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• B52 is the Bee's Knees

ALL-VEGAN, EVERYTHING! B52 opened in January 2016 to widespread arms and excited appetites, grabbing headlines of local magazines and newspapers as one of the 1st 100% vegan establishments in the city of Pittsburgh. B52 is the concept of Omar Abuhejleh, who also owns Allegro Hearth Bakery in Squirrel Hill. The cafe is located at the corner of Butler and 52nd in Lawrenceville, hence the name. B52 offers an amazing fusion of Middle-Eastern and American scratch cooked whole food. We began our meal with a seasonal special coffee drink and a classic cappuccino. The Cafe Rico is 2 shots of espresso with Tahitian vanilla beans, expressed orange oil, cinnamon and house-made almond milk – creamy and thick, one of the best dairy-free frothed coffee drinks we’ve tasted. Lush. Not too sugar sweet, instead naturally sweetened by the vanilla, cinnamon and orange. Balanced, with appropriate caffeine kick. A splendid aperitif. Filling but well worth it. The Cappuccino, like the Cafe Rico, is one of the greatest dairy-free frothed drinks we’ve experienced, ever! Loads of body, a cushy merengue-like froth, sweet chewable air. (Mouth Feels ftw!) We decided on the Mezzo: Taste 3 (three sides with a basket of soft pita) and the Kofta Tofu Scramble. Baba Ghanouj – smoked applewood eggplant, tahini, garlic and lemon. OMG! Best baba we’ve ever tasted. The applewood smoke makes this! Creamy, dreamy, savory! Labneh – Fermented cashew, mint and za’atar. There are feta and goat qualities to this nut cheese but the taste is more yoghurt. Tangy and super smooth. Fried Tomatoes – garlic, zhoug and tahini sauce. A stewed tomato consistency. Zhoug is a piquantly refreshing puree of parsley, cilantro, cumin, salt and green chiles. The tahini added a rich hit that mellowed nicely with the creaminess of the fried tomato. Kofta Tofu Scramble – seitan kofta, spicy minced seitan. The tofu scramble was a low-key but unique take on the common vegan breakfast dish. This was more like a soft scramble, easter peep yellow, understated flavor. It was different but welcome! Served with a side of whole leaves of wilted kale and seasoned, crispy pita. A balanced plate built with love. OMG B52 is 2DOPE!!! 4Ever!!! ecoRDN.com