Stephen Montoya
Vegan chef Cornelius Brown preps to open his newest eatery in April.
The smells of fresh paint and sheetrock dust permeate the open dining area at the new Compatible Delights vegan restaurant located at 5400 Woodway Drive on the south side of Fort Worth. Soon the aromas of freshly cooked vegan cuisine will fill the air in this nearly 1,000 square foot space, located at suite 120, nestled between a Domino’s Pizza and the Total Divas Hair Studio. This marks the second time longtime has attempted to make his restaurant dream come true. Last year, Brown moved into a space at 4817 Brentwood Stair Rd on the east side of Fort Worth. However, due to some structural issues this space unfortunately didn’t meet his needs.
Never one to back down from a challenge, Brown is back with a renewed spirit and vision for his new space, which all came as a result after years of research and honest to goodness hard work.
For years, having a space to create and spread the word about the importance of veganism was only a wish for Brown, who began looking to this style of cuisine over ten years ago.
“Me and my partner started out researching being vegan just for our own in-house reasons,” Brown says. “As we researched, we started to get into the culinary and holistic health side of it and then we started offering holistic treatment to the community and I started meal prepping for locals, which blossomed into doing festivals.”
In the beginning, Brown would use a popup tent as his culinary vegan food headquarters. He would eventually upgrade to a food truck under the name Compatible Delights.
“I got into veganism, obviously for the health benefits,” he says. “But I quickly realized there’s no convenient quick vegan spots. If you eat vegan, you really got to prep a lot of things by yourself, but there's no healthy convenience around it, so I wanted to fill that void of a vegan food desert or a plant-based, healthier food desert.”
With his mission clear, Brown set out to create a menu of plan-based vegan cuisine that would appeal to more than practicing vegans. Brown was able to achieve his goal he says, with what he calls his first big break through; his take on a classic plate of nachos.
“That's what everybody knew me from,” he says with a smile. Brown’s vegan take on nachos consists of gluten-free tortilla chips covered with a plant-based crumble, cashew cheese, grilled onions, diced tomatoes, cilantro, and fresh diced jalapeños served with a dairy-free sour cream, and mild hot sauce. Let’s put it this way, this dish is so popular, it’s still a mainstay on his new restaurant’s menu, which will be split into separate sections.
“What I did with my menu is make it where everybody gets to enjoy something different depending on your vegan transition level,” he says. “I have a cooked a vegan menu and then I have also a raw plant-based vegan menu made with several uncooked options.”
Some examples of the second side of this new culinary offering include plates like chopped kale salad with sundried tomatoes, or even a taco nacho salad served with uncooked tuna. As far as the cooked options go, Brown says he’s including everything from barbecue sandwiches to his take on vegan lasagna. And although he follows strict vegan guidelines in all of his menu items, that doesn’t mean they’re devoid of southern culinary traditions.
“I'm from the country too, so I grew up watching my grandmother cook, which means I learned a lot of her little secret sauces,” Brown says. “I took some of those secrets — those cooking secrets and ingredients as a base for making vegan food pop with flavor. I want my food to taste like how my food tasted when I was growing up.”
Some of the dishes that pay homage to his upbringing included on the menu consist of everything from candied yams to smoked collard greens, which by all accounts are fully vegan.
“It's just all about that flavor and seasoning and the chemistry with the food, you have to season to taste,” he says.
Compatible Delights' famous vegan nachos
As far as this vegan trap’s opening date, Brown says he’s looking at the second week in April to have everything up and running. The ambiance inside this new space boasts a mix between tropical vibes and boho stylings that all have ties to something in nature. Besides the food, Brown also says he will have a live saxophonist play during his planned vegan brunches taking place on Saturdays and Sundays.
For customers on the move, Compatible Delights will also feature a kiosk where they can place their orders in the middle of the restaurant, which cuts down on prep time for the kitchen staff. Brown has also implemented a vegan trap wall, where customers can take selfies while waiting on their orders to be completed.
When asked how it feels to finally have his own brick-and-mortar eatery set to open, Brown says, “It’s a huge feeling of accomplishment. That's what keeps you going when you see everything being manifested and then taken from the mental to the physical. This was the end goal all along.”
