It took us a year but Vegan Omaha finally returned to Pepe’s! It was great to be back in Lincoln to see new and old friends. Pepe whipped us up  a deluxe Vegan brunch. The menu included sweet potato quesadillas, sauteed seitan, roasted potatoes, homemade tortillas, salads with local greens, chili rellenos and scrambled tofu. And at the tables were overflowing bowls of guacamole and pico with chips.

The seitan and potatoes were amazing!

For dessert, Pepe’s pastry chef Lindsey baked gluten free plum tarts and avocado brownies. They were divine!

Thank you to Pepe and Lindsey for such an amazing experience! We’ll be back soon.

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!

Ever since starting the Vegan Meetups three years ago, I’ve wanted to have a laid back social event – something that would allow for moving around and talking (and of course eating!) So when Becky from Caffeine Dreams suggested that they would be open to a coffee and cupcake social, I was stoked. Becky reserved their big backyard garden and deck for us, and we prayed for no rain.

Jacqui Caniglia from La Charlotte provided all of the amazing Vegan baked goods; from cherry coffee cake to brownies and lemon muffins to vanilla cupcakes, all bases were covered. And of course Caffeine Dreams’ house-roasted fair-trade coffee is some of the best in Omaha. We had an amazing time and I can’t wait to do it again! Check it out:

Yin yang...chocolate and vanilla cupcakes, piled high with creamy frosting.

The brownies and cookies received high marks!

Cases of vegan cakes were a feast for the eyes.

Few could resist the urge to tweet their cupcakes.

A closer look at that cherry coffee cake.

Revelers sang the praises of the hummus plate

This happy family gets ready to dig in.

Vegan Omaha Meetuppers chowed down this past Sunday as Dante’s threw down the gauntlet and served up some of the best food we’ve had yet. The open and modern atmosphere lent itself for lots of fun conversation and table hopping, and the pizzas just kept on coming. Topping after yummy topping were devoured, from Margherita to grilled summer squash.

Each plate of family-style veggies seemed to want to outdo the last. Knowing that it all came from farms only a pizza stone’s throw away made it all the more delicious. Sweet and smoky oyster mushroom, creamy fingerling potato rubbed with fresh rosemary, asparagus with just the right amount (read: lots) of fresh garlic and olive oil, Dante’s pulled no punches.

Dante’s said they’d consider keeping the Teese vegan cheese on the menu, so show up and let them know there’s a demand for it. But, truth be told, their pizzas are so melt in your mouth delicious that they might not even need it!

The full bar with fresh and exciting mixed drinks made it all the more fun (the bartender wouldn’t disclose his secret, so we can’t even tell you what we had!) And we ended the evening with luscious slices of chocolate cake. What more could we ask for? We’ll definitely be back to Dante’s about a million and one times.

Here were some of the highlights:

Clockwise: Margherita pizza, fingerling potatoes, oyster mushrooms and a tasting plate.

Happy And Full Vegan Omahans

Dessert!

Was it the empty drink glass making these two so happy?

They let us eat cake!

This was a girly martini. We suspect grapefruit and maybe papaya?