Great Vegan Cafe: J Selby's, Saint Paul

The 'cheese' burger at J. Selby's

Selby is a name you see throughout Saint Paul. MN. Selby Avenue is a main street, and the Cathedral of Saint Paul was once a farm owned by a man named Selby.

The packed J. Selby's

The farmer, J Selby, would likely be tickled that his name adorns a new plant based restaurant, J. Selby's. The restaurant is what we old schoolers would call vegan, but that word can have negative connotations. No one is judging you here for wearing leather shoes or a silk shirt.

We went on a Sunday night, when we thought we could just waltz in, but it was completely packed. J. Selby's is the kind of place where you order at a counter, and take your number to a table. Except there were no tables. A server came over and pointed out a group that was finishing, and we ordered and sat.

The food was incredible. And filling. We saw the portions and realized there was no need for appetizers. though I have to go back for the cauliflower 'wings.' And the chili. And the brunch.

Brunch, served on weekends only, has a vegan take on biscuits and gravy. Sounds fabulous. There is also a children's menu.

BBQ 'beaf'

But what we had was equally wonderful. My daughter got a 'cheese' burger, which comes with one patty (a solo) or two (the dirty secret). You can have a Field Roast, Beyond Burger or Herbivorous Butcher patty. Since we'd already eaten at the Herbivorous Butcher earlier in the day, Nora had the Beyond Burger.

It came on a whole wheat bun, with pickles, onions, lettuce and tomato. There was homemade ketchup, of course, and sriracha if that's how you roll. The burger comes with fries, a salad, chips and salsa or spicy slaw.

I had that spicy slaw on my BBQ 'beaf.' The sandwich was like pulled pork, on a hoagie bun.

My husband got the burrito bowl, with soy chorizo, brown rice, guacamole and a cheesy, creamy sauce that was, of course, vegan.

Or plant based. Whatever you want to call it, it was delicious.