Plum serves vegan food with bold flavors—perhaps a few too many flavors. The chef’s almost single-minded mission is to prove that vegan cuisine isn’t bland. She accomplishes this admirably by focusing on Southern, Caribbean, Southwestern, and Latin influences.

Jalapeños do a lot of the heavy lifting (as in chili-crusted seitan, for example), as do citrusy notes, and at times both are overpowering. But given the history of vegan-only restaurants, it’s nice to see someone err in this direction. There is tofu and tempeh and seitan in every conceivable form, but dishes tend to shine most when steering away from the processed-soy products: (huge) salads, seasonal soups, and sides like fried green tomatoes are usually excellent. Pastas fare well, too; eggplant linguini comes together beautifully with its jalapeño-vodka sauce. If you have non-vegans in tow, brunch is your best bet, as everyone can appreciate mofongo or banana pancakes.

People often describe Plum as upscale, and it is. It’s contemporary and grownup, with concrete walls and candlelight, but the space still feels earthy and, at least during the day, shorts-and-sandals casual. In summer, the big garage doors roll up, which makes Plum a nice place for a glass of wine. The list here takes on the additional challenge of pairing wines with all vegan dishes, and mostly does a good job within those requirements; some surprising choices make for good matches. Prices are just a bit on the higher side, but not overwhelmingly so.