Baton Rouge’s newest plant-based restaurant opening on Bluebonnet this fall

The Plantry Café, a new vegan and vegetarian restaurant, is scheduled to open sometime this fall in the Villas of Bluebonnet Centre shopping center, near Albasha and Cadillac Cafe.

Owner Katie Crifasi, a physician at Our Lady of the Lake Physician Group off of Essen Lane, says she set out to create a place where patrons can enjoy plant-based food in a typical, modern restaurant setting.

“There’s a lot of data to support the benefits of a plant-based diet, and Baton Rouge doesn’t really see a lot of that,” Crifasi says, adding that when people hear “vegan” they often think of someone subsisting on carrots.

She wants to show that there are many more ways to eat plant-based than a plate of raw veggies. The restaurant’s dishes will also be mostly gluten-free.

Ahead of the restaurant’s opening, Plantry has catered a few events around Baton Rouge, including the Flower Festival in April and a Thanksgiving meal at the LSU AgCenter’s Botanic Gardens.

The Plantry Cafe will join a small, but growing, number of plant-based eateries in Baton Rouge, including MJ’s Cafe, Vegan Friendly Foods and Golden Vegan.

This story originally appeared in a Feb. 14 issue of Daily Report. To keep up with Baton Rouge business and politics, subscribe to the free Daily Report e-newsletter here.