Celebratory Pizza Party!

The Chef: Hilary and Patxi's, courtesy of Publisher Colleen Holland

The Menu: All of the melty, saucy goodness that Patxi's Chicago-style vegan deep dish pizza has to offer—oozing with Daiya and bursting with the flavor of tomato sauce, onion, and garlic—enjoyed with Champagne and Sjaak's peanut butter cups!  

The Goods: The VNHQ is a place to rejoice this afternoon, as we just got our first look at the final draft of our amazing November+December issue, which is almost-literally bursting at the seams with mouthwatering recipes, gorgeous photos, and other amazing content—including the results of the 2011 Veggie Awards. Naturally, a good old-fashioned pizza 'n' Champagne party on our sun-drenched, tanning bed-esque deck was in order. 

Furthermore, we've unveiled the details of the VegNews Book Bash with Spork Foods, guaranteed to be the party of the century, the millennium, the party that will reign supreme for ETERNITY. Endless Champagne, tasty appetizers, a photobooth, and a cinnamon bun bar, all in celebration of the unrelenting cuteness of the Spork girls? You would be crazy not to buy a ticket today. 

Fancy Salad!

The Chef: Elizabeth

The Menu: A salad! But, fear not, dear reader(s). This is not just your average everyday normal guy salad. Oh no, the compelling compendium of comestibles includes romaine (boring), kale (boring, but addictive), hearts of palm (what?! Delicious!), chopped basil (pow!), chopped up leftover seasoned potatoes (très fancy!), cherry tomatoes fresh from the garden of our Associate Editor Jennifer Chen's mother (bursting with flavor, no joke), Parma! (a necessity), and avocado, which needs no explanation.

The Goods: Today is a lull at the VNHQ. Tomorrow the proofs for our November+December Veggie Awards issue come in, and just as soon as we get done going over them and sending them to press, Joseph and Colleen head out on our first-ever Food Lover's Tour of Thailand. We've been working like maniacs on the Veggie Awards issue, and pretty much totally can't wait for it to be in our hot little hands. To take advantage of today's slightly slower pace, we enjoyed lunch al fresco on the deck, where it was roughly 115 degrees, aka the perfect temperature. (Yes, the actual temp was more like 75, but that's clearly beside the point. This is what we call "summer" in SF!)

Mushroom Soup and Crazy Salad

The Chefs: Hilary and Whole Foods Market 

The Menu: Hearty mushroom barley soup, an arugula salad with sweet corn, gigante beans, kalamata olives, miscellaneous fruit, and marinated tomatoes, washed down with Synergy's Grape Chia kombucha. 

The Goods: Most of our staff is off stuffing their little faces and brains with goodness at Vida Vegan Con in Portland, Ore., so there are only three of us monkey-shinin' around the near-empty VNHQ. I needed to console myself from coworker withdrawal by blasting New Order all morning and enjoying a warm bowl of mushroom soup from the Whole Foods hot bar (love you, boo!) and a colorful, haphazard side salad with everything but the kitchen sink. One perk of the desolate office environment: I can enjoy my alien-looking—but delicious and Omega-3 rich—chia-kombucha drink free of controversy. Fellow kombucha supporters, I implore you to vote in the 2011 Veggie Awards and show the world that it is more than just a vinegary soda! So much more. 

Of Spring Rolls and Salads

The Chefs: Elizabeth and Valencia Whole Foods

The Menu: A big ol' spinach salad with marinated fava beans, grated carrots, cherry tomatoes, and a huge dollop of hummus, paired with the trusty spring rolls and their delicious dipping sauce.

The Goods: Hello, greens! Really, is there anything better than a huge plate covered in veggies? I say no! Well, maybe a year's supply of Coconut Bliss ice cream, or a Vegan Treats dessert party. Or if you were really dreaming big, a totally vegan cruise! Since nobody likes a taunter, turn these dreams into reality by voting in the 2011 Veggie Awards, which will automatically enter you to win each of those dreamy prizes. Speaking of fantasy, let's talk about lying on patch of hot sand as the summer simmers on—a topic I happen to discuss in my post that's up on Crazy Sexy Life today. Happy dreamy reading!

Doing the Dosa

The Chefs: Lyndsay and Udupi Palace

The Menu: The Spinach Masala Dosa, served with ginger, tomato, and coconut chutneys.

The Goods: I've been on an Indian cuisine kick for the past several days—I'm hoping the spices will help clear up my sinuses. I have leftovers from a decadent Indian-inspired dinner I made last night from Appetite for Reduction, but I was invited to Udupi Palace to eat dosas with editorial assistants Hilary Pollack and Joni Sweet, and I couldn't resist. My meal was delicious as always, and I still have my leftovers from last night to look forward to—win win! We have now come to the final 10 days of our Veggie Awards Survey. Be sure to vote before it comes to a close, and get in the running to win some awesome prizes.

Half Sandwich, Half Shawarma

The Chefs: Elizabeth and Herbivore

The Menu: Get ready. It's half of the grilled chicken sandwich and half of the shawarma. The sandwich is on perfectly fluffy bread, and has slices of tomato and pickle, and the shawarma is wrapped in lavash with tahini dressing, pickles, and potatoes. Plus, I had a side salad with a yummy Dijon mustard dressing.

The Goods: You know how sometimes there are really difficult decisions in life, such as trying to choose the perfect lunch option between these two stellar savory staples? At times like this, I'm even more thankful than usual to work with some of the finest minds in veganism—including Assistant Editor Anna Peraino, who went splitsies with me. When two friends both get to enjoy two delicious sandwiches, everybody wins. Do you know who'll win Veggie Awards this year? I do—it's the nominees who get the most votes, that's who! So don't leave your favorites hanging, vote already!

Cheap, Fast Mexican

The Chef: Colleen and Taqueria Cancun

The Menu: Black beans, Spanish rice, sliced avocado, warm tortillas, chips, and fresh-squeezed carrot juice

The Dish: After a long morning meeting (hurray for the 2012 story lineup!), I ran out of time to prepare lunch. So I hopped over a block to my favorite taqueria, Taqueria Cancun, for a side of rice and beans ($3.50, serves two) and a glass of delicious carrot juice. And voila! A fairly healthy meal in 10 minutes for less than $5. The Mission is full of these hole-in-the-wall eateries where one can eat cheap—and fast. And that comes in very handy on days like today. We've got a lot happening around the VNHQ this week, from our 2012 story meeting to the Veggie Awards (don't forget to vote!) to the launching of our first-ever VegNews Street Team next Monday (street team members are receiving their official Welcome Packs this week). So much to do, so little time. Taqueria Cancun, you saved me!

Burrito Party!

The Chefs: Jennifer and Taqueria Cancun

The Menu: A burrito stuffed with refried beans, avocado, rice, pico de gallo; a melon agua fresca, two spicy salsas, tortilla chips, and Beanfield's Pico de Gallo chips.

The Goods: Don't worry. I didn't eat all of this by myself for lunch. The VN team and I chowed down on delicious burritos from our local taqueria after we wrapped up our stellar September+October issue. We can't wait for you guys to see it. VN Office Manager Lyndsay Orwig taught me an important trick to making an awesome burrito even better; Stuff it with tortilla chips! Genius. This launched into a discussion about stuffing potato chips into PB&J sandwiches and French fries into veggie burgers. Needless to say, we were all pretty stuffed from our delicioso lunch. But I'm not too stuffed to dream about a VeganTreats dessert party or a box of Premium Chocolatiers' 30-truffle boxes, which y0u could win simply by voting in our 10th annual Veggie Awards. I already voted (even though I can't win amazing prizes). Have you?

Quesadillas and Salad

The Chef: Hilary and Gracias Madre

The Menu: Sweet potato and caramelized onion quesadillas with cashew nacho cheese and pumpkin seed salsa; plus a salad of farm lettuce and stone fruit tossed in a balsamic vinaigrette, topped with toasted hazelnuts and served with grilled Acme bread and vegan queso blanco

The Dish: After a late night at Homestead celebrating a friend's birthday, my friend Kris and I decided to meet up mid-workday and take the Tuesday afternoon edge off via the ever-delicious culinary stylings of Gracias Madre. I needed something light due to my Cinnaholic hangover and vegan Japanese feast last night at Cha-Ya, so we decided to share a couple of the smaller dishes and call it a lunch. Every time I dine at Gracias Madre, I pray that they'll start selling vats of their incredible cashew cheese so that I can drench everything that I eat in it. They won the 2010 Veggie Award for Restaurant of the Year, and I can't wait to see who takes the top honors this year. Don't forget to vote! 

Kris loves vegan quesadillas and voting in the 2011 Veggie Awards.

Dining at Radish

The Chef: Lyndsay and Radish

The Menu: A tofu sandwich with avocado, shredded carrot, and vegan spread on sourdough bread, with a side of root chips

The Goods: We had a long meeting discussing the upcoming 2011 Veggie Awards, and once done, we were famished. Luckily, it was lunchtime, so we decided to venture to a newer restaurant in the area, Radish—we heard that they had some good vegan options. I decided to get this sandwich because it sounded tasty, and I like tofu, so I thought it was a good bet. I was not disappointed—the sandwich was delish, and I ate it up in record time. We also dined on some complimentary gazpacho and amazing hash browns. All in all, it was a satisfying lunch, and a good way to end the work week. We hope you have a wonderful weekend!