Athens has been both ahead of its time and behind the times with vegan restaurants. In the mid 1990s, Guaranteed became Athens first vegan restaurant. Located on Broad Street, it lasted a couple of years, but there were not enough local vegans to support it, and vegan dining seemed liked a foreign concept to many diners. Now with everyone from Russell Brand to Bill Clinton promoting veganism, Athens has been overdue for a good vegan dining option.
Earlier this year, Broad Street Coffee opened in a tiny location that had formerly housed a BBQ hut. They were an instant success, yet stuck in an undersized facility that could seat only a dozen or so at a time. With the closing of Farm 255, an opportunity presented itself. Owners Juan and Vanessa Molina moved Broad Street Coffee to Farm 255’s former location on West Washington Street. The new restaurant, known as Echo, opened just a couple of days ago.
It has been a soft opening with little advertising. This is probably good, as the transition happened quickly. It will take time to adjust to a larger kitchen, dining room and more ambitious menu. We were there on the second night of operation along with several other diners. The menu features four or five appetizers, the same number of salads, and eight or so entrees. My dining partner had the crabcakes appetizer and a cup of sweet potato ginger soup. It was enough for dinner. The crabcakes are quinoa based - not actual crab, of course - with red pepper, red onion and celery. The two cakes were tasty and, served with a creamy dill sauce, very filling. The sweet potato ginger soup was thick, fragrant and excellent, overall.
The entree selection is not ambitious, but it does contain enough variety to satisfy most folks. Though tempted by a burrito, I had the chickpea and sweet potato burger. It was one of three burger options; they all come with slaw and mac and “cheese.” The burger had east Indian spices and was very flavorful. It was a little overwhelmed by the bread and could have used a smaller bun or been just slightly larger.
To my tastebuds, Daily Groceries sets the gold standard for vegan slaw. Echo’s slaw is headed in that direction, but has fewer ingredients. The pasta in the mac and cheese was overcooked. It was very “cheesy” but needed a couple of dashes of tabasco.
Despite a couple of minor miscues - to be expected with a brand new restaurant - service was friendly and efficient. We were very satisfied with our meal and felt it was reasonably priced. The owner stopped us on the way out and asked for feedback - always a good sign for a new operation.
For vegans and non-vegans, Echo is a welcome addition to the Athens dining scene. Its food, location, ambience and prices should make it highly competitive. Echo has several draft and bottled beers, a good wine list and a full bar.
