"worth trying"   My Rating
3 funchy	Posted on: Sunday, August 16, 2009
	Review: I love the place. The mere fact that almost everything on the menu comes in a vegetarian/vegan version makes me love eating there. Some of their food items have been home runs and some have fallen a bit short, but to be fair what restaurant doesn't have things on the menu you don't prefer. In some of the dishes, you can even chose between tofu, mock-chicken, mock-beef, or sometimes a mushroom or other item. They're trying hard to meet the needs of us vegetarians. I will say the place is not the cheapest place in town, but you can still get entrees around $10-15. They even offer meat-free sandwiches for lunch, which are less expensive. One thing I did not like is that you cannot order entrees during the afternoon, even if you're hungry for an early dinner. This limits us non-meat-eaters to a smaller selection. Their menu offerings do change regularly. This is good if you like to try new things, but I was VERY sad to see their "BBQ (meatless) Wings" disappear. They do have a nice dining area outside. Inside I give them credit for trying to liven up the place, allowing local artists and musicians in. Last time I was there were some wild oil paintings of famous horror characters. I never stay around late enough for the live music, but I think it's after 9 or 10pm on weekend evenings (not sure). I feel this place is worth visiting. So far I've never had a mix-up of any accidental meat items. The waitresses seem to be meat-eaters, but they try to clarify when they're confused on something. I like how they also clarify what can be made vegan and what is only vegetarian, since this is very important to some of us. Tip: plenty of parking if you take the driveway just before it (corner of Panera Bread) into the Newark City lot, which is conveniently just behind HomeGrown. Ask for a parking validation towards your parking fee.   Pros: huge selection * variety of "meats" to choose from * interesting dishes Cons: a little expensive * does still serve meat * no entrees available until evening
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"Animal-Flesh Nightmare Times Two!"   My Rating
1 BlueForThe Roses	Posted on: Friday, January 16, 2009
	Review: On my last trip to Home Grown, I ordered an item that was a stew in a pumpkin bowl, that was a chicken soup. However, the chicken could be substituted for mock chicken or tofu. Not only did I order this dish, but another member of our party ordered the exact same thing--We BOTH chose mock chicken. The entire table was vegan, and made this clear to the waitress on all of our orders. However, when the soup came out, it was soon revealed to be REAL chicken in not only my soup, but also in the other person's soup as well! Sadly for me, I had already had a couple bites of the soup before I realized just what I was eating, and I was sickened. We weren't very happy with the way that the staff responded to it either, b/c the owner kept trying to say it was a "Misunderstanding." We made it clear that there was no misunderstanding...we had plainly stated, and received confirmation of our order, from our waitress. I may give them another try, but I will be MUCH more careful next time when I eat there, as I have heard that this is not the first time this has happened to diners who ordered meat substitutes in their dishes.   Pros: Reasonably Priced * * Cons: Loud * *
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"Delicious!"   My Rating
1 Jaelus	Posted on: Sunday, March 02, 2008
	Review: My wife and I (both vegan) have eaten here at least a dozen times over the last few years, and it's a 2 hour drive for us. The people are very friendly and the atmosphere is great. The veggie burgers and vegan chicken are homemade and especially delicious. The chicken is spongy and I could see how some people wouldn't like it but personally I think it's fantastic. The chili is exceptionally good and is served with sliced jalapeno on top. They used to serve polenta fries which were to die for but unfortunately stopped serving those about a year ago. Many dishes on the menu have vegan or vegetarian versions.   Pros: Friendly Staff * Plentiful Options * Excellent Food Cons: Pricy * Parking Not Free *
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"Possibly the worst food I have ever had"   My Rating
GUEST	Posted on: Tuesday, May 08, 2007
	Review: I really try and support any place in this area that offers vegetarian cuisine as they are few and far between. We sat outside which is possibly the only upside of the place. The vegan chili was palatable but nothing great. I had the "home made" veggie burger and could only eat half of it (that's saying a lot because I can eat just about anything). I was starving and could only manage to choke down ½ of the sandwich. The chips that came with it were not too bad, at least edible. My wife had the Southwest Avocado "chicken" wrap. Turns out the "veggie chicken" is actually condensed moist croutons. I thought my wife was exaggerating when she told me but I tried it and she was right!! Kudos to Home Grown Cafe for offering vegetarian and vegan options but the food was simply horrible. Most places I will give a second chance but I don't think I'm willing to spend another $40 for food that I can't even force myself to eat.   Pros: outside seating * * Cons: horrendous food * *
0 of 0 visitors found the above review beneficial  Responses(1) | Was this review useful?  • Don't know what's up with babydoc. That is not how Home Grown is at all. It's my favorite place. The service and food are booth awesome. To clarify: Their veggie chicken is wheat gluton, oinion, garlic and spices, that is needed into a big dough ball, portioned and boiled in a veggie bouilion. It's than fried to order and sliced down. Definately not chicken to chicken eaters, but a good hearty protein rich substitution! Their whole menu is coded for vegan and veggie items too! I love it! www.homegrowncafe.com. response by samanthawooster - report abuse -

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