Lunch, Anyone? Whole Heart Provisions

Whole Heart Provisions’ goal is to “put veggies back on the table,” front and center. Photos by Alexandra Wimley (COM’17)

Good news for those saddened when popular Allston vegan restaurant Root closed last summer. Veggie-centric Whole Heart Provisions has taken its place, and it’s even better than its predecessor.

Opened last September, the restaurant is owned by James DiSabatino, owner of Roxy’s Grilled Cheese, and chef Rebecca Arnold (Cambridge’s Sarma and Alden & Harlow). While the restaurant shies away from the vegan label, there are no animal products on the menu. The owners’ slogan: “Eat more veggies.” And after one visit, you’ll find that you won’t need any prompting.

Whole Heart joins Roxy’s and several other Allston favorites clustered in a restaurant hotspot at the corner of Cambridge and Beacon Streets. When we arrived on a recent weekday, the tiny (it seats just 19) quick-service eatery was empty. But by the time we left, customers had filled the homey, industrial retro-chic space.

The stars of the restaurant’s menu are its bowls. Customers can choose from seven predesigned combinations ($8.50), with a variety of veggies, crunchy toppings, and dressings, or they can build their own, starting at the same price. Either way, you first choose a base of marinated kale, arugula, jasmine rice, brown rice, or quinoa pilaf, or a mix of two. Add-ons like falafel ($2) and miso barbecue tofu ($1.50) cost more. There are several enticing beverage options, including Aquavitea kombucha on tap ($4.25), matcha lemonade ($3.50), and cold brew horchata with Speedwell coffee ($5). The restaurant has a special brunch menu on Sundays as well.

All of the bowls looked delicious, but we opted for two of the signature bowls: the Viet-style and the Tazon-style. We chose a mix of marinated kale, brown rice, and quinoa as the base for both dishes. The Viet, with roasted broccoli, smashed cucumber, blistered green beans, cured tomato, basil, peanut crumble, and spicy peanut dressing, was a delicious and vibrant take on traditional Vietnamese cuisine. Its pleasant mix of textures came from the crunchy peanuts and cucumber and the chewy rice and soft green beans. The roasted broccoli was perfectly charred and full of flavor, and the creamy peanut dressing pulled the dish together and added a spicy kick—an example of how a variety of flavors and textures can be transformed into a lively, harmonious entrée.

The Tazon bowl played on Mexican flavors, with pineapple and corn salsa, Korean black beans, smashed cucumbers, pickled jalapeño, cured tomato, red cabbage slaw, corn nuts, and spiced lime vinaigrette. The crispy fried corn nuts were addictive—we could have eaten a full plate as an appetizer. The red cabbage slaw was crunchy and fresh and the pineapple was a sweet, refreshing contrast to the bowl’s savory flavors. But the spiciness of the lime vinaigrette overwhelmed the other elements of the dish, and the beans weren’t very flavorful (or maybe we just couldn’t taste them over the spice). Either way, we decided that next time we would try the Seeta-style bowl. With pickled cauliflower, chickpeas, currants, cured tomatoes, savory green beans, crispy lentils, and coconut curry dressing, it looked delicious.

We rounded out our order with one of Whole Heart’s several street food snacks, the street corn ($4.50). Three medium-sized pieces of corn were coated in mayo, lime, and Korean chili flakes. The corn had a nice bite to it, and we couldn’t tell that the creamy mayo was vegan. While street corn can often be overloaded with mayo, the restaurant got it just right, and the bright lime and chili balanced the mayo’s richness well. It was a simple but tasty end to our meal. On our return, we plan to try the much-touted falafel dog ($5) with tomato, Grillo’s pickles, tahini, mustard, and hot sauce.

If you have room to spare (we surely did not), don’t forget to stop at vegan ice cream paradise Fomu, a couple of doors down.

Whole Heart Provisions, just a quick jaunt from West Campus, is a welcome addition to the Allston restaurant scene. Diehard vegans and meat-lovers alike will find fresh, filling, and hearty bowls. Plus, the variety of cuisines chef Arnold has looked to for inspiration—from Indian and Korean to Japanese and North African—ensure that there’s something for every palate. This is one restaurant that makes it very easy to eat your veggies.

Whole Heart Provisions, 487 Cambridge St., Allston, is open Tuesday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and  Saturday, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Sunday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., closed Monday; phone: 617-202-5041. Brunch is served Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. There is no delivery, but takeout is available. Order takeout here. The restaurant accepts cash and all major credit cards. Take an MBTA Green Line B trolley outbound to Harvard Avenue and walk.

This is part of a weekly series featuring Boston lunch spots of interest to the BU community. If you have any suggestions for places we should feature, leave them in the Comment section below.

Kylie Obermeier can be reached at kylieko@bu.edu; follow her on Twitter at @kyliekobermeier.

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