It was also coated in pepper, so it has a kick to it. The House Salad was good, but I definitely preferred last night’s Caesar.
NYC Roll
For his main, Ethan had the NYC Roll, a sushi type roll of teriyaki almond pate, mango, kale, sprouts, red peppers, sweet & spicy ginger chili sauce, spiced almonds. This is listed a spicy on the menu and Ethan confirmed it was very spicy, unnecessarily so. Much too spicy. Ethan thought the chopped almonds sprinkled on top were unnecessary and they provided too much contrast with the roll itself. I tried the Thai pizzetta for my main. It consisted of ginger almond sauce, mango, red onion, scallions, mushrooms, peppers, bok choy, broccoli topped with cilantro, carrots, bean sprouts, and sesame.
Thai Pizzetta
It is listed as spicy, so I asked if could be made milder. The waitress assured me it could be. The crust was the same as the pizzetta I had the night before. The pizza itself was very sweet. I imagine if I didn’t get it hold the spice, the sweet would not have been as strong. While the flavors were good, I definitely liked the Avocado pizzetta better. Neither of us opted for dessert.
Christopher’s Kitchen has a huge dessert menu with pastries, ice cream, pies, cakes and chocolates. It also has a large selection of fresh made juices. There is not much added oil in the food as they reply heavily on nuts to provide any oil. Also, next door the the main restaurant is Christopher Kitchen To Go. It has lots of prepared salads and such to grab and go. One thing to note, some of the items do contain honey, but it is listed in the food description, so there is no worry if you do not want to eat it. Christoper’s Kitchen is definitely worth checking out. If you are in the Palm Beach Gardens, Florida area.
