Raising the Level of Health in the World
The Sprout, An Organic Café does it one Sprout Burger at a Time
by Georgia Schrubbe
posted by Caroline Brennan
Some people don’t really think about what they’re eating or where it came from. Even when we make a choice that is bad for us, we eat it because it’s convenient, not stopping to consider it clogging our arteries and contributing to the depletion of the ozone layer.
Luckily, there is an accessible alternative in the vegan, organic, raw, and sustainable options of the recently opened Sprout Café.
Accessible through the doors of Seeking Indigo on 445 King or around the corner on 7 Radcliffe, The Sprout is a little grab-and-go vegan café sprouted from its parent café in Mount Pleasant.
Owner Mickey Brennan has set up shop at the Marion Square Farmer’s Market every Saturday with enthusiastic patrons, so he decided to plant a permanent Sprout in downtown Charleston.
“Getting into that space primarily was to just see how everybody would receive it. We plan on expanding…It’s more of a little sprout- It’s going to sprout bigger,” says Brennan.
Brennan feels confident that The Sprout will be well received because of the distinctiveness of the fare, and The Sprout’s commitment to sustainability and organic, locally produced ingredients.
“We’re something different to the market. You can go anywhere and get shrimp and grits or a burger, but where else can you go to get a casein, gluten-free vegan entrée?” Brennan says.
These entrees are not the bland, gray tofu-pretending-to-be-meat options typically associated with vegans, but instead creative combinations of vegetables and punchy flavors that make you forget that what you’re eating hasn’t even been cooked.
One of Brennan’s specialties is The Sprout Burger, a spicy patty made of ginger, walnut, and portabella mushrooms, topped with a puree of jalapenos, tamari, red onions, carrots and peppers, all on a bun made of “sprouted” grains. The Burger is unexpectedly punchy and filling, even though it is completely raw and doesn’t have gluten, casein, wheat, soy, or dairy.
The Sprout also serves a raw version of Pad Thai, with noodles constructed out of zuchinni and carrot spirals and covered with the Sprout’s vegan version of a pungent peanut sauce.
Still skeptical? Brennan encourages everyone to step outside of his or her culinary comfort zone and give the Sprout a chance.
“I only make food that I like. It’s going to taste good, you just have to give it a try,” he says.
With almost everything on the menu under $10, trying out the Sprout won’t break the bank, and it will help contribute to the Sprout’s mission of raising the level of health in the world!
“The object of our business when we set out was not to make a million dollars. It was to improve the life and the health of the world, and that is what we do” says Brennan.
So next time you are tempted to settle for food that is not good to the earth or your body, head instead to The Sprout for an organic Harvest Burrito packaged in a 100 % biodegradable and compostable container and raise your glass of kombucha to the health of the world.
