The Cornerstone

A grilled Reuben, a loaded club sandwich, a plate of queso nachos, an enchilada built on pinto beans, mushroom, and avocado — none of it contains meat, and at The Cornerstone none of it is trying to make up for the absence. The downtown Guelph kitchen cooks comfort food first and lets the plant-based part go without saying. Tempeh stands in for corned beef on the Reuben, walnut and chickpea hold a burger together, tofu carries the morning ranchero plate. The result is a vegetarian and vegan menu that reads like a diner's rather than a health café's, where the question at the table is which sandwich, not whether there is anything to eat.

The lunch and dinner menu runs wide. Sandwiches cover the Tempeh Reuben, the Cornerstone Club, and a Grilled Cheddar; the burger-and-wrap section carries the Legendary Black Bean Burger, the Curried Chickpea Walnut Burger, a BBQ Tempeh Wrap, and a Spinach Hummus Wrap. Entrees stretch from a Pinto, Mushroom and Avocado Enchilada to Pad Thai and a Sweet Potato Quesadilla, with Vegan Queso Nachos, Spinach Asiago Dip, and the Legendary Cornerstone Antojitos holding down the starters. The diamond-tier picks point a first-timer to the Tempeh Reuben, the Cornerstone Club, and the Huevos Rancheros — three orders that between them cover the sandwich board, the house signature, and the breakfast plate.