Chef Matthew Kenney is Opening 6 Plant-Based Restaurants This Summer
Chef Mattew Kenney is delivering fine vegan cooking to people all over the world. With six new plant-based restaurants, the world-renowned vegan chef is expanding his plant-based portfolio to an incredible 57 total locations. The chef just announced that he plans to open new locations of both his Latin America-inspired restaurant Oleada and his famous pasta par SESTINA in Los Angeles. The chef recently partnered with local entrepreneurs Pat McAuley and Mary Dumont to open a second location of the PlantPub concept in Boston.
Kenney also announced two new vegan hotspots in Miami, Make Out Cafe and Plant Food + Wine, bringing Floridians a taste of two of Kenney’s most popular concepts. The restaurants will reside in the former Thatch Miami space at 3255 NE 1st Ave, Miami, FL. Make Out Cafe opened this past weekend, and Plant Food + Wine Miami will open later this May.
The two restaurant concepts will first open as temporary installments before closing down for the summer when the building will undergo extensive renovations to prepare for its grand opening in Fall 2022. Plant Food + Wine will operate the main portion of the building while Make Out Cafe will be attached to the main dining room.
Kenney’s plant-based brand – Matthew Kenney Cuisine – aims to deliver sustainable foods that refuse to sacrifice flavor. These six new plant-based concepts intend to deliver appetizing food that showcases just how tasty and sustainable the future of food can be.
Plant Food + Wine Miami
For customers looking for more refined plant-based cuisine, Plant Food + Wine is Kenney’s premier vegan fine dining experience. Plant Food + Wine’s Miami offshoot will feature some of the Los Angeles flagship’s signature dishes while paying homage to the culinary influences that define Miami. The new fine dining concept will be geared toward the surrounding community, showcasing Kenney’s inventive plant-based cooking in a Miami context.
Fans of the original location in Los Angeles can expect to see some of the staple dishes remain on the menu. Plant Food + Wine offers delectable entrees such as the Heirloom Tomato + Zucchini Lasagna with a Macadamia ricotta, pistachio pesto, and a sun-dried tomato marinara. For the more adventurous, customers can order the Kelp Noodle Cacio e Pepe, complete with snap peas, pea sprouts, and crispy oil-cured olives.
“We’re thrilled to bring Plant Food and Wine to Miami; this is one of my favorite cities, a beautiful playground of rich culinary heritage and fresh, nourishing ingredients,” Kenney said to VegWorld. “Our artistic vision has always been to create an upscale, memorable dining experience, where food is not only beautiful and flavorful but also incredibly healing and nutritious. We’ve built a dynamic team committed to sourcing the freshest ingredients available while using modern and classic techniques to create the best plant-based experience for all.”
Plant Food + Wine Peru
Shortly after announcing the Miami location, Kenney revealed that he would partner with chef Andre Patsias to open a Plant Food + Wine in Lima, Peru. Inspired by a trip chef Patsias took to the original Venice, California location, the new Peruvian offshoot will pay homage to Kenney's menu while introducing local cuisine to the menu.
The menu will feature dishes including the Diversidad de Quesos made with vegan ricotta and red pepper manchego and matured chevre glazed in a mushroom reduction and the Anticuchos Ostra made with grilled oyster mushrooms that are served with anticuchera sauce, Andean chimichurri, huancaina cream, and cassava charcoal.
“We’re thrilled to bring Plant Food and Wine to Lima; Peru is a beautiful country with a rich culinary heritage and fresh, nourishing ingredients,” Kenney said in a statement. “Our artistic vision has always been to create an upscale, memorable dining experience, where food is not only beautiful and delicious but also incredibly healing and nutritious.”
Make Out Cafe Miami
Kenney’s two restaurant concepts provide vastly different menus but remain unified in their dedication to sustainability and the future of food. Make Out Cafe is Kenney’s fast-casual health-conscious concept, providing customers with cold-pressed juices, nutrient-packed superfoods, and specialty smoothies. The Miami installment is just the latest location to join Make Out Cafe’s sister stores in Los Angeles and Rhode Island.
Customers who visit the Make Out Cafe can order everything from the Superfood Oats – chilled oats, almond milk, fresh fruit, cacao nibs, coconut sugar, hemp seeds, and granola – or the Kimchi Wraps, filled with market lettuce, almond paste, carrots, peppers, kimchi, herbs, ginger, collard greens, and a peanut-almond dipping sauce. The cafe will also feature an impressive selection of dairy-free ice creams like Java Chaga Chip and Ocean Salted Caramel.
Los Angeles Get Two Familiar Hotspots
This month, Kenney plans to bring Los Angeles two of his most iconic plant-based concepts: Oleada Cocoina and SESTINA. The Latin American eatery Oleada will feature a menu of specially designed vegan burritos and tacos along with ceviche, aguachile, and cocktails. Originally opened in Buenos Aires, Argentina, the stateside location will signature Latin American cuisines to guests in Los Angeles.
Originally opened in 2020, SESTINA is one of Kenney’s cornerstones. With locations in New York City, Culver City, Orlando, and now Century City in Los Angeles, this plant-based pasta bar showcases the best of the chef’s vegan cuisine. The restaurant will serve small Italian dishes including brown butter gnocchi, escarole with vegan ricotta, and a zeppole complete with chocolate ganache. The vegan pasta and wine concept provides impressive variations of classic Italian dishes with absolutely no animal products.
PlantPub Expands to a Second Location
This March, Matthew Kenney is helping open a plant-based pub right next to Fenway Park in Boston. PlantPub – opened in partnership with Dumont and McAuley as well as investor Sebastiano Cossia Castiglioni. The pub will serve fully vegan pub food to fans of the Boston Red Sox. Now The new vegan concept aims to provide people with affordable and appealing plant-based options for classic gameday fare.
”We are mimicking all of the flavors that people know and love in a complete plant-based form,” said Dumont. “We have an opportunity to expose so many people to a new way of eating that is becoming more and more mainstream.”
The PlantPub Fenway will expand the original vegan pub’s menu to include more ballpark theme options. The menu will feature game day classics including hot sausage, Bavarian pretzels, and sausage & pepper grinders. The original PlantPub is located in Cambridge, providing plant-based variations of classic tavern food including loaded nachos and specialty burgers.
Matthew Kenney’s Vegan World
Kenney’s innovative plant-based cuisine is catching the eye of more and more people worldwide. Last November, Kenney hosted a three-story plant-based pop-up in Dubai to showcase inventive vegan cuisine at the Expo 2020 Dubai. The chef highlighted the potential of plant-based foods at all three levels of The Sustainability Pavilion, emphasizing the importance of plant-based food for the future of our planet.
“In recent years, there has been so much attention on the benefits of plant-based living — not only for our health but also for the environment. It’s all about cooking healthy, sustainable dishes by using clean, organic, and unprocessed ingredients to create vibrant dishes,” Kenney said in a statement.
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