“It sounds so cliché, but it was always my childhood dream to be a chef,” says Broghen Culver- Brush, owner of Bliss Kitchen.
Born and raised a vegan, she worked at area vegan spots until she had the opportunity to start her own restaurant. Bliss Kitchen opened in October 2015, taking over a small space at 312 Dundas Street East formerly occupied by a bakery. She expanded when the business next door closed down about four years later, increasing the seating from seven to 28 while transitioning from counter to full table service.
Culver-Brush says one of the biggest misconceptions about vegan food is that people are fearful of not being full.
“Our food is very filling. It’s not the idea of the whimsical tiny little green vegan smoothie and a bite of gluten-free bread. We feed you, and we feed you well. You have the feeling of being full, but not full of crap. Probably the most common compliment we get is, ‘I’m a full-meat eater, and that was unbelievable,’” she said.
Checking out the menu, diners will find diversity and a wide scope of options. Sure, there are the smoothies, bowls and burgers you’d expect, but also a range of unique items like tacos served in a romaine leaf and several versions of loaded fries, sort of like poutine, but made from a combination of roasted, never-fried, sweet and white potatoes. The Tzatziki Fries are topped with house-made cashew tzatziki sauce, almond feta, cucumber, onion, and tomato, while the Caesar Fries are served with creamy garlic aioli, coconut bacun, a crispy chickpea patty, avocado, and sunflower Parmesan.
There are also rotating monthly specials, and on the weekends, brunch is available all day.
“I try to steer people away from counting calories to counting more nutrients. We don’t have a deep fryer; we only use an oven. Everything in-house is baked if it’s cooked. Our burger patties are all made from scratch, and those are baked. You can eat anything on our menu and know it’s not bad for you,” said Culver-Brush.
“We’re all suffering from these health problems linked to what we eat or what we don’t eat," she added. "It’s the sad reality of how disconnected we are from what we put in our bodies. Everything at Bliss Kitchen is made from scratch without any fillers or chemicals, nothing you cannot pronounce.”
Bliss Kitchen also offers decadent desserts and cashew cheesecakes. Slices are served in-house, or you can custom-order a whole cake. Using cashews makes them delicious and ups the protein like crazy. There’s no food colouring; dyes are made from fruits and vegetables.
“We do cookie dough and brownies. Someone might ask, ‘Can you do brownie cookie dough?’ Yes, absolutely," says Culver-Brush. "We do a rainbow cake with six colours and some people have asked for it in their kids’ three favourite colours. We make little chocolate bars called Blix bars. They’re our take on a Twix bar."
In the coming months, Culver-Brush plans to set up a projector and have a movie night. Details are still in the works.
For more about Bliss Kitchen, visit blisskitchen.ca.
