Combining veganism, a multicultural menu, and a touch of the whimsical, Arles and Boggs Vegan Eatery brings ethics to fried rice, nachos, and cucumber salad. The Quinnipiac Street restaurant celebrated its three-month anniversary on January 15. The restaurant’s title is, in fact, pieced together from the names of co-owner Ms. Sarah Sharif’s two dogs.
It was a long road to last October, when Ms. Sharif and her parents were finally able to open the eatery’s doors. When the restaurant lost its chef shortly before it was slated to open, Ms. Sharif took over, modifying the menu and cooking dishes from scratch. She now functions as both Head Cook and General Manager, manning the kitchen, serving on the floor, and keeping the restaurant in working order. “I’m basically whatever this place needs me to be at whatever moment it needs me to be it,” Ms. Sharif explained.
Ms. Sharif’s childhood in New York City—she grew up in Brooklyn—exposed her to dishes from a wide array of cultures. “I’ve always had an exploratory palate,” she explained. “I’ve been able to convert a lot of the dishes I grew up on into little vegan dishes.” The restaurant’s menu is extensive and international, containing dishes from almost everywhere — a spring roll appetizer mango habanero chili, and even a Middle Eastern plate complete with hummus, falafel, cucumber salad, and pita.
It seems that every menu item has an intricate story behind it. The falafel sandwich is inspired by the many kinds of falafel Ms. Sharif sampled throughout childhood summers in the Middle East. Ms. Sharif’s favorite dish is something she dreamt up, literally. “I had dreamt of having taquitos, and I woke up angry because it was a lie,” laughed Ms. Sharif. “And I came to the restaurant and decided I was going to make taquitos.”
Ms. Sharif and her father initially had different visions for the restaurant they wanted to open, but their window-encased street corner location proved capable of accommodating both the dining room Mr. Sharif was partial to and the cafe space his daughter craved. Ms. Sharif worked on a ten-month renovation of the space. “This place was a disaster,” explained Ms. Sharif. “We were missing a kitchen floor, the office walls were covered in grease, there had been a fire in the basement, the plumbing was messed up.” The eatery now has pale grey and faux-brick walls, an assortment of farmhouse-style dining furniture, and matching doormats and window decals emblazoned with the restaurant’s name and the profile of a bespectacled dog in a top hat.
Ms. Sharif and her parents’ work is far from done. They are still working to create additional menu items, including new sandwiches and other entrees, in addition to further touching up the restaurant’s appearance. “That was just the preface to the story,” said Ms. Sharif about the work she put into getting the restaurant up and running. “Once you’re in it, you’re like, ‘Oh my goodness, wait a minute. That’s not the end, that’s the beginning of the rest of my life.’”
