And as far as rent goes, I used to work at a small real estate office outside of Boston. That small office was $5,000/month. So you can only imagine the rent not only in Manhattan, but across the street from Grand Central! I think they would’ve been better off putting up a place in the East Village or Union Square, where there are tons of veggie restaurants! I really hope to hear from them again in the future.

They’re a little rigid in many ways, and too lax in others, and I think this may contribute to their various business failures.

They made some really good dishes, and some that were less delicious, like many restaurants.

The bottom line is that they were another option for vegetarians, so I’m sad to see them go. They filled a void left by the fire at Veg City Diner. Sometimes you just want some yummy (in the way only bad-for-you food can be) junk food, and from all accounts, these folks filled the bill.

That said, there are still many other contenders, especially in the city.

And, as for McDonalds, unfortunately there is cow in that food. And many various disgusting things. Go watch SuperSize Me . . . keeping in mind that Morgan Spurlock began that project more as a polemic against what he saw as stupid people making hay by suing McDonalds, so it’s not a vegetarian manifesto by any means. I mean the guy was eating the stuff morning, noon and night, for a month. No vegetarian would do that. Only during the middle of his McDiet did he start to realize that the stuff is actually seriously dangerous to your health!

At least the kind of food the Zen folks make won’t make you impotent, cause you to have trouble breathing, and damage your liver!

:-)