Lush bamboo spills over into the corridor between Plant Power’s parking lot and their front doors. The mission statement visible through the glass doors promotes power through collective action; their logo is a plant. “Plant Power Fast Food” glows next to their likewise-illuminated logo. If any oblivious omnivore were to make it all the way inside without catching their drift, at least the design team’s conscience would be clear.
Inside, we find ourselves in a modern contactless ordering experience adjacent to a well-lit dining room. Heavily saturated burgers and shakes pop off the stark white void of their touchscreen menu. My wife orders the Cheeseburger, I order the Nashville Chicken Sandwich and we step outside to wait for our number to be called.
The patio is a tidy string-lit space, a long open side strip bookended by greener and more private corners. Vine Street hums in the background. In true fast-food fashion it’s all very minimal and no-fuss, but the design and flourishes of greenery lend it to being a more comfortable dine-in spot than most. The scratchy intercom comes alive and calls our order, and I head inside to retrieve our meal.
The Cheeseburger isn’t a groundbreaking composition, but for an off-the-rack Beyond burger at this price the ingredients are quality and the produce is fresh. A ‘Hippie Patty’ is also on offer, a proprietary house blend of grains and legumes that’s a nice nod to the veg-forward constituents in our community.
The Nashville Chicken Sandwich is crafted from some variety of faux-chicken that’s reminiscent to the point of uncanniness. For those willing to traverse this uncanny valley in search of familiar textures, it’s an impressive reproduction. With a bold seasoning, delicate breading and nice fry it has all the trappings to sing lead. However, it threatens to be outshone by its neighbor to the north. Here, Plant Power’s approach to coleslaw shows that they fully understand the assignment. This is no delicate nest of lightly-dressed mandoline shavings – – a good vinegar slaw is a lovely topping in some settings, but when executed without great care it can lead to a lackluster and dry sandwich. In this slaw we have short and girthy cuts with a real snap to them, swimming in a properly creamy base. The helping is liberal but short of messy. There’s plenty of tang to wake up the palate and the creaminess cuts the spice just enough to demand inclusion in every bite. For the price, this sandwich is quite an accomplishment.
If we consider good fast food to be the art of making stimulating food accessible through commoditized ingredients, by this definition Plant Power executes their mission remarkably well. Like many others, I find that vegan dining can be unpredictable and often expensive. An affordable joint that’s consistently open for over 12 hours a day would seem to be the perfect antidote. There’s a lively discourse about vegan fast food’s role in servicing vestigial cravings for recent converts, but not nearly enough attention paid to the fact that, conceptually, fast food addresses a clear vegan demand.
There are several players in the growing vegan fast food scene, but few can serve up a competent burger at this price let alone show flashes of brilliance. Plant Power has positioned themselves at the front of a worthwhile movement and is poised to become a regular in my rotation.
