David K.
Yelp
There are so many great things to say about Kitchen Garden, a cozy cafe with super friendly staff turning out a small selection of beautifully-plated vegetarian dishes for lunch! My pick was the Mezze Bowl, which came with a huge variety of delicious, flavor-forward, seasonal ingredients. There was roasted eggplant (perfect for the summer), moussaka (eggplant with tomato), yellow rice mixed with lentils topped with yogurt, a dollop of labneh, a pickle spear, pickled red onions, dill, lettuce salad topped with feta, and two different types of hummus: a regular hummus topped with za'atar, and a bright pink beet hummus too! Every single element on this plate was simply spot-on in flavor, and I noticed a couple of Ottolenghi cookbooks sitting on the shelf, which I'm certain played a role in the creation of this dish! I also tried the daily special, which was a warm bowl of polenta topped with roasted eggplant, red pepper, pickled ginger, sesame seeds, cilantro, and the best part, a generous helping of shiitake mushrooms in a soy marinade. Each of these seasonal ingredients was simply delicious, and the combination of the earthy eggplant, the acidic pickled ginger, and the umami mushrooms came together perfectly with the warm polenta. The dishes here might not be cheap, but the quality was definitely worth the price!