vegansaurus!

Gussie’s Chicken and Waffles!

I won’t get into the whole long boring story, but I’ve been staying in a company apartment on Fillmore for what feels like forever due to delays in processing my visa so I can go move to Australia. ANYWAY. I’ve found myself in an unfamiliar neighborhood, having to eat out every meal and thought I’d exhausted my vegan options.

Last night it was late so I thought, oh I’ll order a vegan pizza from Amici’s, but apparently I fall within their racist map of delivery intolerance.  UGH. So after a little Yelp sleuthing I discover some vegan options in a most unexpected nearby place on Eddy and Fillmore Streets: Gussie’s Chicken and Waffles! [Ed.: this is a place Vegansaurus has been meaning to try for a long-ass time but we are lazy and the Fillmore is so far away]

WHAT? No seriously, they have vegan waffles! And they are good—the buckwheat kind, and they serve them with Earth Balance. (Aww, the menu calls it “Earth’s Balance.” Adorable.) There’s also a vegetarian plate; everything on it is vegan and it is MASSIVE.

We’re talking collard greens, black-eyed peas, spicy potatoes, red beans and rice, and corn bread. Good grief, my left arm is going a little numb just remembering it. They were out of the red beans when I went so I got extra greens, which may have been my favorite part.

Also, the employees there were so friendly and nice and kept trying to bring us free coffee. Oh, and they will serve black people there, which is always a bonus, AMICI’S. Those plates were clean by the end of the meal. Gotta get it in now, since I’m about to move to a country where soul food doesn’t really exist and they still find blackface amusing, apparently.

We’ll miss Sharon A LOT while she’s living it up down under. Was that gross? I can’t even tell anymore. Anyway, we look forward to visiting her (preferably during a 50-year storm!) and eating the entire continent out of its vegan food, dino-style!

Souley Vegan re-opens!

MAC N CHEESE AND BBQ TOFU AND POTATO SALAD AND HOLY SHIT SHOOT ME IN THE FACE THANK YOU JESUS.

It’s at 301 Broadway at 3rd Street in Oakland. Open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Check out our Souley Vegan review and go go go go go GO!

Gussie’s Chicken and Waffles

Thrillist points us to a new chicken and waffles restaurant opening Monday in the Fillmore. Surprise, surprise: scouring the menu revealed that they do, in fact, serve vegan buckwheat waffles, complete with Earth Balance! Vegan waffles are near-impossible to come by in the city—not even Herbivore serves them—so it might actually be worth a trip when the waffle craving hits.

It looks like this and a “vegetarian plate” (a sampler of all the veggie sides—with vegan cornbread!) are Gussie’s only concessions to veganism, though. I guess you have to bring your own fried chicken.

Hard Knox Cafe!

So I’m all super bummed that Souley Vegan is closed. Like, really fucking bummed. It was the only place in the bay area where a vegan could go for some delicious soul food. In observance of their closing, I will review a lesser soul food restaurant that can fill your need for southern fried goodness. KINDA SORTA. Hard Knox Cafe is a meaty meat soul food restaurant with two locations, one in dog patch and the other in the outer richmond. They have a few vegan items on the menu. The red beans and rice, black eyed peas and rice, french fries, string beans and the side salad are all vegan and all very tasty. They have an outstanding veggie burger that they make there with fresh veggies and it’s vegan. I mean, it has nothing on the mac n’ cheese or mashed potatoes of Souley Vegan. OR THE YAMS. The yams. I’d write those yams a sonnet. They tasted like Christmas. Or what I imagine Christmas tastes like in a family where the mother didn’t cancel Christmas every other year because she was having a psychotic break down. Alas, some things are better meant for therapy than they are for Vegansaurus. Lucky you I don’t distinguish between the two so hey, I had a difficult childhood.

MOVING ON.

If you are a vegetarian or vegan or prefer to not die of animal fat heart attack then you can get a big ass plate of vegan 3 sides for only $7! Combine that with a jug of fruit punch (I usually have diet coke but whatever, I am not from the dirty dirty) and maybe some white sandwich bread and you, sir, have yourself a meal deal cheaper than mickey d’s! And you’re not supporting the devil, you are supporting an adorable Vietnamese owned Soul Food restaurant! That is not as good as Souley Vegan but it’s ALL WE HAVE. Ugh. So depressed.

ONE SUGGESTION FOR HOW THEY COULD BE MORE AWESOME: add a vegan po’ boy to your menu. Yes. Excellent idea.

The Front Porch!

The Front Porch has got to be the cutest restaurant I’ve ever been in. It’s like a puppy wrapped in a kitten and then sauteed in baby koala oil and served on a blanket of rainbows to a family of Care Bears. In addition to being the cutest, It has a down-home sorta sexy feel to it and you always leave kinda wanting to do it with whoever you came with. So don’t bring an ex-boyfriend you really want to have sex with again to this place because you will end up making a huge mistake. Or having a lot of fun. I guess that depends on your personal code of ethics and how much you hate yourself. Either way, mazel tov! What!

This place is always packed so be prepared to wait on their delightful front porch with one of their amazing, inventive cocktails or some delicious wine in a box (!!!). However, if you get there before 7, you might not have to wait. I’d say 6:45 is the perfect time to arrive because everyone else is coming at 7. If you do that, you won’t have to wait for a primo booth right in the front room. Sweet!

There are lots of vegetarian and vegan items on the menu and the wait staff is knowledgeable about what things are made with what. They always have a “vegan special of the day” which might be a coconut okra stew or a sweet potato medley. Most of the time it is very delicious. Except this one time when it was THE FUNK and we sent it back and the waitress took it off the bill and brought us about 9 orders of their amazing thick cut french fries with homemade ketchup as a replacement. Man, their fries are RIDICULOUS. A must-try. Must try 9 orders. You also must get a side of the plantain fries if they’re on the menu along with the black bean soup with avocado. The sides are always changing but they make sure to have plenty of vegan-friendly options. If the coconut rice and beans are available, try them. If you’re not into the vegan special, you can easily make a dinner of the sides. A delicious dinner. That and their awesome cocktails and wine in a box selection; this place is the shit.

One complaint: no vegan desserts. This has been known to SEND ME OVER THE EDGE in the past but this last time, the waitress did offer to bring me out the pickled pears sans ice cream. I was a little enticed but decided to head up the hill to Maggie Mudd instead. Hey! Million Dollar Idea: OFFER DELICIOUS MAGGIE MUDD SOY CREAM AS AN OPTION! Because it’s not like they are making their own ice cream (it’s Mitchell’s!) and they are already serving lots of vegan options, so it would totally help draw in a larger vegan crowd. I mean, if they want our hot (read: fat) asses in there then they are going to have to put out (read: give me my soy cream, assholes!!!)

So, in conclusion, eat here on a date with someone you want to have sex with. Or just with a friend. Who you want to have sex with. Maybe not your brother or sister. Unless you are from Kentucky. Then whatever, that’s God’s country, who am I to judge??

Souley Vegan!

July 26 2009: BEST MOST HAPPY NEWS: SOULEY VEGAN HAS RE-OPENED: 301 Broadway at 3rd Street in Oakland. Open Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.! YES!!!

BETTER HAPPIER NEWS: Souley Vegan is now on sale at Rainbow Grocery in SF! Ow! They’re selling red beans & rice, collard greens, mac n cheese, BBQ tofu, and full meals, ranging in price from $4.29 to $9.99! Completely worth it!

BAD SAD NEWS: Souley Vegan has shut their doors permanently. I guess some shit went down with the stability of their building so unless some rich vegan (you?!) gives them tons of money, they will stay closed. Super sad. Bright side: they still sell at the farmers’ market in Oakland on the weekends so for sure stop in and buy their delicious food and let them know that we will raise funds and fists to get them back into a store front!!

Souley Vegan is vegan soul food. I know, the name is kinda lame. What can you do? Not every place can be named, “Magical Unicorn Palace” like it should be. I don’t know why exactly. Anyway, Souley Vegan is family-owned and -operated with mom in back cooking, dad helping to run food and the adorable, almost competent son as the cashier. He is very adorable and ALMOST good at working. Whatever, the kid is like 12 and has a more demanding job than I’ve ever had so I’ll cut him some slack. I just had a minor personality split right there. Pray for me.

The menu consists of BBQ tofu, crispy tofu, yams, collard greens, MAC N CHEESE, POTATO SALAD and MASHED POTATOES (the holy trinity of hard to find vegan foods! I hear angels weeping! Or singing! Which is it, I don’t understand religion!) Homemade drinks like ginger-strawberry lemonade (SO GOOD) and usually a peach cobbler in the cold case (they will heat it up for if you eat there!). No alcohol but you can go next door to Radio if you need a drink to get through the day, I’m not judging you!*

The only thing I could see someone complaining about is the ambiance, which resembles the mess tent in M.A.S.H. I guess I wouldn’t recommend this place for a first date or to impress your parents. Unless your dad is a major cheapskate like mine and has an entire storage unit in his closet to store all the various shampoos and shower caps he takes from hotels (read: motels) so that he never has to buy toiletries and therefore, save a measly buck.**

Oh and one more bit of advice, I would call ahead to make sure they are open!  Although their hours are supposed to be Tuesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., I’ve been by during those hours, only to be forced to eat a soy latte at the cafe next door for lunch! Not cool!

*You are pathetic!

**UGH IT KILLS ME! DO YOU KNOW HOW MANY AMAZING HAIR DYE JOBS WERE RUINED DURING MY YOUTH BECAUSE I HAD TO USE SUPER 8 BRAND SHAMPOO?! THAT IS BASICALLY LIKE WASHING YOUR HAIR WITH PAINT THINNER UGH!

UPDATE: Now open for brunch on Sundays! Pancakes, tofu scrambles, potatoes and sausage are all available… plus rumors of biscuits and gravy!?