Green Restaurant is an award-winning, chef-driven, comfort-food destination, serving one-hundred-percent plant-based foods for the masses.

Is this your first restaurant?

No.

When did it open?

The first location of Green Restaurant opened in Tempe, Arizona, in 2006.

How many restaurants do you hope to have in the future? Will you expand further?

The idea of expanding further is always enticing, but we’ll only entertain growth if our ethics and our integrity can support it.

What’s your favorite dish on the menu?

Depending on how healthy I’m trying to eat, it’s either the Singapore Orange Bowl with our house tofu with orange-soy glaze and organic brown rice or our infamous Big Wac with a side of thyme fries.

What’s your most popular appetizer?

Our vegan Buffalo “wings” with dill ranch.

What’s the most popular entrée on the menu?

The Original “G” Spicy Chicken Sandwich.

What’s your most popular dessert?

The tSoynami: organic vegan soft-serve ice cream folded together with your choice of fruits, cookies, cakes, doughnuts, candy bars, or just about anything decadent you can think of. If you haven’t had one, you really should.

What do you feel is special about your restaurant?

The most special thing about the restaurant is the number of omnivores that eat here, and then they come back with more of their friends to prove that vegan food can really taste great. That plus our amazing sweet shop, Nami tSoft tServe and Coffee, which serves one-hundred-percent vegan pastries, ice cream, and coffee—Yum!

How often do you change your menu items? Do you have daily or weekly specials?

We have specials all the time; people love them. Our menu pretty much stays the same throughout the year, but we always incorporate local and organic vegetables into our specials and menu whenever we can.

Do you have gluten-free, soy-free, and sugar-free options on your menu?

We have a whole separate menu that is entirely gluten-free. And we have some soy-free and sugar-free options, too.

What do you do to reduce your environmental impact?

Of course we recycle; we were one of the first restaurants to start recycling in our area. We use loads of green products such as corn-based cups, postconsumer recycled paper products, renewable birchwood flatware, etc. Our beer menu is all local and regional beers, served only in cans; we also have an extensive wine list that includes many Arizona wines on tap. But the most important environmentally conscious choice we make is, of course, to be one-hundred-percent vegan.

What are the most important lessons you’ve learned as owner or chef of this restaurant?

The most important thing I’ve learned about owning and operating Green Restaurant is that the people and community around you are what’s most important. When you surround yourself with the best, you will be the best.

What led you to want to open a vegan restaurant, and/or what led you to the vegan diet yourself?

I was in the restaurant game for many years, and although I was a vegetarian myself for over seventeen years, the food I was preparing was not aligned with my personal ethics. In 2008, my entire family went vegan after watching the phenomenal documentary Earthlings. I made the choice to never cook with animal products again.

In the time since your restaurant first opened, how has the plant-based food movement changed? Do you find more demand now for vegan food?

The demand for good vegan food is certainly on the rise. With the popularity of movies like Earthlings and Forks Over Knives, and the scientific evidence of the benefits of plant-based foods, more and more people are gravitating toward a vegan diet.

Since your restaurant first opened, has your view of what constitutes healthy or delicious food changed? Have you changed the types of foods you offer?

I don’t think my philosophy has changed in this manner. I have always sought to celebrate food, and to celebrate the preparation of food. It’s one of the greatest gifts one can offer. The food I prepare will stay with that person who consumes it for the rest of their life, on some level. I want the food to resonate with them in every way, and contribute to their healthfulness.

Where do you see the plant-based food movement going in coming years?

I think if people continue to make plant-based foods exciting and enticing, we can change people’s minds. The more people eating plant-based foods, the better they will feel, and the more they will advocate it to others. This philosophy will bloom and grow more and more.

Coconut Tofu and Blackened Tempeh with Grapefruit Yuzu

Serves 3–6

For the grapefruit yuzu sauce:

¼ cup agave syrup

¼ cup unrefined cane sugar

½ cup yuzu vinegar*

Juice of 1 large grapefruit

Juice of 1 large lemon

1 tablespoon sambal**

For the tofu:

½ cup shredded coconut

1 30-ounce block extra-firm tofu (preferably sprouted)

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

For the tempeh:

1 1-pound block tempeh

1 teaspoon granulated garlic

2 teaspoons ancho chili powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon dried thyme

¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil

For the garnish (optional):

12 to 15 segmented grapefruit pieces

Handful microgreens

Alfalfa sprouts

* Yuzu vinegar is commonly found at any Whole Foods, Sprouts, or Asian markets, or online from Amazon.

** Sambal is a chili-based condiment used frequently in Malaysian, Indonesian, and South Indian cooking. Find it in the international section of grocery stores or an Asian food market.

Put all of the grapefruit yuzu sauce ingredients in a sauté pan and cook over medium heat. Stir and cook for about 10 minutes until the sauce is reduced by half. Set aside to cool.

To toast the coconut, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Place the shredded coconut on a sheet tray and put it in the heated oven. Lightly toast the coconut until golden brown (about 10 to 15 minutes). Put the toasted coconut in a bowl and set aside.

Cut the tofu into 1 x 1 squares. Place the oil in a nonstick pan and heat. Put the tofu in the pan and lightly sauté the tofu cubes in until golden brown. Transfer the sautéed tofu to a bowl with the toasted coconut and lightly toss. The toasted coconut should gently stick to the tofu.

Cut the tempeh into 1 x 1 squares. In a bowl, combine the garlic, chili powder, salt, and dried thyme; mix well, then place the cut tempeh cubes into the bowl. Gently roll the tempeh cubes in the seasoning to coat thoroughly on all sides.

Next, heat the oil in a nonstick pan. Once the oil is hot, place the tempeh into the pan and lightly sauté the seasoned cubes until you achieve a rich blackened look on the outside. This should take 5 to 7 minutes. Continue to move the tempeh around in the pan as you cook it to get an even sear on all sides.

To assemble: With a 6" skewer, spear 1 cube of tofu, then 1 cube of blackened tempeh, then 1 more cube of tofu, then the final cube of tempeh. Repeat this pattern 4 times, alternating the tempeh and the tofu, to get a “checkerboard” effect. Repeat for 3 additional skewers (4 in total). Top with some microgreens or fresh alfalfa sprouts. Finally, drizzle 4 to 5 tablespoons of the citrus yuzu glaze over the skewers. Add segmented pieces of grapefruit to garnish, if using.

HappyCow Member Reviews for Green New American Vegetarian Restaurant

Best veg food in the Phoenix area

“Green is my favorite place to eat in the Phoenix area . . . . There are many yummy selections. I have tried nearly everything on the menu and it is all fantastic.”

—suecag

Always a success

“The best part of this place is that even my meat-eating friends love it. I am a rather picky eater, but I have never had something that I didn’t love.”

—kcroe

Making other vegan restaurants Green with Envy!

“I am irrevocably in love with this place! Green was THE most anticipated vegan stop on our summer road trip and it did NOT disappoint!”

—Tigra220