Vegan restaurants can be a tough sell. Despite the nutrition, creativity and flavor coming from their kitchens, I am rarely able to convince my inner circle to try these interesting establishments. It was much to my delight, then, to be joined by several friends for some recent visits to Veggie Grill, Long Beach’s newest plant-based restaurant, located in The Marketplace at PCH and Second Street.

With ten locations on the West Coast and five more slated for opening in the coming year, Veggie Grill has this culinary style down to every detail. The food is fabulous and the environment represents the feel of a well-established, full-fledged restaurant that serves high quality food to a large clientele.

Since we ventured into new territory with our main dishes, the appetizer rounds provided an opportunity to enjoy some familiar staples: sweet potato fries and macaroni and cheese. Known as their “Sweetheart Fries,” these sweet-and-salty fries come with Chipotle Ranch dressing in a small bowl, with just enough for two people to whet their pre-dinner palates.

No complaints here: flavor, texture, color and quantity were all present. This starter runs at $4.25.

French fries are obviously non-requisite of animal products, so there was no guessing as to how those equate to vegan status. But Mac-n-Cheese needs some innovation. How does one create pasta without eggs? What will be the substitute for cheese? Both questions are answered by Veggie Grill’s interpretation that uses Quinoa for the pasta shells and their own, secret, VG-cheese for the topping. Quinoa is a common grain-like ingredient used in vegan food preparation. Originating in South America, the plant produces edible seeds that are used widely as a cereal. However, Quinoa flour works well for gluten-free and wheat-free baking, thus creating things like pasta. The result is a light, earthy flavor. Paired with the creamy, slightly rich VG-cheese , it is a macaroni and cheese that holds its own. And at a cost of just $3.50, perhaps you should just order two and take one home for later.

Veggie Grill’s entree offerings include a long list of sandwiches, burgers and salads. They also provide a few “Homestyle Plates” meant to mimic some traditional American favorites.

I recommend starting with a soup. They change daily, and on our last visit we gladly accepted the staff’s recommendation to try the Wednesday special: Corn Chowder. This version was more creamy and smooth than most corn chowders, but the flavor was still bold. I shared it with two friends, and while we simultaneously scraped the bottom of the bowl we all could agree that it was a smart order. With a few tortilla strips lightly placed on top, a side of Herb-Crusted Crisps to balance the soup’s richness, this $4.50 bowl is a smart buy.

There are three sandwiches and a salad that served as the bases for our two visits. Let me start with the salad, another menu item highly recommended by their staff, and one which pleasantly surprised me with its clean, robust and diverse flavors: the All Hale Kale. If you didn’t guess, the foundation for this giant salad is kale, a cabbage-like vegetable that comes green or purple. My first indication of this salad’s legitimacy was its lack of bitterness. This is a result of the kale being carefully marinated alongside red cabbage. The plate was piled high with this healthy green, paired with corn salsa, agave-roasted walnuts and a beautiful, delicate, slightly sweet vinaigrette.

I added blackened “chicken,” a meat substitute made from non-GMO veggie proteins such as organic soy and wheat. Honestly, if no one told me it wasn’t chicken I would never have known. I highly recommend this salad–it is flavorful, extremely healthy, and is a great portion for either lunch or dinner. The salad runs at $8.45, or an additional $2.75 to add blackened chicken or tempeh.

And last but certainly not least, consider one of the 13 sandwiches and burgers that pop from this menu. We sampled the Papa’s Portobello, Buffalo Bomber and All-American Stack. All three are something to write home about, but I’m particularly impressed with Veggie Grill’s ongoing ability to “fool” its customers with healthy non-meat substitutes that remind me of “the real thing.” This is characteristic in both the Buffalo Bomber and All-American Stack, both of which include meat-like substitutes. The Buffalo Bomber, as it may suggest, is a sandwich or wrap that comes with crispy chicken (spiced soy and wheat) tossed in spicy buffalo sauce, with tomato, red onion, lettuce and a cool ranch dressing.

We chose the wrap option on this one, and wow. More so than the chicken on the kale salad, this meat substitute is a parallel in flavor to spicy buffalo chicken. My first thought after swallowing the first bite was how well this item would go over at a Super Bowl party. I could cut it up into finger sandwiches and no one would ever know the difference. One of these can feed two people by the way; there were three of us sharing and we only made it through one half of the wrap.

Indeed the dishes are sizable, but on our end we filled up due to our insistence on sharing three sandwiches. In order to compete with the Buffalo Bomber, we fell victim to the only pictured sandwich on the menu, the All-American Stack. This one’s for the traditional carnivore, the person who unabashedly eats beef as much as possible. The look, touch and feel of this sandwich is textbook shredded beef on a typical hamburger bun. With grilled veggie-steak made from soy beans and rice culture, pickles, lettuce, tomato, crispy onion rings and thousand island dressing, the All-American Stack is true to its namesake. We scarfed this one down, and noted how well it paired with the corn chowder.

And then there’s Papa’s Portobello, a sandwich that isn’t trying to mimic the flavor of meat because it has no need to do so. Although not by its name, this one too is all-American. Sizable, robust in flavor, and stacked high with fresh ingredients, we also finished every last bite. Complementing the mushroom is chopped tomato, basil and garlic pomodoro, caramelized onion, pesto, lettuce, tomato, red onion and chipotle ranch.

All of these sandwiches cost less than $9, continuing the trend of this establishment not only providing quality food but affordable too.

For the sake of keeping you guessing, let me admit that I am smitten with this restaurant. The food is spot on in freshness, flavor, price-level and creativity. But in all honesty, one can find great vegan food elsewhere. It is the size and scope of this menu, the professional feel to this restaurant, and the brand that they have created that resonate with me. Having already visited a couple times, the consistency of service and products is a noticeable characteristic.

But again, perhaps the most notable quality to Veggie Grill is that can be used to “trick” those people we all know who just can’t bring themselves to trying “weird” food.

Veggie Grill is located at 6451-7 Shopkeeper Rd. | (562) 430-4986 | www.veggiegrill.com