• Name: The Foundation
• Type: Vegetarian
• Locations: Main Street at 7th Avenue
• Website: None I could find, but here’s a review site
• Eating Options: sit-in, take-out
• Reservations: not accepted, so get here early or prepare to wait
• Accepts: cash, debit, all major credit cards
• Photos: see Flickr photoset or click on the links below

Review

Jason’s been raving about this vegetarian place on Main Street for almost a year now, so we finally went together last night. As carnivorous as I usually am, I try to stay open-minded about cuisine, so call this my night of culinary adventure.

First, the ambience: Ironically, the open-kitchen concept inside the Foundation reminded me of Memphis Blues and their open kitchen (of meat). The walls are simply but artfully framed with quotes from Einstein to Rachel Carson to Lord Action. All the quotes referred to power; not sure why. It made for interesting scenery while we were waiting for a table.

The menu items we arranged by ingredient type: bean-laden stuff at the top, followed by the salad selection, followed by miscellany (curries, rice / quinoa dishes, etc.). Jason had his “usual” fare while I tried to find something that would not set my digestive system up for disaster considering our social dancing plans that evening. The only items without beans or curry and with tofu was something called Sesame Society. Also could not resist trying a soup that included papaya, one of my favourite fruits.

I wound up inhaling the soup, which was fantastic, but barely touching the Sesame Society. More on that below. Jason was nice enough to donate a piece of his burger and allow me to pick on his side dish. While I wasn’t thrilled by what I chose, Jason’s food was pretty good–enough to give this place a second chance. I’ll pluck up the courage one more time and hopefully I’ll have a better review of the food for next time.

Tried:

Blue Sky Cola

Tasted like old-fashioned cola, of the sarsparilla and molasses days. I suspect it’s organic or fairly-traded or made by some sort of socially responsible company. It was no Coke, which is my addiction, but nonetheless it was quite enjoyable.

Upper East Side

Black bean dish with fresh mango and salsa, served on a bed of white rice. Jason’s pick. Tasted great and was pretty filling–if only my digestive tract had a better resistance to beans…

Papaya and Veggie Soup

Love-love-loved this soup! Could make out the papaya (of course), plus cauliflower, zucchini, carrots, black beans, and chick peas. It reminded me of minestrone, but it had a darker, less-tomatoey flavour, with a slightly thicker, near-stewy texture. Served with this toasted flatbread that reminded me of nougat.

Foundation Burger

Jason’s pick. Veggie patty containing tofu, flax, and other highly nutritious grains. Jason had smothered it with ketchup and dijon mustard so it was very tasty. Without all the sauce, I might have found it a little dry.

Sesame Society

I was looking for something with tofu that had neither beans nor curry (both of which could be bad when salsa dancing afterwards…). I had also never tried quinoa, so this was the dish that resulted out of the process of elimination. Unfortunately, I could barely take in more than a few bites. The sesame sauce overpowered everything; the vegetables were unbearably bitter, and the sauce tasted a little burnt. On the plus side, I enjoyed discovering quinoa, which I would love to try again or cook with in the near future. It also gave me an excuse to sample Jason’s food, poor guy.