A friend recently told me that West Coasters go to Mexico or Hawaii when they're inclined to take a beach vacay, whereas the East Coasters head to the Caribbean. I guess this explains why, despite my lifelong aspirations to go pretty much anywhere in the actual Caribbean, the closest I've ever come is via a dark, cool boat ride in Adventureland. A girl can dream, though, and what makes that dream just a little more palpable are fried plantains and jerk tofu, you know?
Cue BackAYard Caribbean, a small chain of five South Bay and Peninsula restaurants from Campbell to Menlo Park featuring an array of Caribbean dishes. Their menu is pretty meat-heavy, but does have helpful tags to determine what's vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free. Oddly, though, the menu does not list the plantains or rice & beans as vegan--they're only tagged gluten-free. Still, when I went into the Menlo Park location, the cashier confirmed that the plantains are cooked in oil and are vegan, but he then told me that the beans & rice are made with butter. I was deeply (deeply) disappointed by this, particularly because my husband and I had eaten the beans & rice on at least one occasion. He wasn't entirely sure, though, and went back to the kitchen for clarification. When he returned, he told us that, yes, they are made with butter.
However, I recently called their catering line to see if they could be made vegan for a catered event, and the woman with whom I spoke was quite adamanat that they already are vegan. She insisted they are made with margarine as opposed to butter, although she didn't specify what kind of margarine, and since not all margarines are vegan, who really knows? In any case, hopefully BackAYard will ensure their beans & rice AND their plantains are vegan, and update their menu tags to reflect that, as they're currently not tagged as vegan or even vegetarian.
Still, even if they're not vegan, the restaurant still has some tasty options for you and your vegan pals:
Jerk tofu: delicious and hits the spot, but the Yard Plate doesn't include any vegetables, so if you're in the need of roughage, consider a side of collard greens or sauteed veggies.
Coconut curried tofu with vegetables: delightfully coconutty, with just a bit of spice. Probably too spicy for my three-year old, but just right for me and my less-than-iron stomach.
Collard greens: Not my favorite for solo consumption, but mixed in with my coconut curry, they were an added kick of green to an already-robust vegetable plate.
Plantains: I'm taking the guy at his word that these are vegan, and they are delightful. Sweet and savory and perfectly textured.
Beans & Rice: I'm still not sure whether these are vegan or not, but since I've tried them, I'll say they're better than other Caribbean restaunts I've tried. A little light on the beans and heavy on the rice, but still good.
The menu also lists french fries, sauteed vegetables, tossed salad, and a jerk tofu salad as vegan, but we haven't tried them yet. This place is definitely set to be hot in our rotation, so I'm sure we'll give all of their vegan-listed items a try in the near future.
As of now, they aren't offering dine-in, but you can call to order or order takeout/delivery via third-party apps.
Bon apeti!
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