follow your heart? of course, they are the ones who make the awesome fake mayonnaise and the vegan cheese that doesn’t melt! yeah, and they have that supermarket in the valley with all neat healthy stuff. but did you know they also have a restaurant? i don’t know why it never occurred to me until recently to try their café (maybe eating in the back of a grocery store didn’t sound very appealing), but now i’m sure glad i did. the food was spectacular, and the atmosphere was just fine—i forgot that the bustling health food market on the other side of the wall even existed.

breakfast burrito: scrambled tofu, black beans and vegetarian ‘chorizo’, wrapped in an oversized whole wheat tortilla. served with spanish rice, guacamole and vegan sour cream. $7.95

follow your heart burger: burger pattie with vegan cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, vegenaise and thousand island dressing, on a toasted whole wheat bun. $7.95

before i even say that the food tastes good, check out those huge portions they give you for under $8! with the economy plummeting and food prices soaring, i challenge you to find a healthy vegan meal in a sit-down restaurant at a better value. on top of that, everything tasted incredible. the burrito was stuffed with the finest of fake meat, and the sour cream & guac garnishes were delicious. the burger was also tasty and hearty—the follow your heart cheese was even melted. how on earth did they accomplish that?

the atmosphere is pretty diner-y. dark wood everywhere and small tables close together. maybe a little too close for my taste, next time i will grab a seat at the bar. i’ve heard the patio is quite lovely, but if you think i’m gonna sit outside in +100 degree weather during summer in the heart of the valley, you’re fuckin’ nuts.

the waitress was friendly and attentive, and she moved our order pretty fast. the best thing about her was she turned us on to a new hot sauce (with a crazy dude on the bottle!) called brother bru-bru’s. (being the capsicum addicts that we are, we had to buy our own bottle before heading home!) you pay for your meal (along with any groceries you may pick up) at the cashier of the supermarket, not in the restaurant itself, so don’t forget to leave a tip for your server.

follow your heart’s cafe also boasts a huge vegetarian menu, where almost anything can be made vegan. just be sure to specify—you don’t want to end up with some real sour cream, and never know about it because the fake stuff tastes so good. it’s getting tricky this day in age as dairy is more easily emulated.

i can’t wait to return to follow your heart and try something new. i could spend months just getting through breakfast menu! i’m so glad i found this place—it’s definitely worth a trip to the hot hot valley.