It’s a cool summer evening in South Oceanside. The breeze is blowing through the large vegetable garden brimming with elephant ear kale, tiny golden summer squash, fragrant basil and all the summer vegetables that will fit into 10 giant metal horse troughs.
Of course, the bins aren’t horse troughs, but 8-foot metal raised beds. And the troughs aren’t the only magical trompe l’oeil we will experience tonight, but dozens of vegetables transformed into appetizers, entrees and desserts.
This is Plantscape, a quarterly showcase of The Plot’s vegan cuisine, with 30 guests enjoying a three-hour, 10-course tasting menu. “We host Plantscape every few months to allow our chefs to experiment with new menu items that just might be featured on our nightly Tasting Menu,” co-founder Jessica Waite said. “We want our chefs to play with the plants that are growing right now, and tempt our guests with new creations.”
Jessica likes to call the food about to be served “boundary bending, featuring what is available right now in our 1,000-square-foot garden. We utilize the best and the brightest vegetables that are ripe today! Our chefs walk through the 10 garden beds each morning to locate only those vegetables that will fit onto the menu.”
The Plot Garden Project details are available on Facebook as well. Presently the project has expanded to the street, and Tremont Avenue is now bursting with vegetables planted in metal raised beds and available for harvest from local neighbors.
The mission
Jessica and her husband, Davin Waite, are on a mission ”to create a vibrant community hub that promotes health and sustainability through an urban garden and food lab. Our goal is to develop and popularize methods of cooking that reduce reliance on extractive farming practices while creating products that encourage access to plant-forward diet choices.”
Davin has been recognized for his skills at his Oceanside sushi restaurant, Wrench and Rodent Seasbasstropub, and received the 2022 Sustainability Advocate Award from the California Travel Association. He and Jessica have also been recognized for one of the Best New Restaurants in Vegetarian Times and Best New Restaurant in San Diego 2020 by San Diego Magazine.
“Davin’s work at The Plot is a spin-off of the amazing artistry he applies to sushi, but now he does it with vegetables instead of fish,” Jessica said
Plantscape surprised us all
Tasting menu items at Plantscape included:
TUNA AND CUCUMBER CAKE — Looks like tuna, but a carefully orchestrated sleight of hand that transformed large red radishes into brilliant red slices, which alternated with the cucumber, and was topped with Scratch House whipped cream “cheese.”
THE GRAND FINALE — Two-layer lasagna with shiitake duxelles, garden squash, Scratch House ricotta and topped with a golden layer of blistered cherry and sungold tomatoes. This entrée was well-worth waiting for, and nothing like your Italian grandmother’s traditional lasagna.
DESSERT — A trio of vegan desserts began with a grilled peach and burrata, zucchini tiramisu and the lightest orange, basil and fig granita.
Thanks to the staff
This amazing meal was presented by the talented staff including: Davin Waite, head chef; Travis Roe, executive chef; Josh Arnold, sous chef; Jared Wood, sous chef; and Tony Howe, Scratch House cheese. The guests were served by Jaz Valentino, Ruby Martinez and Cameron Brown; Nancy Medel provided music.
The Plot restaurant and The Plot Garden Project are located at 1733 S. Coast Hwy, Oceanside. Open every day, 9 a.m.-3 p.m. and 4-9 p.m. Takeout available. Call 442-266-8200 for reservations. The restaurant will be open on Father’s Day for Sunday Brunch.
