Do you Beleaf in life after meat? The wizards behind Beleaf Cafe certainly do, and they just opened a brand spanking new location at Westfield Century City, LA’s greatest mall.
This is junk food done right: 100% plant-based and scrumptious as hell. They have a massive menu, a testament to both their creativity and ambition. The kale burger got me good. The patty is, of course, the centerpiece, but it’s the succulent co-stars in this that really level it up. Thousand islands, avocado, and grilled onion add richness and decadence to the already tasty kale, and the complementary textures here are divine.
Buffalo Cauliflower wings are such a simple yet devastating concept. Sauce on cauliflower. Repeat.
But lemme tell ya, this sauce was legit. I’ve had this dish at a few different vegan places, these were easily the best. They’re just so much spicier, kickier than the rest. I don’t think they make the sauce in house, so now it is my mission to find out where this heavenly glaze came from.
The Brussels salad gave me the most pause coming in. I’ve had some fantastic Brussels sprouts, and some OK salads, but surely one cannot be made into the other. Surely.
OK so check this out. This was delicious. When you hear Brussels salad do you think you’re about to get a Mediterranean tour de force of flavor? Cause you are.
This is what we’re working with, straight up copy-pasted: Choice of Four Falafel Topped on a Bed of Mixed Greens, Brussels Sprouts, Israeli Salad, Quinoa Tabbouli, Hummus, Tahini, Lemon Wedge *Add Avocado (+$2)
You best believe I added avocado. You beat freak in believing it.
There was just so much to love. Perfectly-cooked falafel, quinoa tabouli that balanced wonderfully with the abundance of greens. This was inspired.
The Beleaf burger was my final treat, a straightforward impossible patty with standard burger fixings. After the fanciful flight of the Brussels salad, this was a lovely return to junk.
This is the dish for meat-eaters, a savory, well-seasoned stack of delicious and familiar ingredients. If you’d handed me this burger and said, this is a meaty cheeseburger, I would have bit it, nodded in agreement, then said, who are you and why are you handing me food?
But seriously, it was fantastic.
Get thee to this restaurant. It’s fast, it’s casual, it tastes great and the price point is poppin. You won’t Beleaf your eyes.
