Green’s Damon Brasch wants to bring vegan comfort food to the masses

The Center Bistro is deliberately more healthful than Green, too. "We don't have any deep-fryers there," he says, laughing. Two years ago, his discovering that he's diabetic gave him "a new perspective on creating healthy food," he adds.

It's an altogether different kind of approach to shifting people's attitudes. While Green gets you by the jugular with its guilty pleasures, Center Bistro goes the intellectual route, tempting you to try dishes that aren't just organic, but often raw.

Yes, raw — another healthful food trend. Originally, Brasch thought he'd try doing an all-raw menu.

Proponents of raw foodism claim it has numerous health benefits, but at its extreme, the diet can go to absurd lengths to mimic the cooked foods that diners are familiar with. The results can be off-putting, if not pretty disgusting — how about "living" pizza made with flaxseed, or "ricotta" made from puréed nuts and raw garlic?

Gratefully, The Center Bistro doesn't go that far.

"We thought it would spook the people who could benefit the most," he says.

That echoes the attitude he'd expressed when talking about bringing vegan cuisine to the masses.

"The best way to solve a problem is to do it from the inside — brow-beating people to not eat meat won't work."

For that reason, I think Green is Brasch's best idea of all. He's taking something we all know and love — comfort food — and using it to usher in the next big thing. He knows what we crave.

That means that even if you don't give up meat entirely, you might find yourself eating less of it. Maybe you'll go for a salad instead of a steak. Or perhaps you'll find you can inhale a plate of vegan buffalo wings just as easily as the chicken version.

Anecdotally, I can definitely attest that people are eating vegetarian food more often.

Brasch is counting on it.

"I'm laying the groundwork to make Green more than just one unit — probably in the next year or two," he says.

Don't be surprised if, someday, you see a Green alongside the Subway at your neighborhood strip mall.

I'm crossing my fingers it has a drive-thru.