Laughing Planet (Bulletin file photo)

It’s the goal of the Laughing Planet Cafe to give you a healthy meal. But the Portland-based restaurant group wants you to have fun eating it.

That’s one reason why, in case you were wondering, there seem to be plastic dinosaurs everywhere you look. You can enjoy the paleo vibe without actually being on a paleo diet.

Based in Portland since 2000 (it was founded in Bloomington, Indiana, five years earlier), Laughing Planet expanded to Bend with the opening of a Northeast Third Street store in late July. That brings company holdings to 14 stores, including nine in Portland, two in Eugene, one in Corvallis and a new property in Reno, Nevada.

The ambience varies from place to place, but the menu is the same: soups, salads, burritos, quesadillas and “bowls.” The latter are my favorite, a variety of internationally influenced ingredients (Thai, Cuban, Korean, Indian and more) served upon brown rice or quinoa or mashed potatoes or just sauteed kale.

The dinosaurs enthrall the children. The restaurant is decidedly family friendly, and during some early dinner hours, it’s not unusual to find kids screaming and running, some of them apparently unsupervised, from one end of Laughing Planet to the other.

In quieter moments, they may stage dinosaur fights at their tables. But it might be enough to drive some diners to call ahead for takeout orders.

Soup and salad

Bend’s Laughing Planet occupies the building that once belonged to Taylor’s Sausages and, before that, Cheerleaders Grill. A wholesale renovation has given it a far different look than its predecessors. The new cafe is spacious (seating about 80) and minimalist in decor, its most significant features being a long bank of windows and a six-stool bar beside the counter where orders are taken.

The young service staff is cheerful, individualistic and highly efficient. They have the ability to make ordering at the counter a fun experience, both with their banter and their knowledge of the menu. They’ll give you a number, suggest that you seat yourself, and deliver food to your table when it has been prepared, which normally is quite fast.

I have been delighted with the house-made soups, which vary on a daily basis. A roasted cauliflower and chickpea blend, both vegan and gluten-free, was delicious. So, too, was a hearty, zesty pork green chile. Much like a Mexican chili verde with onions, it had a peppery flavor and lots of shredded meat.

My two salads were wonderful. “Grains and Greens” is vegan; it’s a great blend of kale with several lettuces, quinoa and sprouted lentils, along with grilled broccoli, dried cranberries, radishes and cherry tomatoes. The salad is sprinkled with toasted sunflower seeds and finished with basil-garlic vinaigrette.

In the vegetarian “Highway to Kale” salad, long-leafed lacinato (Tuscan) kale is chopped and tossed with shredded carrot and locally made Mexican-style cotija cheese. Lemon-parsley vinaigrette adds a citrus flavor to the salad, which is topped with dried cranberries and pumpkin seeds.

Bowls and burritos

When it comes to “bowls,” my dining companion’s favorite is the Thai Bowl. This is a vegan dish of tofu on brown rice, mixed with garlic green beans, steamed broccoli and cilantro-lime cabbage slaw. I think what wins the day for her is the finishing touch of lemongrass peanut sauce. At least once, she has asked for extra.

I like the grain-free Paleo Bowl, a blend of meat (beef or chicken, either one Oregon-raised) with garlic green beans and grilled vegetables on a bed of sauteed kale. It comes with an Argentinian chimichurri sauce, a blend of parsley, garlic, olive oil and other ingredients.

My favorite bowl isn’t on the everyday menu. It’s called “L.A.M.B.,” as in “Love All My Beets,” but it is anything but vegetarian unless you opt for baked tempeh instead of lamb meatballs. That meat is particularly savory in this blend with a unique salad of roasted beets, mint and pears, along with lentils, fresh spinach, maple-roasted Delicata squash and a chutney of yogurt and cilantro.

My companion and I have been less charmed by the burritos, having perhaps made the wrong menu choices. In the Holy Mole, chicken and brown rice were combined with pinto beans, jack cheese and pico de gallo. The Mexican-style mole sauce lacked the traditional semi-sweet chocolate flavor, but compensated with the taste of pepitas, or pumpkin seeds. The mix was not evenly distributed through the tortilla, however, making it more difficult to appreciate.

I didn’t love my East Indian burrito. Lentils, chickpeas and other vegetables were mixed with brown rice and a Thai peanut sauce; I thought some type of curry would have been more appropriate. An intriguing salsa of mango and pickled lime came on the side.

One Indian recipe that Laughing Planet does make right is its mango lassi, which it lists under its smoothies menu. The yogurt drink also features banana, apple juice and a dash of turmeric. Both this and the strawberry-banana smoothie are excellent.

What’s more, they’re healthy and fun. And that’s what Laughing Planet is all about.

— Reporter: janderson@bendbulletin.com