If you don’t understand brunch, then I don’t understand you. Brunch is my favorite. First of all, the word ‘brunch’ is a portmanteau (an amalgamation of two words). I’m no linguist, but I tend to make my own portmanteaus when I get excited, so I’m mad someone clever came up with this before I could be born and beat him to the punch. And second, it gives you a chance to eat breakfast at 2 in the afternoon. Hallelujah!
Earlier today, I was driving around Central Square when Veggie Galaxy piqued Mr. E’s interest. We’ve passed by this place many times before and today was the day we stopped to check it out.
The outside, which looks similar to the Buzz Lightyear ride at Disney, is deceptively small. Once you walk through its doors, Veggie Galaxy surprises you with a very open diner. To your immediate right, there is the bakery, where you can order a wide variety of vegan treats and be on your way. The kitchen, which is open spans most of the right wall. The sounds of flat tops sizzling and the comforting, familiar smells of sweet and savory breakfast items fill the air. There is a counter to watch the action, high diner booths, low diner booths, and smaller two person tables in the back.
Mr. E and I nestled into a two person table and were greeted by our waitress Jess, who helped open Veggie Galaxy back in September. After admitting it was our first time there, she let us know we were in for a treat. Jess, from the west coast and spoiled by the vegan/vegetarian focused eateries out in Seattle, was a huge proponent for better vegan/vegetarian eating in Boston. Though not a vegan or vegetarian myself, I have to admit the choices are pretty slim if you’re looking for a lot of variety. She said she was very happy with her work and I truly believe happier people working give you, the diner a much more pleasant dining experience.
After placing our order, there must have been some mix up in the kitchen. We’d been waiting for a while and before I knew it Jess was back at our table profusely apologizing and offering free vegan treats from the bakery.
Banana Nut Muffin and Taza Chocolate Chip Cookie
Enter the banana nut muffin and the chocolate chip cookie. The bakery proudly boasts all vegan baked items. I love butter, milk, and eggs. Absence of the trinity of baking makes me pretty darn skeptical. The muffin had a very nice texture and was topped with crunchy banana chips and lots of sugar. The top was great, but the taste of the muffin left something to be desired. The cookie could have fooled me. It was crispy, the way I love my chocolate chip cookies, and the chocolate itself could have passed for the real thing.
Poached egg plate and pancakes with banana butter
Two eggs over easy, hash browns, and marble rye toast
Moments later our meals emerged victorious from the kitchen — hot plates of eggs, toast, and hash browns and a side of the pancakes. I love eggs. I could never be a vegan because of this. I use eggs to dredge, bake, eat in every form at breakfast… and the list goes on and on. My favorite way to eat eggs is over easy with lightly buttered rye toast to dip in the runny yolk. Then, whatever yolk remains on the plate, I wish wash my hash browns through to add some additional moisture and richness to the crispy potatoes. A pleasant addition was VG’s housemade hot sauce, which packed nice acrid heat to cut through some of the heaviness of the yolk.
I had a bite of Mr. E’s pancakes, which were a touch soft for my liking. I like chewing things. I don’t need to show off how I can masticate like a cow, but I need some more texture. The flavor was nice, but the best part of the pancakes was the banana butter. Oh sweet lord, was that delicious.
If you’re in the area and don’t feel like spending a lot of dough, give this place a try. Maybe you’ll even see me, since I know I’ll be back.
Veggie Galaxy
450 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA 02139
(617) 497-1513
Katie Eats Boston 