• 5
• Lived three blocks from here for 2 years

Saturn cafe made my decision to become a vegetarian/almost-vegan a pretty easy choice. I haven't been able to eat dairy in years, so you can imagine my excitement when I moved from the east coast (dairy lovers) to Santa Cruz and discovered that the place three blocks from where I lived sold dairy-free chocolate soyshakes until 4AM every night...! Trust me, some of the best vegan comfort food in the world is found at this place: steak fry baskets, sweet potato fries (YUM), huge organic green salads, the soy shakes and other vegan desserts, and oh yes, the vegetarian and vegan burgers (not all are vegan, you have to check the menu and/or ask the waiter). My roommate, a non-vegetarian, LOVES the jalapeno burgers. The staff is quite knowledgable about the ingredients in the items on the menu so don't hesitate to ask. The best value item on the menu, without question, has to be the vegan breakfast burrito (served all day long): it's basically soyrizo, tofu scramble, potatoes, stuffed inside a huge tortilla, with sides of salsa, guacamole, and the soy sour cream. I think it's still $6.95 last time I checked (June 2010). This thing will last you two meals (unless you're starving and haven't eaten in a while :) ). Now, here are the two bad things about Saturn besides the weak coffee (go to Delmarette!!! It's down on Pacific Ave next to Del Mar theater, organic roasted beans and strong flavor): - Saturn is often too expensive. A soyshake is $5.25 + sweet potato fries ($5.95) or organic house salad ($4.95) + tax and tip = about $13-15. A vegan burger + fries runs $8.50-9.50 + tax and tip (as do most of the standard dinner items). Yikes. On the other hand if I *just* order the vegan burrito..... :) - The service is sporadically crappy, and I've noticed it doesn't really matter how many people are in there. By crappy, I don't mean waiting a long time for food (although some people will have to be patient here) but I mean waiting a long time to order because they aren't sure who's supposed to be attending my table, or a waiter who can't remember what I ordered. On the other hand, they're usually friendly once you get their attention.