Pulp Kitchen, post renovation [Mark]

898 Queen Street E
416 . 461 . 4612
http://www.pulpkitchen.ca

I originally visited this place when it was a juice bar in summer 2002 and really liked the selection of fruit smoothies and vegetable juices. I went in late December with a friend and to my surprise they now serve a full meals and most dishes are vegan and healthy. My friend and I ordered the vegan Phad Thai, which consisted of glass rice noodles, chunks of tofu, homemade peanut sauce, and a lot of vegetables, all sauteed in a nice stir-fry.

We also had a thick delicious smoothie with vanilla soy milk, wheatgrass, spirulina, raspberries, strawberries ,and bananas. It was terrific. We also shared a warm salad of sauteed mushrooms, green beans, long cucumber slivers, and sauteed tofu in a rice vinegar type dressing. The salad was heavenly, not too greasy but the viniagrette was perfect. In addition we each ordered five vegan dumplings with homemade peanut sauce. What a healthy feast!

Decor is funky and tables are not too cramped together. Large front window makes the place bright during the day. The place has about 10-15 tables, sells protein and energy bars, fairly traded products, and they sell healthy desserts, bars, squares, cakes, and still runs as a juice, smoothie, and vegetable juice bar. Located right in the heart of South Riverdale, I will definitely go back. The menu is similar to Juice for Life, without the artsy-fartsy pretentiousness. The bill came out to $45.00 which was kind of pricy but the quality and service was excellent. Staff are very friendly and knowledgable with respect to food content and health benefits of the dishes.