Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City
SADLY, THE BROCCOLI BAR IS NOW CLOSED.
By now you have probably heard all the jokes about avocado. There were even numerous restaurants and cafes where their concepts were “All Avocado All the Time.” Hilarious, right?
But did you hear the one about the Broccoli Bar?
It sounded absurd (and like the epitome of hipster veganism) when I heard about another restaurant that focuses on one specific vegetable. This time broccoli gets the star treatment.
Broccoli is not nearly as glamorous or as cool as avocado, but after tasting the offerings at this corner spot in Fort Greene, I might claim it is even more delicious.
The Broccoli Bar started as a food truck in Vermont and now has this spot in Brooklyn. Inside the small shop, it feels like what you’d expect from a vegan business that hails from Vermont. Contrasting purples and greens are the background for lots of psychedelic-esque designs.
I was very attracted to the idea of the Big Sexy, which is basically a smorgasbord of all their broccoli offerings. When a place offers a plate of everything on their menu, it’s nearly impossible for me to resist.
The aluminum take-out container didn’t look terribly sexy but I was legitimately blown away by all the flavors lurking in the dishes.
The only offering that didn’t have broccoli was the coconut milk sticky rice, which provided a nice base for all that brassica. The sweet and spicy maple-sriracha tempura broccoli was meaty and intensely flavored. Better than any Chinese-American broccoli dish you can imagine.
Some char-grilled barbecue broccoli was tender and smoky with a potent chili dry rub and an umami-laden tamari vinaigrette.
The stir fried broccoli featured a rich bright brown ginger sauce. And finally, the broccoli dumplings had a nice curry note and was so much better than I would expect from healthy dumplings.
Despite the broccoli theme, I was quite impressed with the diversity and complexity of the flavors.
Turns out you can make a successful restaurant with a variety of dishes based around one particular vegetable. Who wants to break the news to avocado? Price: $8/$12
| THE BROCCOLI BAR |
| 690 Fulton Street (at South Portland Avenue), Fort Greene, Brooklyn (929) 337-6577 |
| broccolibar.com |
