I hate food that pretends to be other food. I resent that a lot of vegetarian/vegan cuisine falls back on soy-based meat substitutes when there are so many vegetarian/vegan dishes that stand up on their own flavors. Seriously, stop with the tofurky and celebrate some damn vegetables.
I was worried Pura Vida would fall into this trap but I was pleasantly surprised. I had the chili and a banana cinnamon waffle, and both were fantastic. The only thing I didn't like was their service; it was absolute chaos. Our server was extremely friendly, but I feel like the kitchen is run by chefs with no business/commercial management experience. I'm not trying to say they should turn into an Applebee's; they make great food, but perhaps they need someone more well versed in high(er) volume prep, inventory control, etc.