Positive Vibe Cafe Awards

Positive Vibe Cafe Restaurant Review:

Founded by Garth Larcen and his son Max, who has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, the Positive Vibe Café employs those with disabilities (more than one thousand have trained here and many are now employed at other area businesses), and is designed to comfortably accommodate guests in wheelchairs with double-wide, automatic sliding doors and a bar you can roll right up to. But once you try the varied fare, forget altruism; it’s all about taste. Brunswick stew packs a Southern punch with chicken, country ham, potatoes, corn, butter beans and a cornbread stick; corn and bacon maque choux jazzes up shrimp burger sliders; and some items, like buttermilk fried oysters with Creole rémoulade, come as small or big plates. Vegetarian dishes, such as Max’s spinach-and-feta lasagna, are beautifully composed and feature local and organic products; and nothing refreshes like the fresh-squeezed ades in lime, lemon, orange or cherry-lemon (though peppermint hot chocolate catches our fancy in winter). Brunch and monthly guest chef events are especially fun. Corporate and community support have been keen and all profits from the café and catering support the Vibe’s food service training program. Décor is modern and stimulating, thanks to changing artwork by challenged artists, and a fresh renovation. “Take nothing for granted” reminds the menu. Including the array of burgers (they star grass-fed beef from Leaping Waters and locally raised buffalo).