Roy Qian is 23 years old, and he’s fresh out of college and also the owner of Grasshopper Cafe. He has never owned a business before, and he has never been a chef. But he’s not letting his lack of experience stop him from becoming a restaurateur.
In order to address what he sees as a lack of choice when it comes to vegetarian food in Toronto, he teamed up with his roommate, Oliver Chen, to open Grasshopper near College and Spadina, just north of Kensington Market. They hired two OCAD students to take care of the décor, and they consulted with chef Sara Harrel — a George Brown culinary instructor and a longtime vegetarian chef — to develop the opening menu. The restaurant opened in mid-February.
The food at Grasshopper Cafe is, of course, all vegetarian, and it’s mostly vegan, too. But many of the textures and flavours are geared towards those who can’t shake their craving for meat. Seitan — otherwise known as wheat gluten — is manipulated in different ways to mimic a variety of meats: it takes the form of beef in satay skewers ($4.50); it’s breaded in panko and deep-fried to resemble chicken nuggets ($6); it’s boiled, pan-fried and doused in barbecue sauce for the pulled pork banh mi ($8.50). There are gluten-free items too — such as quinoa mac ‘n’ cheese ($9) — and nothing is over $10.
The 24-seat restaurant has applied for its liquor license, and it hopes to eventually develop a cocktail menu. For now, libations include coffee, tea and smoothies.
Grasshopper Cafe has seemingly entered the market at a fortuitous time: if the openings of new veg-centric places like The Goods, Lipstick & Dynamite and Apiecalypse Now are any indication, vegetarianism is on the upswing.
Published on: Mar 6, 2014
