Green
$ - inexpensive
American, Chinese, Pizza
All vegan American and Asian cuisine in a deserted strip mall.
North of ASU campus on Scottsdale Rd., and south of downtown Scottsdale, is the old-fashioned fast-food joint Green! Green offers veg-minded people exceptional American comfort food and Asian fast food at inexpensive prices. (Not to mention that Green has arguably supplanted Pita Jungle as the hippest place in town to go to for Veg food and energetic ambiance.) In fact, Green has become so popular, they've knocked out the wall in the suite next them and expanded their space.
Appetizers include hummus, egg rolls, pot stickers, vegan crab puffs, spicy peanut tofu, and numerous vegan soups; priced from $2-4 each.
Also on the menu is an array decadent salads, as well as mouth-watering Vegan cheese pizzas, sandwiches, and burgers. ($1 extra will get you a whole-grain bun.)
There's also plenty of rice bowls to choose from which come with veggies and a variety of sauces, with your choice of mock beef, chicken, pork or tofu.
Last but not least are house specialties; a couple of mock chicken dishes, spaghetti and mock meat balls, and a Fried rice noodle dish.
Because Green offers so many mock meat selections, non-veggies will feel right at home. Which, in part, is why Green is rapidly transforming Veg eating the Phoenix metro area.
North of the 202 Loop on Scottsdale Rd (just north of McKellips) on the west side of the street in a mostly-deserted strip mall, next to the Salvation Army Thrift Store.
- (Mostly) Organic
- Large Group-Friendly
- Macrobiotic
- Outdoor Seating
Added by Steve Carlson on Aug 19 04 (updated Mar 1 07)
Reviews
Unbelievably good food! Food like this makes it very, very easy to be vegan. I really wish they'd put out a cookbook. Do not miss this special treat. Try the crab puffs, yummy.
Everything I've tried I've loved. My favorite is the buffalo wings. Their edamame is cooked perfectly, and I love the creamy artichoke gratine appetizer. My pastor (an omnivore) loves the buffalo chicken sandwich.
Green has quickly become the vegetarian's choice in the Phoenix metropolitan area. Offering not only eclectic, consistently delicious food at a reasonable price, Green also offers dinner and dessert specials to augment their menu. I have to ask myself sometimes if I leave satisfied every time because the food is so good, or if it is because I end up ordering multiple dishes to peruse. Either way, this restaurant comes highly recommended. My only complaint: Green is closed on Sundays. I'm a vegetarian every day of the week!
I had the cocoa puff tsoynami, too! And it was absolutely breathtaking.
The review before mine sums my experience up really well. I flew into PHX for a day, to go see a concert. Since I had a lot of time to kill before the show, I decided to go check out Green. It seemed to have some favorable reviews on VegGuide and had some different entrees that you can't get on the menus of places up here in Minnesota, where I live. When I arrived, I walked in, sat down ... and it was like something out of a small-town diner; everyone kept looking at me like I was on crack. I felt terribly out of place! After a few minutes a very nice girl that worked there came over and asked if I was planning on eating, and informed me that I had to order at the till. Once I got past that awkward moment of not knowing exactly what I was supposed to do, though, things were great. I ordered a pasta dish that came with assorted veggies, vegan meatballs, and vegan ricotta cheese. That, coupled with the impulsive tsoynami afterwards, made for an awesome lunch. The only thing I found weird was the "coffee shop" atmosphere of the place; I couldn't help feeling like an outsider, with everyone glancing over at me repeatedly like I had just wandered off the street mistaking the place for a steak joint. Perhaps it wouldn't have felt odd if I wasn't dining by myself - but I left feeling a bit intimidated. Nonetheless, the food was really quite good, and the tsoynami was totally worth it.
This is one of those restaurants that is slightly intimidating to newcomers, because you can't figure out where the menus are, or where napkins are, or how you get water ...
Turns out the menu was a tiny little green pamphlet up front by the cash register. So unless you know where it is or already know what you want, you can't figure out what you want while you're waiting in line.
I ended up getting a "tsoynami" and veggie burger, and my companion got a "chicken" parm. Both were served with a side of thyme fries. The tsoynami was supposed to be like a Dairy Queen blizzard, and it was one of those things that is labeled as vegan but you definitely have your doubts when you get it! Mine had Cocoa Puffs in it, or some kind of vegan equivalent. To me the veganicity was dubious, but I decided to take them at their word and eat it. If you miss Dairy Queen, this is definitely a wonderful analog.
My veggie burger was OK. It was VERY splooshy and did not hold its shape; by the time I was halfway through it was a very thin paste between two pieces of bread, with chunks falling out from between the buns. The taste was decent; oddly spicy though.
My companion and I both thought the chicken parm looked incredibly unappetizing; however, he said it tasted really good. We both enjoyed the thyme fries.
If this weren't an all-vegan restaurant I'd probably give it a lower rating. The produce wasn't fresh and the preparation was on the sloppy side. The food was good but didn't blow me away, and it definitely was not health food! I know things can be prepared a little healthier and still taste great. However, not using fresh produce or making their own bread surely keeps the costs down, and I did appreciate how inexpensive the food was.
the only thing worth coming here is the crab puffs and desert. basically its all fried and unhealthy and only someone with no taste in worldly cuisine would return here.
Green is by far my favorite place to eat, journal, and spend time with my boyfriend. The food is spectacular and has the best mock meat entrees. I enjoy going there and my wallet doesn't mind much either. Green's environment is a very relaxed and welcoming aura. Not to mention the employees treated us as we have known them for years. We have a weekly ritual to go to green every Tuesday and have an order of chicken wings, thyme fries, and one other entree until we have eaten every single dish they offer. So far we have not been disappointed. There are few things that could have been better but for the most part they are relatively tasty and a few were simply orgasmic for my tastebuds. I recommend Green for everyone. Even those die-hard meatheads will be able to enjoy their meal and possibly not even realize what they are chewing on did not have a face. The taste and texture are so realistic that we almost felt guilty eating it. All in all this is our favorite place to eat and hang out. PRO VEG!!!
I love this place! I always order the spicy (fake) chicken salad and the argentine phoy boy is simply divine. I love it! :)
The Green's has a huge menu of all vegan food. You could eat there many times and not get tired of the food.
The food is the best vegan/veggie food outside of Udupi. The prices are reasonable and the food is always delicious.
No question. If you are Vegan, this place is awesome. When Omnivore friends want to eat out, this is THE place I take them to. I'm happy; they are happy. Super Staff, great comfort food. Lots of combinations possible with the bowls, so Green does not get boring.
Tell me: who can mess with Vegan "Cheezecake"???
I used to love going to Green- The food was great and the staff was friendly and helpful, but the last couple of times I went there, I've gotten food poisoning (because of improperly washed vegetables, my doctor suggested) and now I am afraid to go back. I do miss it though.... Only place I could find where everything is vegan and delicious. Try a coconut curry bowl! My only complaint, as a student on a budget, was that every time I would go in and order the same thing, I was usually charged differently depending on who was working. It would vary by up to $2.50.
I'm not vegan at all... or vegetarian at that. My boyfriend is vegan, however, and when I don't cook for us... we get excited to go to Green! The place is exquisite and inventive with their food alternatives. They have such a fun atmosphere and they seem to have something new each time. Definitely try the po-boys, pizzas, and chili fries, and don't leave without a soy-nami!
The crab puffs were really good, and the flatbread pizza is awesome. The pizza could've used more time in the oven, though.
My friend had a veggie burger and it was pasty and soggy, looked like uncooked meat, and tasted bland. I think they were going for a grain-based taste, but it wound up, in my friend's opinion, trying to taste too much like hamburger. The plus side was that the burger had a side of thyme fries that were excellent.
The dessert we tried (peanut butter bars) tasted like a low-end energy bar. There was a 'cheezecake' on the menu as well as a variety of soy smoothies, but after the pb bar we weren't up for anything else.
All in all this seems like a pretty good place to go as long as you're not looking for a veggie/grain burger that isn't trying to be meat.
This NEW place is absolutely delightful! I love the "Chicken Wings," they were so close to the real thing, I almost felt guilty eating them! I haven't tried everything there yet, but I sure plan on it. I was truly impressed by their new menu and am so happy they took over, however I do miss Veggie Fun's Lettuce Wraps!
Green is now 100% vegan, as is declared on the menu, and I had the pleasure of visiting it yesterday. Since it was my first time, I decided to go the all-junk food route: I shared crab puffs with a friend, had the "no harm chicken parm" sandwich with thyme fries, and shared an Oreo "tsoynami" with my friend. Everything was nicely presented in a manner befitting a fast food-type restaurant. Most importantly, though, the food was yummy. The crab puffs went very quickly, I made a bit of a mess of the chicken Parmesan but it was good... and then came the ice cream. When the huge cup of the stuff arrived, I wondered out loud how we were going to eat it all -- 'course, it was gone in less than five minutes. The ice cream is good: eat it.
Veggie Fun has always been one of my favorite Phoenix-area restaurants. When I heard that it was under new management I was nervous. However, when I visited, I found that the restaurant had improved in every way. The decor has been redone, it now looks like the interior of a trendy coffee-shop. The food was better, my "Diablo Red" Vegan Chicken was excellent and the one bite that my wife let me have of her "Drunken Mushroom" chicken was phenomenal. The presentation has moved up a notch (our brown rice came adorned with two dried cranberries). Finally, the new owners are very clear about what's vegan (and that's almost everything on the menu, including the ice cream at long last!) And all these great changes have left the prices in the $5-6 a plate range. Under the new owners, Veggie Fun is probably the best all-veg restaurant in Phoenix or the surrounding communities.
i had a chance to eat at the newly bought veggie fun and the food is delicious. the ice cream still isn't vegan, but they said they are working on it. there are other vegan desserts available, worth checking out, but always double check the vegan factor....
Veggie Fun is not completely vegan. It seems the owners were confused about casein. It is in the soft serve ice cream. They also have non vegan crab puffs (as well as vegan ones). Veggie Fun is up for sale though, so hopefully it will get an all vegan menu. Their Kung Pao "Chicken" is wonderful but stay away from the beef and fish dishes.
The food is excellent, I had the shredded 'pork' and sampled a few others. It is also cheap and filling. The service is very friendly. We also tried the soft serve 'ice cream,' it tasted just like regular soft serve ice cream. The decor is wacky, but this is a great little restaurant.
The food there is really good, and inexpensive. Most entrees are around $5, which includes rice or noodles and steamed veggies too. They recently expanded their menu, I suggest the sweet & sour "pork", spring rolls and pepper "beef". (Every thing else is good too!)
So good!!! The decor is a little lacking, and I don't like restaurants with TVs inside, but the food makes up for it all. The faux meats are great--almost a little too real! And there's non-dairy soft-serve ice cream for dessert. I'm in heaven!
Veggie Fun has some of the best food in AZ. If you can get over the horrid sports/fruit themed decor you will definitely enjoy the delicious food. The Kung Pao Chicken and Crab Puffs are some of the best items on the menu. All of the food can be made vegan. Yum!
Great food! It would be nice to have a beer or glass of wine with our meal, though.