Green
Phoenix/Tempe Metro, Arizona
4.4 / 49 votes
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.
Added by Steve Carlson on Aug 19 04 (last updated Dec 17 08)
Most Recent Reviews
Elliott
May 6 09
Veganman
Apr 11 09
I've been Vegan for over 10 years. I've eaten in many restaurants, Vegan and otherwise.
Never before have I been so disgusted.
Giving Green the title of "Restaurant" is giving it too much class. IMO, "Diner" would even be a struggle.
1. Waited in line 20 minutes to place order.
2. No wait staff.
3. Bus your own table.
4. Wade through tables of dining patrons to place order. Good thing for them I wasn't in the mood to cough or sneeze.
5. Decor leaves much to be desired. Is this a "restaurant" or the remains of a flooded frat-house basement? Unable to find a chair that wasn't ripped in the seat. Not sitting on a stained yard sale couch on a splintery plywood riser.
6. Ordered food and noticed kitchen staff did not wear gloves. Talked on cordless phone while preparing food, then did not wash hands.
How clean is that phone?
7. Place is DIRTY!
8. Appearance of food was disappointing. The Vegan pizza I make at home from scratch looks better. Why would I pay for a pita smeared with sauce, with 3 leathery, waxy slices of sweating cheese, when the Vegan cheese I use at home actually melts?
9. Buffalo Wings or Wads? Unidentifiable "wads" of fibrous matter. Sauce reeked of vinegar and nothing else.
10. Took 2 requests and got a huff in response when staff was asked to wipe the remnants of the last diner's meal off of our rocking table.
After reading the RAVE reviews online, I was sorry I made the 84 minute drive to reach Green. I'm even more sorry I brought people with me. Now they have the connotation that being Vegan means this is acceptable for an eating establishment.
Green's website touts itself like it is comparable with "real" restaurants like Millennium. Not even close. Millennium makes Green look like a third world hot dog cart.
I stared at my baskets and plate of food for about 20 minutes while my guests ate. The A/C kicked on and fine particles of something rained down on our table. Mold? Dust? Skin flakes from everyone waiting to order? Who knows.
As for the flavors of the food, consistency, texture, etc., I don't know.
My food went untouched, into the trash.
No gloves, particles raining down.............
No thanks! I'm not eating here!
I can spend less and come away with more than a bottle of Pellegrino at home.
Green needs to focus on being a great restaurant that just happens to be Vegan, not be so caught up in being Vegan that the restaurant is what it is........a dump.
If you like your restaurants "crunchy", this is the place for you.
Directions
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.
Non-Smoking
No Reservations
Wheelchair Accessible
Prices
$$ - average
Cuisines
- American
- Chinese
- Pizza
- Macrobiotic
Features
- (Mostly) Organic
- Large Group-Friendly
- Outdoor Seating
I've been Vegan for over 10 years. I've eaten in many restaurants, Vegan and otherwise. And (in response the review below) I have ALWAYS been very IMPRESSED with Green!
1.Granted, there is no wait staff, and you do have to wait in line to order, but that wait (which is closer to 0-5 minutes except when they're super busy) is typically short. And when the line is long, they have a staff member approach diners and take their order while people are standing in line. So when you get to the counter you pay. Saying the wait is 20 minutes is an ultra-perverse exaggeration.
2.You do not have to bus your table, though it would be thoughtful and kind of you; as this is not a 4-star restaurant when it comes to decor or service. And Green never makes that claim. The low prices reflect that.
3.The kitchen staff does not wear gloves. I don't know if that is a health code violation or not. But I can tell you that I don't wear gloves to prepare food at my house...
4.Green is CLEAN! To say anything else makes me suspect someone either has an axe to grind; or is a competitor that doesn't get nearly the business that Green brings in because they are able to give customers what they want: GREAT vegan food at low prices!
GO GREEN!