I had an unexpected day off school, so we ventured to Maplewood to finally explore this restaurant which we had read about. It’s a bummer that most of the restaurants on our list of places to try are so far away, but this one was a little big closer than some of the others. What a great discovery for us! This establishment is really trying to obtain the finest ingredients and their menu was fantastic. This is without a doubt, one of our new favorites! (which we say after basically every restaurant we eat at, but we mean it this time!) (Miriam)
Overall experience ★★★★
Food ★★★★
They had a variety of options on their menu including quesadillas, sandwiches, salads, burritos, soup, and a lot of cafe style drinks like coffee, lattes, and smoothies. They did have some items labeled as being vegan, but not all of their menu items were marked for allergens such as gluten. When we asked about gluten free options, we found out that they have gluten free bread for sandwiches, and the salads could be made gluten free as well. I got the Foundation salad and Michelle got the Mama la quesadilla along with their seasonal butternut squash and spiced apple soup. And although we resisted their baked goods when we originally ordered, we had to go back and try something, so we ended our meal with a delicious “Goo ball”.
The Goo ball was both gluten free and vegan, and made with dates, oats, cocoa, cane sugar, and coconut. It was not gooey like you would have expected but it tasted great. It had a mildly sweet flavor with a hint of chocolate and coconut.
Overall, the food was a little bit on the mild side, but still had enough flavor to make the food delicious and exciting. We will be back to try all things we didn’t get a chance to try this time!
Tried and True Favorites:
- “Gooball”
- Foundation Salad
- Lavender Latte
Quality ★★★★
The kitchen manager spoke at length with us, enthusiastically sharing information about food sources and quality. He told us that he won’t get foods from farms unless he has personally been there himself. He knows the farmer first hand where the chickens are pastured and shared that the chickens eat a natural GMO free diet when supplementation is needed. He reported that 90% of the foods are organic, although not all certified organic, with the remaining 10% of their food being of a quality higher than organic. (Many farmers have organic practices but cannot afford to pay for the official organic certification process). They also have a small garden where they grow herbs and some vegetables.
Their water goes through a comprehensive filtration system, but has no fluoride filter. The restaurant is also committed to composting and being eco-friendly. They also try to use natural lighting through their large windows rather than wasting electricity.
Foundation Grounds has qualified for listing in the Green Dining Alliance, rating very high with 4 stars, meaning that the restaurant has fully embraced sustainable practices.
They use GMO free, organic canola oil for their cooking, which is an oil that I personally avoid. Although it is much better than a standard canola oil, I believe that it is still highly processed. They also have some food that contained butter, which is a superior, traditional healthy fat. We were happy to see that.
This restaurant clearly cares tremendously about the environment and food quality and we were happy to be able to support them. They seem to be close to perfect on all of our criteria. They are passionate about what they do and strive to be the highest in quality, according to their beliefs.
Atmosphere ★★★★★
The atmosphere was casual, earthy, homey, and laid back with open large windows. They had large comfortable chairs with fun patterns. Food is ordered at the register and specials and foods are listed on a large chalk board menu. The restaurant is very open which give its a natural and calm feeling. They also had nice seating outside for warmer weather days.
Service ★★★★★
The restaurant employees were very willing to give us answers to our questions. If someone was unsure of an answer, they immediately found someone that could help us. Our food was delivered promptly to our table and we were asked several times how everything was. All of the employees seem to take pride in the restaurant.
Price $
Their prices are very reasonable, with each menu item being around 6 to 9 dollars.
Location
Their restaurant is located on Manchester road in downtown Maplewood in a strip of stores that are really fun to walk around. It is within walking distance to Kakao, a nice local chocolate shop and Strange Donuts, a popular new donut store. (Probably not healthy, but interesting none the less.)
Address: 7298 Manchester Road, Maplewood, MO 63143
Visit their website for hours and more information! Foundation Grounds
