The jalapeno burger at Saturn Cafe in Berkeley, California.
Like just about everyone you know, my birthday is in October, so my office buddies Jennifer and Paul offered to take me out for a birthday lunch. I got to pick the place and, of course, I picked a vegetarian restaurant, much to meat-devourer Paul’s dismay.
Luckily for Paul, Saturn Cafe in Berkeley serves your typical diner fare, but with a vegetarian/vegan bent, that will even please carnivores.
Located near the UC California at Berkeley campus, Saturn Cafe has a fun, diner decor. There are so many tasty-sounding items on the menu that fellow vegetarian Jennifer and I didn’t know where to start.
We ordered some appetizers for the table: sweet potato fries ($6.95) with a wasabi sauce and jalapeno poppers ($6.50) with vegan ranch. Both are yummy, but I really loved the sweetness of the fries with the heat of the wasabi. Also, I just had to try the vegan chocolate milkshake ($5.25). Rich and chocolatey, you would never know it was vegan.
The vegan chocolate milkshake at Saturn Cafe in Berkeley.
One of the many things I love about Saturn Cafe is they offer more than one vegetarian burger patty. They have the griller patty, which tastes like meat; the house-made Saturn patty, made with organic nuts, grains, cheese and vegetables; a faux-chicken patty; and a mesquite “chicken” cutlet. If you can’t decide, very often Saturn Cafe offers all four patties as sliders that you can order together on their Specials menu.
I’ve had the sliders in the past, but this time I opted for the jalapeno burger ($9.50) with the griller patty, chipolte and buffalo sauce, jack cheese, and beer-battered jalapenos. Once again, it was so good, you would never know it was a vegetarian burger.
Jennifer has been achin’ for the bacon. Sort of. She ordered the FLT ($7.95) with fakin’ bacon, lettuce and tomato. They didn’t skimp on any of the ingredients, so the sandwich was pretty thick, but delicious.
While Jennifer and I stuck to the burger and sandwich menu, Paul went to the entree menu, ordering the Peanut Royale ($8.95), which includes vegetables, crispy tofu, green onions, bean sprouts with a spicy peanut sauce served over brown rice. The meat eater was appeased, and he agreed to a return visit. Good thing, because I really want to try the baked vegan mac ‘n’ cheese, and I don’t want to wait until my next birthday.
Saturn Cafe
2175 Allston Way
Berkeley, CA 94704
(510) 845-8505
http://saturncafe.com/
