Earth Plant Based Cuisine: What’s Vegetarian Editorial Review

Earth Plant Based Cuisine turns Mexican comfort food fully vegan on Phoenix’s Grand Avenue arts corridor, at 1325 Grand Ave. Keyla Aguilar opened it in 2019 at 22 years old. The kitchen still runs on the same idea: take the Mexican dishes people actually crave and rebuild them without meat, dairy, or eggs.

The birria tacos are the reason people cross town for this place. House-made birria, “cheeze,” onion, and cilantro packed into a crispy tortilla, served with a side of consome for dipping. They only run Tuesday through Thursday from noon to close, and Friday through Sunday starting at 1 p.m. Check the day first if birria is the whole reason for the trip.

Outside of that, the regular menu runs tacos, chimichangas, burritos, wings, nachos, and flautas, the standard Mexican combo-plate lineup, minus the animal products. A chimichanga here is still fried, stuffed, and sauced, just built with plant-based fillings instead of shredded beef or chicken. For dessert, churro ice cream sandwiches and a rotating set of vegan milkshakes: vanilla, chocolate, chocolate peanut butter cup, and strawberry shortcake among the flavors.

Because the kitchen never touches meat, dairy, or eggs, cross-contamination from meat isn’t a risk here. No shared fryer, no pot of chicken stock simmering next to the vegan rice. One caveat on the gluten-free and soy-free items the menu marks: the fryer and grill still handle everything on the menu together, so this isn’t a dedicated gluten-free kitchen. Fine for a preference. Worth a call ahead if you’re managing celiac disease specifically.

Hours run Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., Friday 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday 9 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Closed Mondays. Price runs $$, in line with a fast-casual Mexican spot. Word has gotten around, too: 418 reviews on Yelp as of last month, plus a Best Vegan Restaurant nod from Phoenix New Times. Reviews consistently single out the birria and the chimichangas as the dishes to order first.

Grand Avenue is a stretch of Phoenix known for galleries and working studios rather than chain restaurants, so a visit pairs naturally with a gallery walk or a weekend spent downtown. Parking is street-level and tightens up during First Fridays, the monthly art walk that fills the corridor with foot traffic.

Aguilar has kept this a single location since opening in 2019. No second outpost, no franchise arm, just the one kitchen on Grand Ave doing the same menu it started with, built out further with more desserts and specials along the way.

First visit, order the birria tacos on a day they’re running, plus one item off the regular menu, a chimichanga or a burrito, to see the range. This isn’t a kitchen treating vegan eaters as an afterthought. Building the whole operation around doing plant-based Mexican food right shows in a menu that doesn’t feel limited at all. It feels like a taqueria that happens to be vegan, not a vegan restaurant apologizing for not being a taqueria.