Last weekend, I finally made it to Root, a semi-new vegan restaurant in Lancaster. I wanted to check it out as soon as it opened, but I kept putting it off, basically because it’s in Lancaster and I never really wanted to battle 5 o’clock traffic during the week into the city, and on the weekends I got busy doing everyday life things.  They are pretty lame excuses and I found out I was missing out on some awesome food.

I told my husband I wanted to go for brunch and we headed out a little after 11 on a Saturday. To my relief, there was a small parking lot for the restaurant (marked as Reserved for WOW) that was mostly empty. (Parking in Lancaster or Harrisburg *really* stresses me out.)

The Menu
The best thing thing overall about Root is that it is completely vegan, right down to the alcohol menu. I love having an entire menu to order from. Speaking of the menu, it had a decent selection and was reasonably priced. I’m looking forward to going back to try the dinner menu because there is more on it, and there are a lot of things that sound delicious.

Root’s menu is great for vegans and non-vegans alike. The brunch menu has pancakes, french toast, a grilled pb&j, and (tofu) tacos. The lunch menu includes soups, salads, and sandwiches.

What We Ordered
First, we ordered the brunch special, a pumpkin ginger waffle. It was a flavorful Belgium waffle. This item was the only thing that I thought was a little pricey given that it was just one waffle for $7. It tasted great, but I think if it was served with some fruit or something on the side it would’ve been a more substantial meal.

My husband got the Hearts of Palm “Seafood” Salad. It’s blended hearts of palm, celery, mayo and seafood seasonings on rustic Italian bread with lettuce and tomato, served with fries. He said it was a little salty, but devoured it before I could try a bite so I’m going to say it was good.

I ordered the grilled zucchini sandwich – grilled zucchini, lemon aioli, lettuce, and tomato on rustic Italian bread served with fries. I really liked the sandwich. The bread was crusty on the outside and soft on the inside and the aioli was super tasty.

We were both full after our meals, but I wanted to try as much as possible, so we got the two desserts, the Caramelized Apple Spice Cake and Blueberry cake, to go. We ate them later at home and they were both really, really good.

I’m kind of kicking myself for putting off visiting the restaurant for so long. I can’t wait to go back for dinner and to bring my mom.

Farm Sanctuary Event
What’s even more exciting is that in a few weeks, Gene Baur will be celebrating 30 years of Farm Sanctuary’s work in helping animals at a dinner party held at Root! I had no idea that Farm Sanctuary has history in Lancaster, which makes it even more awesome. More info and tickets can be found here. Let me know if you’re going!