Plant Junkie Goes Beyond the Standard Vegan Fare 

Vegan cuisine is getting a new twist downtown, with Plant Junkie’s arrival at 226 Front St. in the Seaport. The restaurant, which recently settled in our neighborhood after bouncing around several other Manhattan locations, brings with it a slew of filling, inventive, healthy, adventurous and altogether delicious plant-based lunch and dinner options. This isn’t your grandmother’s Impossible burger. 

The menu is full of hearty bowls, sandwiches and sides — all free of animal products, and all great to enjoy either in the restaurant’s inviting Front Street space, at sidewalk seating or on-the-go. The menu features vegan dupes of some classic sandwiches, including a New Orleans-style po’ boy made with Southern-fried seitan, a vegan meatball grinder and a sausage and peppers sandwich on a pretzel bun. On a visit last week, we tried the po’ boy, a wonderfully messy construction that was on par with any similar option you’d find in the Big Easy, minus the oppressive humidity. 

The bowls keep the creativity coming, with options that include plant-based sesame tuna or vegan Japanese BBQ beef. There’s also the comfort-food heavy Low Country Bowl, which comes with a pile of buffalo nuggets, corn bread, coleslaw, garlic broccoli and crispy shallots. Basically, everything at Plant Junkie is worth ordering. Vegan food has never looked (or tasted!) so good. Check out the full menu here.