A Vegetarian Spot for Southern Comfort Food Opened on the Plateau Today

The Plateau is now home to a vegetarian soul food spot.

Maynard — the latest project from Brodie Somerville, formerly of Cabane Au Pied de Cochon — is opening on the corner of Prince-Arthur and Clark Streets today.

A vegetarian himself, Somerville’s distinctly aware of the dearth of “vegetarian junk food” available in Montreal. So, after falling in love with Southern comfort food during a year spent in Nashville, Tennessee, he returned to the city with a plan: To tap into an underserved market in Montreal.

“I spent enough time cooking what other people wanted to cook,” Somerville told Eater Montreal. “For me, my favourite food is junk food and southern food.”

Maynard, which seats 12 to 18, will sell a range of fried foods via counter service alone. Deep-fried tofu (made with the same house-made pickle brine and spices traditionally used on Nashville hot chicken); vegan mac-n-cheese (made with nutritional yeast and mustard); and pulled pork sandwiches (made with oyster mushrooms) are all on offer.

But if that doesn’t sound indulgent enough, Somerville is also selling housemade sodas and deep-fried oreos — a dessert that’s both as American as it sounds and as hard to find in Montreal as you’d expect.

Plates will also come with a heap of coleslaw, most priced around $12 per.

Somerville says he’s keeping the menu “intentionally tiny” in an effort to leave room for specials and seasonal variation. He also hopes to incorporate nods to Quebec cuisine into the menu, and already has plans to serve a fry-less poutine.

Nashville cuisine simply “works with Quebec palates,” he says.

STATUS: Maynard is now open at 30 Prince Arthur Street West from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, and from 11 a.m. to midnight on Friday and Saturday. The restaurant is closed on Sundays and Mondays.

• Maynard [Facebook]