Great Sage
Hours
$$ - average
American, Eclectic (Varied)
Creative, organic, all-vegetarian fare
Great Sage cooks with fresh organically grown produce and tries to create a gourmet dining experience with plant-based foods. Their menu is influenced by the flavors and styles of many cultures. It also offers an array of entrees for those with special dietary needs, including wheat- and gluten-free.
Some of their dishes include sundried tomato pasta with pesto, Indian corn cakes with curried potatoes, roasted corn and black bean burgers, lentil "meatloaf", Thai stirfry, and a host of other dishes. All of their desserts are vegan, and include carrot cake, warm fruit crisp, chocolate lava cake, and various shakes and floats.
- (Mostly) Organic
Added by Gregory on Jul 10 06 (updated Aug 30 07)
Reviews
I liked the atmosphere, concept and location of this restaurant. Service was friendly and prompt. But the food didn't stand out in my mind. My tomato tofu curry was a poor approximation of an Asian dish (though it was called a "fusion" dish) and makes me wonder if I shouldn't have ordered the meatloaf instead. My friend's penne-basil dish was much tastier, which gives me a hint that this place does European/American food better than any other genre on its menu. Our Earth Day-special "dirt cake" was minty, moist and delicious; our carrot cake, however, was mediocre and its frosting was overpowering. On a whole, I think Great Sage can improve, but they seem to be on the right track and I appreciate that they opened up in a difficult, remote, suburban area.
I really enjoyed the food here and liked the fact that nearly everything on the menu can be made vegan (and gluten-free, if that's an issue).
I had the vegan lentil "meatloaf" with mashed potatoes and garlic broccoli. The flavors were good, but not spectacular. I tried my friend's roasted corn/black bean burger, which was very good, and another friend's Indian corn cakes with curried potatoes and chutney, which was amazing-very interesting and flavorful.
For dessert, we shared a vegan chocolate lava cake--which was one of the most delicious desserts I've ever had, vegan carrot cake--which was very rich and tasty, and really surprised me because it was gluten-free, and a vegan chocolate/mint shake--which was pretty good, but was a bit thin.
Overall, great experience, and it's right next to a fabulous natural grocery store, Roots, where you can stock up on all sorts of vegan goodies.
I had a spectacular brunch at Great Sage. I started out my meal with a rooiboos chai "float" (made with vanilla soy ice cream). The waitress informed us that there were three breakfast specials: vegan lavender-cardamom pancakes (served with soy whipped cream!), orange cinnamon buns and a tofu quiche (stuffed with red peppers, corn and caramelized onions). I decided to order the lavender-cardamom pancakes, which were unusual but incredibly delicious. I also ordered a side of vegan sausage, which consisted of two perfectly-seasoned patties. Even though I was fairly stuffed by the time that our waitress came to tell us about the dessert specials, I couldn't resist ordering the chocolate lava cake (which was served a la mode and was also ridiculously good). My only regret in the entire meal was that I wasn't able to try the other two breakfast specials.