I liked Peter Levitan’s idea to lunch at a vegan restaurant. I’m intrigued by vegan cuisine. I wanted to see how far it had come from those not so good old days of celery smoothies and soyburgers. I wanted to know if a vegan restaurant could possibly tantalize my tastebuds in the same way a non-vegan restaurant could.
I’ve never come close to even considering a vegan lifestyle; the wonderfully wide-open world of food has always been one of my life’s greatest pleasures; one I could never part with. But I’m not anti-vegan.
I’m sure the right vegan foods could help me squeeze back into my favorite faded 34s. And I do believe the right vegan diet could lower my cholesterol and lipid levels and the chance of a heart attack.
I am anti certain vegans though. You may be familiar with the riddle: “How do you know if someone is vegan? Don’t worry, they’ll be sure to tell you.”
So yes I am anti the vegans (and yes, they’re very much the minority) who endlessly evangelize their faith in non-flesh foods. To some, veganism isn’t a diet, it’s more a religion. It’s praise the tofu and pass the tajini.
I wondered if we’d be preached to at Soltribe, the restaurant my friend, photographer Peter Levitan (and the guy who took the shots in this post), had picked for our vegan venture. Though I’m never sure if its pronounced veegan or vaygan, we never once heard the word.
I’ll let Soltribe’s website tell you a little about its history.
Beginning in 2013 with the simple intention of serving delicious, clean food, Soltribe quickly evolved into something much bigger. We have offered everything from specialty catering, to running commissary kitchens for large events, to curating fully vegan weddings, to pop-up dinners supporting local causes. Through this evolution, with the support of many like-minded people, our vision has expanded into a desire to change the standard narrative of food. To break with the idea that food that is nutritious and healthy can’t also be delicious and satisfying.
Once again being pushed to evolve, Soltribe creator and chef, Keshava Rossi and his partner Lena Larson decided to take the opportunity to expand their vegan concepts abroad and (in 2020) officially established the first ever Soltribe Cuisine restaurant in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico.
An email from Keshava Rossi told me a little more about what he was attempting to accomplish with Soltribe.
“It’s what I call “Conscious Consumption” where we focus on organic, local, and knowing exactly where our food comes from and how it gets to our plate. For example all of our cashews are organic and come from Chiapas. As much as possible, our produce is from local small farms that focus on organic.”
I liked the tiny restaurant immediately. With my eyes and my ears. It has what I can best describe as a buzz. The chatter of conversation. The background tracks of French chanteuses. The holas from people walking past the restaurant’s open front. The diner-like shouts of listo. Much like the hood it’s in, Colonia Guadalupe, Soltribe has what Peter called a “hipster vibe” and, yes, we both scratched our heads and struggled to come up with a more current word than hipster.
Soltribe seats just seven people. Soltribe serves just five items from its menu plus a change-every-two-week special. I talked Peter into us ordering one of everything and sharing.
We started with the house beverage, watermelon fresca. We couldn’t remember ordering watermelon juice ever before in our 70 plus years. With the hint of mint it was a refreshing change from my habitual lunchtime diet colas.
Next up, the ceviche. The ingredients were what you’d expect in a typical ceviche: tomato, onion, garlic, mint, lime juice, cilantro plus two you wouldn’t expect, cauliflower and, replacing the usual seafood, mushrooms. Apart from the extra avocado decoration, visually, it looked like any other ceviche. I took a mouthful. I closed my eyes and took a second mouthful. Did Chef Keshava sneak a little sea bass in there? I could have sworn I tasted fish.
The second solid was a mimic of or perhaps a homage to baja-style tacos, except the battered fish had been replaced by cauliflower and the dairy-based sauce had been switched to one made of cashews and sunflower seeds.
Cauliflower is, to me, the “meatiest” of all vegetables so, yes, we liked it and, yes, it was an interesting alternative.
Soltribe’s nachos follow another one of the restaurant’s credos; the chips (and the tortillas before them) were made from non-GMO corn. The traditional melted cheese topping had been replaced by a sauce created from cashews and pumpkin seeds. I liked the intense nuttiness of the sauce but, as much as I’m nuts about cashews, I would have preferred some gooey Cheddar or Jack.
We were thirsty again. We’d enjoyed the agua fresca de sandia (yes, I had to look up the Spanish word for watermelon) but we were ready for another new experience.
Our very delightful server, Andy, who we agreed dressed very Guadalupe (still searching for that alternative to hipster) suggested kombucha. Yes, we’d had that before. But couldn’t remember when.
I’m not sure what’s in it but it tastes a little like the local pulque and, like pulque, it’s something everyone should try once. But I’m not sure about trying it too many times after that.
The bi-weekly special was arriving at our table. Like everything else, the presentation was both artful and appetizing; I particularly like how Soltribe’s choice of ceramics make an excellent canvas for what topped it.
The special looked like meatballs and deep-fried chicken wings. It obviously wasn’t.
“And what do we have here?”, Peter said to Kevesha Rossi.
“My parents are practicing Hare Krishnas, so I was raised eating and cooking Indian fare, and it’s still pure comfort food for me”, Kevesha told us.
“These are called Kofta. They are veggie balls made of shredded cabbage, carrot, potato, and cauliflower with some chiles and ginger. They are bathed in a spiced tomato sauce with black mustard seed, fennel seeds and cumin seeds at its core. It is garnished with a cashew lemon cream and cilantro.”
“Served with it we have a saffron basmati rice with roasted cashews and on top, broccoli pakoras, kind of like Indian tempura, but made from garbanzo and rice flour instead of wheat, and drizzled with a cranberry ginger chutney and garnished with a fennel flour.”
Our no-meat, no-fish, no-dairy, no-gluten, no-GMO but very socially rewarding experience was coming to an end. There was only one dish left. The dessert. The cheesecake.
It amazed us how a combination of sunflower seeds, pecans, dates, walnuts and apple and lemon juices could produce this delightful crust and cream. And the blackberry was the perfect topping to add the contrasting fruity freshness. I must admit though, I was missing the old familiar, the Philly cheese.
Far too often, vegan restaurants try to imitate rather than originate using things like soybeans, cauliflower, nuts and seeds to replace the taste and texture of animal products. Sometimes I think fresh fruit and vegetables get a little neglected by vegan restaurants. And I think Soltribe is a little guilty of both.
So would I recommend a visit to Soltribe for a non-vegan? Absolutely. I think everyone should try Soltribe once. And will I be making Soltribe one of my regular haunts? With 100+ other restaurants in San Miguel de Allende, probably not.
But if I was a vegan, they’d probably get tired of seeing my face.
Soltribe is located at Julian Carillo 5A in San Miguel de Allende. The restaurant is open from Tuesday to Thursday from 1:00 to 8:00 pm, Friday to Sunday from 10:00 am to 8:00 pm.
Sounds delicious and intriguing! Can’t wait to try it 👍
Soul tribe is now located at Mercado Sano. They are no longer at the Guadalupe address. I will miss them being in the neighborhood.