Category: Food

Gourmet vegan cafe opens in Manchester

In late 2020, Manchester couple Madeline Rossi and Olivia Lenox launched New Roots Meals, a plant-based meal prep company and delivery service offering rotating items out of a scratch kitchen. Their success eventually led them to introduce a mobile food trailer last year, from which they expanded into serving coffees, teas and locally sourced vegan pastries.

Now, Rossi and Lenox have an all new business venture, The Green Beautiful, which held its grand opening June 25 on the corner of Wilson and Silver streets in the Queen City’s Somerville neighborhood. Described by the pair as a “gourmet vegan cafe,” the spot further expands their scratch-cooked plant-based offerings while also serving as a community space for events.

The new eatery’s name is a nod to the 1996 French film La Belle Verte — which translates to “The Green Beautiful” in English — about a utopian society on a fictional green planet.

Prior to opening their first brick-and-mortar, Rossi and Lenox would prepare everything on Sundays at Jerome’s Deli in Manchester, which they rented as a commissary space.

“We were only able to do a couple of food options at the truck … and now we’re able to do the entire menu,” Rossi said. “Pretty much every way we could expand, we are able to in this kitchen. … It was also really important when we got this space that we could have a spot where someone could come in, grab a coffee and a breakfast sandwich and get out in five minutes. Or, they could come in, hang out and stay here for however long they wanted.”

The 2,250-square-foot space most recently housed Gyro King, but it has been home to several other businesses over the years, most notably Pigeon’s Market. In fact, it remains easily identifiable thanks to the vintage “Pigeon’s Market” sign that is still up — while Rossi and Lenox will have their own sign directing diners to their space, as with previous iterations of the storefront, the Pigeon’s Market sign, they said, will remain as an unofficial landmark of sorts.

The Green Beautiful’s regular food menu is divided into four sections: bagels, hashes, bowls and sandwiches. Bagels come from Bagel Alley in Nashua, with a variety of homemade cream cheese spreads — or “schmears” — and some other add-ons, like tomatoes and seasonal greens.

The truffle hash, among their top sellers, features tempeh “bacon” from BOStempeh of Somersworth, along with russets, black beans, red onions, chives and a cilantro-garlic aioli. Many of The Green Beautiful’s bowls and sandwiches, Rossi said, are also completely new for the space. The Void, for instance, is a fried seitan (pronounced “SAY-tan”) “chicken” patty on a house-made chia bun, topped with sweet pickles, diced sweet onions, seasonal greens and a garlic aioli. You can also get a “cheesesteak” sandwich with shaved seitan, cashew cheddar, caramelized onions and roasted red peppers. That’s served on a hoagie roll.

“We’re calling it ‘wheat meat,’ because it’s made of vital wheat gluten, which is a protein,” Lenox said. “When you mix it with water, it’s almost like a giant wad of gum. That’s where we infuse all the flavor, so then for the ‘chicken,’ we form them into patties and bake them.”

Breakfast sandwiches, meanwhile, use homemade “egg” patties, made out of tofu and chickpea flour. Rossi recently made her own vegan version of a bacon, egg and cheese McGriddle.

The couple’s coffee menu has also expanded in a big way, for the first time including a full line of espresso drinks from A&E Coffee & Tea with oat, soy and coconut milks and house-made syrups. They also continue to partner with Nommunism, a Seacoast-based vegan pastry company, to offer grab-and-go items like scones, muffins, cookies, Rice Krispie treats and more.

Going forward, Lenox said The Green Beautiful will co-exist as a sister company of New Roots, the latter of which the couple hopes to eventually expand into wholesale plant-based meals. A stage has also been built near the front of the cafe where the Pigeon’s Market’s cash register once stood — there, music and poetry open mic nights are held on Wednesdays, and plans are in the works to soon begin holding other events like drag brunches, documentary screenings and more.

The trailer, meanwhile, also continues to operate for events only. Rossi and Lenox will next appear at the Currier Museum of Art’s Summer Block Party, where they’ll serve vegan paninis.

The Green Beautifull
Where: 168 Wilson St., Manchester
Hours: Wednesday through Monday, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. (kitchen closes at 3 p.m. each day); music and poetry open mic nights are held on Wednesdays, 5 to 9 p.m., when coffees, teas, pastries and grab-and-go items are also available. The cafe is closed on Tuesdays.
More info: Visit greenbeautifulcafe.com, email greenbeautifulcafe@gmail.com or find them on Instagram @greenbeautifulmht

Featured photo: Carrot lox bagel. Photo courtesy of The Green Beautiful in Manchester.

News from the local food scene

• World of wines: Five New Hampshire eateries were named among the more than 3,000 establishments worldwide in Wine Spectator’s annual Restaurant Awards, which honor the world’s best restaurants for wine, according to a press release. A total of 3,169 dining destinations from all 50 U.S. states and more than 70 countries internationally were selected for this year’s list — in New Hampshire, Hanover Street Chophouse in Manchester, Copper Door Restaurant in Bedford, CR’s The Restaurant in Hampton, The Manor on Golden Pond in Holderness, and Granita Enoteca in Keene were all among the honorees. “These awards not only guide our readers to dining establishments with impressive wine lists and outstanding service, but also serve to honor restaurants for their achievements and commitment to maintaining pristine cellars,” Marvin R. Shanken, editor and publisher of Wine Spectator, said in a statement. The publication’s Restaurants Awards issue became available to readers on July 12, the release said.

• Cured cravings: Local chef Keith Sarasin of The Farmers Dinner as well as a new Indian-themed pop-up dinner series called Aatma is about to release his fourth cookbook since 2018. Jerky: The Essential Cookbook is due out July 26, according to Amazon — the book features more than 70 recipes and easy-to-follow instructions for making all kinds of flavors of jerky from various types of animal protein. Sarasin also covers jerky’s origins and history as well as its place in the modern artisanal food movement. The new cookbook comes just over a year after Sarasin’s previous release, Meat: The Ultimate Cookbook, in May 2021 — that book is a whopping 800 pages filled with recipes using all kinds of meats, from beef, pork and poultry to lamb, goat and several species of wild game. Pre-order a copy now at keithsarasin.com.

• Whiskey business: The New Hampshire Liquor Commission will award a prize package of some of the world’s most hard-to-find whiskeys in a raffle to raise money for Best Buddies NH. According to a press release, a total of 2,500 tickets are being sold in the “Buddy Up!” raffle, which is running now through Sept. 15. Tickets are $100 each — the package includes more than $40,000 worth of rare spirits, including a collection of Pappy Van Winkle and E.H. Taylor bourbons, as well as the Buffalo Trace Antique Collection. According to the release, the winner will also receive an all-expenses-paid trip to experience New Hampshire Distiller’s Week, including two tickets to a Buffalo Trace tasting dinner at the Crown Tavern in Manchester on Nov. 1, and two VIP tickets to the Distiller’s Showcase of Premium Spirits on Nov. 3. Visit liquorandwineoutlets.com.

• Nashua company gets national certification: Nashua artisan food company Mola Foods recently received certification from the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council, according to a press release. “I am so excited to now be able to access a vast network of support with new growth opportunities and increased visibility in corporate and government supply chains, education and development programs,” LaFortune Jeannette Djabea, who founded Mola Foods in 2016, said in a statement. According to the release, the WBENC standard of certification is a meticulous process that includes an in-depth review of the business and site inspection. A native of Cameroon, Djabea expanded her brand of globally inspired spice blends and chili relishes in the form of a retail store front, tasting room and commercial kitchen, which opened in Nashua in February 2021. Visit molafoods.com.