‘No animals terrorized here’: A 24/7 vegan convenience store and a new vegan sushi spot
Imagine you pull up to a gas station to grab some snacks from the convenience store, but the usual fare is missing: The Hot Cheetos are replaced with Simply 7 lentil chips, the ice cream is replaced with Oatly soft serve and the barbecue food truck parked outside is fully vegan. It may be a nightmare scenario for meat- and dairy-lovers, but it’s a paradise for vegans that actually exists – in San Bruno.
It’s unlikely you’d accidentally stumble into this particular gas station though – flashy, colorful signs and larger-than-life rooftop statues will clue you in that this is far from your typical convenience store. It looks more like Las Vegas’ Meow Wolf Omega Mart than your neighborhood gas station. This week, freelancer Edwina Dueñas got the story on Hangry Planet, learning why the owner Bobak Bakhtiari (a self-described “rustic cherub in human form”) decided to open what’s touted as the world’s first plant-based convenience store.
Meanwhile, I set my sights on the newest restaurant to come to downtown Palo Alto: A fully vegan izakaya spot that’s a sister restaurant to the popular vegan sushi spot Shizen in San Francisco. Tane Vegan Izakaya just opened last week, so I decided I’d sit down for dinner and give it a try.
And if vegan food isn’t your thing and you’re more of a sports person, this week I also talked with former NFL player Andrew Luck to learn why he chose to invest in a Palo Alto sports bar.
Stay tasty,
Adrienne
More than a gas station: San Bruno’s Hangry Planet, food truck Vegan Mob hope to fuel Peninsula with plant-based eats and positivity
At a busy intersection across Tanforan Mall in San Bruno sits Hangry Planet gas station and car wash. While some drivers stop by for fuel, others are drawn in by oddities like a life-sized merman statue on the roof and the smell of plant-based barbecue.
The Pro gets a celebrity investor, Sunnyvale gets a new ghost kitchen and Mountain View hosts an ice cream social
- Former NFL quarterback Andrew Luck is investing in The Pro, a project revitalizing longtime Palo Alto sports bar The Old Pro.
- Tasty Pot, a Taiwanese hot pot chain, is opening a location in Palo Alto, replacing longtime Chinese restaurant Jing Jing Gourmet.
- Cajun Bowl has announced that they’re expanding to downtown San Mateo this month.
- San Jose’s Slice of Homage Pizza has opened a ghost kitchen in Sunnyvale.
- Some Mazra updates: The original San Bruno location is reopening Jan. 7, and the Redwood City location, which caught fire in June, plans to reopen Sept. 10, according to recent Instagram posts.
- Sekoya is celebrating its first anniversary tonight with complimentary bubbles and cupcakes as well as a three-course prix fixe menu available through Saturday.
- I scream, you scream, we all scream for the Old Mountain View Neighborhood Ice Cream Social, happening Saturday from 1-3 p.m. at Mercy-Bush Park.
Vegan sushi rolls and poke at Tane Vegan Izakaya
I both hate and love the idea of vegan sushi.
I hate it because many people would argue that the point of sushi, particularly nigiri, is to let the natural flavor of fresh seafood shine. I also think replacing protein-packed fish with protein-lacking vegetables nearly guarantees being hungry as soon as the immediate satiation of quick-metabolizing rice diminishes.
I love it because the fishy taste of some seafood is particularly unpleasant to my tastes (see my history of trying and failing to make myself love seafood here), and I love the concept of letting the vibrant flavor of vegetables, which often act as supporting characters, take center stage.
Dining at Tane Vegan Izakaya was not my first experience trying vegan sushi: I’ve loved it at Nami Nori in New York City and hated it at The Yasai in San Diego. But I’ve never actually tried vegan sushi along the Peninsula before.
Despite soft opening just one day before I dined at Tane, the izakaya spot was packed and only bar seating was available (a testament to the number of plant-based eaters in the area). I decided to order two sushi rolls, the Point Reyes and the Ewa, and one poke bowl, a Tane Palo Alto exclusive.
The Point Reyes was phenomenal. This vegan, gluten-free sushi roll featured king oyster mushroom, avocado, spicy shredded tofu, pickled pineapple, jalapeno, sweet teriyaki and habanero ($19). Spicy yet sweet with a nice acidity and brightness, this sushi roll had the texture of a roll made with fish without the fishy flavor. But a warning: Stay away if you don’t like spice, as the jalapeno and habanero pack quite a kick (complimented nicely by the cooling effect of avocado, the tartness of pineapple and the sweetness of teriyaki).
The Ewa, while more visually stunning than the Point Reyes, was lacking in flavor. Made with matcha salt, enoki tempura, avocado, smoked beet aioli, yuzu seaweed pearls, truffle salt and lemon ($21), the roll tasted a lot like a dragon roll without the unagi sauce (i.e. the best part of a dragon roll). To its credit, the tempura was extremely crispy, but overall the roll felt heavy and bland.
The most disappointing dish of the night was the Hawaiian Poke Bowl, which was basically a massive bowl of rice with a few vegetables and tofu pieces decorating the top. Fix the rice-to-vegetable ratio and add some sauce, and I could imagine this dish being OK.
Will I be returning to Tane? Surprisingly, yes. The Point Reyes roll is insanely good, and even if it’s the only good thing on the menu (I’ll have to try more rolls to see if that’s the case), I think it warrants a return trip.
Click here to read my article about Tane Vegan Izakaya and watch my review here.
Tane Vegan Izakaya, 461 Emerson St., Palo Alto; Instagram: @taneveganpaloalto. Open Tuesday to Thursday and Sunday 4:30-9:30 p.m., Friday and Saturday 4:30-10 p.m.
From ube macarons to tira•mac•su: Meet the Santa Clara-based baker infusing new flavors into the traditional French macaron
Macaron de Jayne started as a college study abroad fundraiser. Nearly a decade later, Jayne Baltazar is bringing her innovative desserts to customers across Silicon Valley.
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