At long last, dinner is served at the Bindery. 

The striking black building on NE Sandy now boasts an organic vegan restaurant dubbed Harvest, owned by former Star Trek child actor and Soda Pop Kids frontman Jon Steuer. Originally slated for a December 2014 opening, the rustic-chic eatery served its first hungry customers on March 17, and now offers lunch and dinner service Tuesday through Saturday. 

A vegetarian for the last two decades, Steuer has partnered with plant-based chef Shawn Sigmon­—most recently the chef-owner of Dig, the only vegan restaurant in Jacksonville, Florida—to “showcase the bounty of the dirt” using seasonal produce from local farms. The result is Pacific Northwest bounty by way of the deep South, with dishes like black-eyed pea chow chow sandwiches and sweet corn cakes delivering flavors rarely found west of the Rockies.

Rather than organize meals around slabs of meat or processed soy analogues, Harvest’s “agrarian-minded” dishes showcase vegetables in their purest forms. More than a third of the menu is devoted to plates of perfectly charred vegetables; patrons can sample them all in a massive platter of griddle squash, braised kale, marinated mushrooms and grilled sweet potatoes, served in a hollowed log. Another third of the menu comprises farmers market-inspired salads tossed in Sigmon’s signature dressings, like lemon sunflower, pumpkin seed, and pickled cherry garlic dulse. 

The lunch menu pivots on a selection of sandwiches stuffed with not ham or peanut butter but—you guessed it—more vegetables, each paired with vibrant condiments. Think sweet potatoes with green harissa, roasted cauliflower with cashew pimento, and the true showstopper: smoked trumpet mushrooms smothered in Sigmon’s family barbeque sauce recipe. Close your eyes, and you’ll swear it’s pulled pork. 

Dinner delivers plenty of plant-based protein without a cube of tofu in sight. Instead, Sigmon relies on whole grains and legumes in simple, homespun dishes like savory white bean crisp and farro porridge in hazelnut milk. Steuer expects to change the menu with each new season, so hurry in to catch the spaghetti squash carbonara, served with confit charred cauliflower and an indulgent white wine and cashew cream sauce.

For dessert, our money’s on the chocolate hazelnut pie with burnt orange cream, which, like much of the menu, is gluten-free. (Even the sandwiches are available on New Cascadia bread, which we actually preferred to the traditional seeded hoagie.) And although Steuer claims to have opened the Bindery in part to get out of the bartending business, Harvest houses a wealth of local beer, wine, and house cocktails, as well as Humm kombucha on tap. 

Whether looking for farm-to-table locavore eats, meat-free southern cooking, healthful gluten-free grub, or delicious new flavors, Harvest is sure to satisfy. And it’s the perfect place to take picky kids (or partners)… not only will they want to eat their veggies, they’ll have to— there’s nothing else on the menu.

Click through our slide show at the top of this article to feast your eyes on Harvest's root-to-tip cuisine!

Harvest at the Bindery
3101 NE Sandy Blvd.
503-894-9172