Wet, Hot, Vegan Summer

We’ve been very busy bees over here at VO headquarters; gardening, biking and eating our weight in eCreamery sorbet. We’ve also managed to add a few spots to our Restaurant Guide! So many wonderful vegan options are popping up all over town, it’s thankfully difficult to keep up.

We’ll start with Blue Sushi, which has actually been vegan friendly since forever, we just hadn’t gotten a chance to try it out. The humbly titled Vegetarian Lettuce Wraps are anything but humble! It’s a huge boat of a plate, loaded with soba noodles, edamame hummus, fresh herbs, rice, housemade pickles and magic. This plate is perfect for sharing! Check out their roll options, as well. You’ll need to mod a bit (ask for no mayo, no tempura, etc) but the rolls have so much flavor, you’re really not missing out on anything.

Vegetarian Lettuce Wraps acting humble at Blue

And now for the new stuff! Crane Cafe And Bar has been hooking vegans up lately! Chef Eric realizes that smoky, savory, spicy flavor doesn’t have to be reserved for meat. He’s been treating tofu with the respect it deserves — coating it in a spice rub, house-smoking it and throwing it into saucy Po Boys and salads. Look for the Po Boy as a regular addition to their revamped menu coming soon! They’re also got phenomenal brushetta, tapenade, foccacia, veggie kebobs and probably a few more things we’re forgetting, but that’s how it is these days, so many vegan options we actually forget! We’re setting a date to make Crane our next Meetup spot, so don’t miss it.

Tofu & Veggie Foccacia

Pita With Olive Tapenade at Crane Cafe

Last but not least is New York Chicken And Gyro. With a name like that, they’ve got to have vegan options, right? No? Well, they do! A peppery, housemade seitan is the base for their mouthwatering sandwiches including Shwarma, a Vietnamese Bahn Mi with a spicy Sriracha sauce, and the eponymous Gyro, spread thick with their velvetty hummus. They keep vegan cheese on hand for their Philly and vegan mayo for slaw. And we love them for it! Don’t forget a side of onion rings or fries.

Seitan Shwarma On French Bread

That about does it for our latest additions. Please thank them by chowing down and tipping well! And remember to leave your thoughts and comments on this here blog. If you’ve discovered any vegan finds lately, let us know and we’ll add them. Happy summer!