Bloodroot — Restaurant in Bridgeport

What. An. Experience.

When you walk into Bloodroot you are thrown in several different directions. All just as wonderful and revolutionary as the women who own and run this establishment.

When you pull into Bloodroot Restaurant you park in a dirt lot and are greeted by their outdoor set up that consist of chairs and tables. You walk into a room full of books, tables, a window where you can see right into the kitchen & loads of history.

I was first greeted by the wonderful owner and before informing me of how to order in was asked "Do you see your country on our list?". Bloodroot, right near the "pick up window" has a list of all the countries customers are from. If by some chance you country isn't on their, they pencil you in until they update the list officially. What a wonderful way to get to know & connect with a complete stranger.

But How does Bloodroot Operate?

Above & to the side of the "pick up window" on chalkboards are the different menu's for the day. You choose what you would like to order and proceed to the "cashier" and you pay. (I say "cashier" because she also serves as a story teller & a helpful hand in deciding what to order. She actually pulled out a wonderful book full of recipes written by "Bloodroot" with photos so I could see exactly what was on the menu!) After paying you sit at your desired table and wait until your food is ready. You are called or on a busier day you can check on your food yourself. The food comes out on plastic trays and you must grab your own pre wrapped utensils. Then (the best part) you EAT.

You just devour your food and contemplate on how you're going to make room for the rest because WOW! What an EXPLOSION of flavors, textures and newness.

All the plates were fantastic and filling. You really do leave full!

OH! Did I mention this place is VEGAN?! I said it- DELICIOUSLY VEGAN.

Other than providing wonderful food, Bloodroot has an extensive and diverse library of books. It is impossible not to take a look at the diverse and enriching literature back there! As well as selling their own Cook Book on how to make your own Vegan Recipes.

The food, the staff, the ambiance & culture is what this establish is about!

You come a stranger but leave a friend to this wonderful...

First, the good. The owners of the restaurant, like the ambiance are friendly, cozy and unusual (in a good way). Being feminists, there is an eclectic mix of art and artifacts, mainly about feminism. All good. It's not often that a bookstore and restaurant come together in theme and in a space like this that works. It's cool. The not so good was the cafeteria-style service. Maybe it just takes some getting used to but I personally prefer a waiter. With this setup, you stand just inside the entrance until someone takes your order. There are no paper menus. You look at a chalkboard high up on the wall and try to decide quickly amidst the commotion of people coming, going and ordering, what to order. We felt a bit pressured and asking questions about the dishes felt awkward as we stood there as other people waited behind us. When the food is ready, they call your name and you go get it along with silverware and napkins. It is hard to figure out who to ask for things like water, salt, etc ...are you supposed to ask or look for the stuff you need? After all of that, the food was expensive, small and only so-so. Exceptions were an entree of puffed pasty stuffed with spinach. It was good but impossibly small (maybe six bites and smaller than many appetizers) and at $18, astonishingly expensive. There were no substantial garnishes or sides with it other than a leaf of lettuce. Also, the curry string bean appetizer was very good and tasty. But it went downhill from there. The tofu was cooked inconsistently, hard, dry and just like the beans and rice, very boring. The large salad wasn't very large and even less interesting although the tomatoes were excellent. The bean dip tasted like a mush of nothing. I can't remember what else we had but it wasn't memorable or good. Given all of the great reviews, I was surprised at the limited menu, bland food and high prices. Busing our own table at the end and getting dirty hands sorting silverware, plates and glasses was icing on the cake. No, we didn't stay for dessert. I've been waiting for years to visit this place and I really wanted to like it. I really did like the atmosphere and the people but other than that, it just didn't do it for me or anyone who...

Bloodroot opened in March 1977, the same month my partner and I got together. We heard about Bloodroot about a year and a half later and have dined here periodically ever since. Back in 1978, there were few places to safely, comfortably dine with one's same-sex partner, few places that fostered a much-needed feminism to the degree that Bloodroot has. Nor was it easy to find the kinds of literature, voices at last speaking and being heard, available in the bookstore. We have, from the beginning, brought family and friends of all beliefs, preferences, relationship forms, and so on, to dine here; all have been safe. The varied, changing, healthy, fresh food both fit our preferences and, especially in the earlier decades, challenged the standard fare of many of the day's restaurants. We still love arriving to find what dishes are new with the season or the year and what favorites are available that day. A boon is that the staff are attentive to the food allergies and other health concerns of each person.

All are and have always been welcome here. If the owners and staff speak their minds and preferences and their own thoughts -- not always completely in line with our own, to be sure -- know that patrons can also speak theirs, respectfully heard, if not mollycoddled: which is how it ought to be among mature adults navigating this world of unity in diversity. We have been thankful for the challenges of expanding our thinking, stretching to understand a point of view we might not ever totally embrace, and continuing to be ourselves among others living their own values proud and out loud.

To the people of Bloodroot, past and present, especially to Selma and Noel: thank you for over four decades of being here, action and the changes you have wrought...