Zephyr Cafe - Long Beach, CA

On Saturday, I finally got a chance to check out Zephyr Cafe during a trip to Long Beach. I'd heard about Zephyr a while ago and have had it on my radar for some time. The only thing stopping me from eating there was that I so infrequently get to Long Beach that I realized the last time I was there was maybe four years ago. This is ridiculous considering it takes only 35 minutes to get there from Santa Monica. Oh well. On to my review.

Jacques and I decided that we would take a little walk around downtown Long Beach before dinner at Zephyr. Downtown LB is a mix of cute and slight sketch. Jacques said it reminded him of downtown Philly, only cleaner. When we reached Zephyr, our first impression was that it looked a bit run down from the outside. The inside, however, is way cuter and much more inviting than the exterior. We planted ourselves on the cozy couch with menus in hand and armed with a few soy free suggestions from the guy at the counter.

First, I must say that since going low soy, I've come to realize that finding a vegan menu with plentiful soy free options, can be a bit of a challenge. Zephyr definitely beat that challenge as I had multiple items to choose from. Since I just avoid tofu and tempeh, or things that are made with large amounts of soy product, but am okay with it in small amounts, like soy sauce, I was won over by the Bowls section of Zephyr's menu.  They also have a number of yummy sounding salads, a couple of sushi type rolls, a portabello burger, and a couple of their sandwiches are made of chicken style seitan.  I still constantly have pineapple on the brain since Hawaii so my pick was the Teriyaki Vegetable Bowl with Seitan: pineapple, mushrooms, seasonal vegetables and teriyaki sauce, over brown rice and black beans.  Jacques opted for the Daily Special, Santa Fe Burger with avocado added: Zephyr's black bean patty with grilled onions, bell peppers, soy cheese, and spicy chipotle sauce on one of the fluffiest buns I've ever seen. We decided to split a bowl of the black bean soup to start.

The black bean soup was a bit lacking. The only flavor I really got out of it was a hint of chiptole, but other wise it was pretty bland. We added salt and that perked it up a little, but overall it was just a one note soup. I wouldn't order it again, although, it may make for a nice warming dish for someone else on a chilly day.

The teriyaki bowl was very tasty, but a bit too salty. I don't fault Zephyr too much as this is often the case with teriyaki. I'm not sure if they make their sauce in house, or use a bottled version; I didn't ask. The seitan and veggies were cooked to perfection. The seitan was nice and crispy, and the veggies, which included zucchini, broccoli, and green beans were perfetly tender.  The disappointment was there were only a few pieces of pineapple and they left me wanting more. Overall, it was a good bowl and left me very full. It was a big portion and I don't know how I finished the whole thing!

Jacques really enjoyed his burger, leaving his belly quite satisfied. I had a bite and it was definitely a tasty black bean patty. It had a nice spice to it and paired well with that fluffy bun. I'm usually not a fan of hamburger buns, but this one won me over. The burger was served with two large round baked tortilla chips and a tiny cup of salsa. The chips were nice, but I found the salsa to be pretty tasteless. Jacques liked it well enough to add it to his burger however.

For drinks, I ordered a fresh squeezed lemonade. It is pre-made, not made to order and I found it to be way too sweet for my taste. I could feel the sweetener coating my teeth. I added a bit of the cucumber water they have in a dispenser on the counter and that toned it down so that I could drink it. Jacques partook in a bottled cider and really liked it. Zephyr has an impressive selection of about five or six bottled organic brews from small breweries, all of which I had never seen before.  We were intrigued by the gingerbread ale, but it seemed like it would probably be a bit too dark and malty for our tastes so we didn't try it.

All in all, we enjoyed our meal at Zephyr, including the round of checkers that I lost in an oh so pathetic  slaughtering.  If I find myself in Long Beach, I would eat there again, but it didn't knock my socks off enough to drive to Long Beach just to eat at Zephyr.

Zephyr Vegetarian Cafe
340 E 4th St
Long Beach, CA 90802