Tri-Valley: Danville is getting its first entirely plant-based restaurant in 2023

Sally Virgilio is a Danville-raised chef de partie at one of Zurich, Switzerland’s, hottest restaurants, the totally plant-based Restaurant KLE, which recently earned its first Michelin star.

Virgilio has been eating a plant-based diet since she was 15 years old, and was the impetus for getting her entire family off meat and processed foods in 2015. Her mother, Susan, an avid home cook with a scientist background, dug in particularly deep, slowly transforming each and every one of her family’s favorite meals — from burgers to macaroni and cheese — with plants as the stars.

Now, they plan to share elevated versions of those dishes with the broader community.

Together with consulting chef Sean Baker, who earned national acclaim for his work as executive chef of  Berkeley’s Gather, the Virgilios are opening Blossom & Root, the Tri-Valley’s first entirely plant-based restaurant. The fine-casual concept will take over the former Basque Boulangerie space at 411 Hartz Ave. in downtown Danville sometime in May. The Virgilios will begin their search for a chef de cuisine next month, just in time for Veganuary.

“It will be a very different concept for Danville and we feel a lot of pressure to do it right,” says Susan, who has lived in Danville since 2007. “We want it to be relatable.” At the same time, she explains, there’s a real lack of plant-focused dining “stressing pure ingredients” and “a high level of commitment to health” in the area. “If our family were to eat out in Danville right now, we would all order the same one vegan entrée on the menu.”

Blossom & Root’s menu will be driven by the family’s devotion to scratch-cooking and Baker’s long-standing relationships with Northern California organic small farms. Dishes will be seasonal and family-friendly, with a mix of salads, small plates, pastas and larger plates, including a grain-and-legume burger developed by Baker. Most everything, down to the broths, sauces, dressings and ferments, will be made in-house.

The dessert program will revolve around a variety of soft-serve ice creams made from oat milk and other plant-based milks. Flavors will rotate frequently, with the soft serve appearing in parfaits, sundaes, cookie sandwiches and fruit crumbles.