An innovative vegan fast food concept specializing in fried “chicken” sandwiches is coming to Dallas. Called Project Polloit’s a young, growing chain from San Antonio that will open its first Dallas location at 4814 Greenville Ave., the space previously occupied by healthy fast-food chain Start.

(The location also briefly housed a seafood restaurant called Caribbean’s Shark, which was the for less than a year.)

Project Pollo founder Lucas Bradbury said he was working to open the restaurant by mid-February.

It was an extended trip that made Dallas-area vegans eager and impatient. The restaurant was originally scheduled to open at 6857 Greenville Ave. in 2021, but factors like COVID-19 and good old Dallas got in the way.

“We encountered many obstacles as contractors were not obtaining permits for work done prior to our lease,” a spokesperson said.

When the new location became available, they quickly picked it up. It will have many advantages, including ample parking and valuable drive-thru. They will also have a full bar and live music.

The Pollo project started in 2020 as a food cart, but is growing rapidly, with new locations in Austin and Houston in addition to his hometown San Antonio.

The menu centers on “chickenless sandwiches” such as the Spicy Project, featuring breaded fried chicken with spicy garlic buffalo sauce and ranch, served with a pickled jalapeño.

Other menu items include burgers, cheeseburgers, chicken nuggets, salads, a chicken Caesar wrap, and loaded “papas” — fries topped with queso, jalapeno, and chicken tenderloins.

Breakfast options include a chicken burrito, chicken and waffles, and a chicken biscuit.

“Pollo” is an exclusive soy-based chicken substitute that you can fry or grill.

Fans love their lush sauces and the decadent nature of dishes such as their macaroni and cheese, made with vegan cashew-based cheese.

Bradbury previously worked for a chain of convenience stores running concepts such as Dunkin and Which Wich, and was inspired to create the concept after encouraging his parents to adopt a plant-based diet for health reasons.

Its mission is to make plant-based food more accessible to all, story the San Antonio Current that they want everyone, regardless of income bracket, to be able to afford a plant-based lifestyle.

“Our concept isn’t about profit, it’s about people and access to plant-based foods at an affordable price,” says Bradbury.

Dining options for vegans and vegetarians in central Hudson are expanding, with several entrepreneurs now pushing the boundaries of what was once considered the extreme manifestation of healthy eating to include fast food favorites, without meat. Hudson Valley One recently reported on the instant success of one of those great “vegan junk food” stores in Kingston, the Secret Vegan Café. Now another has joined him from across town: Moonburger, a “plant-based drive-thru burger restaurant” at 5 Powell’s Lane. It is in the building that housed the Ice Castle, its old battlements are now covered with a more contemporary style facade.

Who would have guessed that vegans secretly want to eat the kind of food that’s supposed to be bad for you? Brooklyn hipsters, that’s who. Owner Jeremy Robinson-Leon, a public relations manager who fled the city to Kingston during the pandemic last year, wondered, “Why not create a totally new and totally exciting hamburger stop from scratch.” for 2021, building on the history of big, classic burger restaurants and we challenge ourselves to imagine what else is possible? A place for people – starting with a great and fair place to work and growing from there to offer a truly distinctive offering to our community.

As culinary and merchandising consultants, Robinson-Leon has surrounded himself with Bon Appetit editor-in-chief Amiel Stanek, cookbook author / culinary personality Alison Roman and former Shake Shack manager Anoop. Pillarisetti. So far, his unlikely bet seems to be paying off: Since opening day on Saturday, October 16, consumers have been lining up in their cars to wait for their chance to enjoy vegan fast food – most of the time. between them willing to wait up to 90 minutes, which seriously calls into question the “quick” part of this description. On the second day, word of mouth was so fierce that Moonburger ran out of food and had to shut down several hours earlier.

That’s right: Moonburger has no dining room, no place to sit. It is as minimal a “restaurant” experience as one might imagine. The only way to get your food is to sit in your car until it’s your turn. There have already been sarcastic comments on social media about whether eating vegan reduces your carbon footprint if your automobile is idling and spitting CO2 into the atmosphere while you wait. Probably not, so the incentive here has to be the food itself, more than the need to feel virtuous for the environment.

On the day that HV1’s intrepid food investigator showed up to check out the offerings (Halloween, Sunday, around 6 p.m.), the queue was a bit shorter than previously reported and was moving – slowly , but not so slowly that it made sense to keep turning. the engine on and off. From when we entered the queue to when we left with our dinner it took us about 35 minutes.

Was it worth it? It depends on how strong your nostalgia for takeout burgers is. We tried the ‘classic cheeseburger’, which cheats a bit: while the galette is an Impossible Meat Burger, it is served under real dairy cheese on a Martin’s potato roll which contains dairy and gluten but a gluten-free option and a dairy-free option. Our conclusion was that it was better than any standard cheeseburger from a fast food restaurant. However, despite having an acceptable beefy taste and texture, the thin patty would not fool or satisfy those looking for, say, a good, thick, farmhouse Kobe burger. There is simply no way to make it come out rare and juicy.

But that’s not what you come here for, is it? It’s the familiar and heartwarming experience of a family getaway to the hamburger restaurant in the car minus the dead cow, bad cholesterol and dollars in the cash register of a gigantic faceless global corporation that exploits the planet and its paycheck. minimum, no benefit to employees.

Besides burgers with and without cheese, Moonburger’s limited menu offers some pretty decent fries, both in the ‘classic’ and ‘hot’ varieties sprinkled with cayenne pepper – the latter is not too overwhelming even for wimps. by Scoville Scale. Cheese sauce for dipping your fries is extra. You can get an apple for dessert. The beverage choices are a variety of soft drinks, iced tea, bottled water and the Brownie Batter Shake. Made with oat milk and chocolate ganache, the latter is non-dairy and tastes, lacking the roundness in the mouth that we associate with a real milkshake. But it is dense, very chocolatey and evokes a drinkable brownie.

Moonburger is open daily from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Visit www.moonburger.com to see the full menu.

Sometimes just taking a quick bite can feel like you’re navigating a minefield of igniting bombs. Whether you’re trying to find a sandwich with gluten-free bread or trying to figure out if your salad is coated in a dairy-based dressing, there comes a time when you might wonder why, exactly, eating healthy can be. so much work.

And while wellness-conscious cafes are more popular than ever, one newcomer is making the inquiry process effortlessly positive: Dr Smood.

The idea came to Danish business developer Rene Sindlev and his wife, Patrizia Manici Sindlev, while they were living in Denmark and feeling frustrated with the lack of healthy restaurants to take out. So they decided not only to open theirs in Miami, but also to make it healthier than anything they had seen before. The first step? The couple recruited a holistic and healing nutritionist, Dr Etti Ben-Zion, to lead the menu.

“The concept was for everything to be anti-inflammatory,” says Dr. Ben-Zion. “This means that 80 percent of your food must come from plants, which is why our products are 80 percent plant-based.” That’s not all: from juices and salads to sandwiches and snacks (all organic, of course), they wanted every item on the menu to be as nutrient dense as possible.

Obviously the Sindlevs were on to something. In just two years, Dr Smood has gone from one location to five in two cities (the other being New York, where three locations opened in the span of two months) and four more are on their way this summer and this fall.

Here, Dr. Ben-Zion shares more details on what’s going on in the super-healthy, super-delicious offerings – at this rate, a Dr. Smood may open near you sooner than you think.

Here are four ways Dr. Smood changes healthy eating on the go.

1. Everything is dairy free

Dr Smood is a completely dairy-free zone, opting instead for homemade almond, cashew, and Brazil nut milks.

You’ll find them in 15 different items, ranging from smoothies and lattes to sweets like maca chia pudding and cocoa milk (their version contains Brazil nut milk mixed with cocoa nibs, cocoa powder. cocoa, vanilla powder and Himalayan salt).

2. Coffee is low in acidity and rich in antioxidants

Instead of your average cup of coffee, Dr. Smood uses white coffee beans. “White coffee originated in Yemen thousands of years ago,” says Dr. Ben-Zion. “[Farm workers] didn’t have time to roast the coffee for very long, so they lightly toasted it instead. This gives it a cream color, instead of the dark brown of roasted coffee. “

The bright side ? Dr. Ben-Zion claims that white coffee has lower acidity than black coffee, which makes it easier on the digestive system. (Although not all scientists support this idea.) “It is also very high in polyphenols, which are very high in antioxidants,” says Dr. Ben-Zion.

But Dr Smood didn’t stop there. The brand actually created their own coffee formula, infusing Hawaj beans, a combination of Yemeni spices, like turmeric and cumin, known to be anti-inflammatory, energizing, and good for digestion. Oh, and sure enough, you won’t find a bag of refined sugar behind the counter – coconut sugar is used instead for anything that needs a little sweetening. (Your move, Starbucks.)

3. Sandwiches won’t put you in a coma

You might be surprised to find a menu of sandwiches at Dr Smood, but make no mistake, they aren’t made with your average whole wheat bread.

“We created a special ‘performance bread’ made from just four ingredients: millet flakes, spelled flour, water and salt, that’s it,” says Dr. Ben-Zion. “It won’t raise your blood sugar and is not high in carbohydrates, that way you won’t feel like taking a nap after eating it.”

Pair one with a green juice or ‘booster’ – waters infused with ingredients like turmeric, chlorophyll, maca, and spirulina – and you might find that your 3-hour crashes are suddenly a thing of the past. .

4. There are also supplements on hand

Dr Smood has also formulated his own line of supplements to address six common wellness concerns: general health, immunity, energy, beauty, potency, and detox. Many of the menu items are labeled with these same benefits, which is helpful when choosing what to order.

And since you might be overwhelmed by all the amazing options – organic tiramisu or cinnamon roll? – this kind of Wellness Rx is exactly what the doctor ordered.

If you don’t live near a Dr Smood, here’s how to make your own ultimate anti-inflammatory meal. An even simpler tip: use this anti-inflammatory oil with every meal.