Tempeh Curry

The Chef: Joseph

The Menu: A lovely Thai curry with sweet potatoes, russet potatoes, onions, garlic, and locally made tempeh. What's that you say? We live in the Bay Area and tempeh is a Thai tradition? Well, you're right on both counts, but this particular tempeh was made right here in the Bay Area by Philip Gelb, who's just about to launch a tempeh company, Dragon Lines. Joseph served the curry over rice with a lovely side salad. While the salad was great on its own, we couldn't help but try the Organicville Non-Dairy Ranch Dressing that just happened to be delivered right as we were sitting down to eat.

The Goods: Really? You want more good than local tempeh and vegan ranch? Demanding! Well, fine, in other good news, it's Friday! Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

Philip Gelb Caters!

The Chefs: Philip Gelb and Cori Spence

The Menu: (Please make sure you are sitting down/not drinking hot liquids before you read this to reduce the risk of falling/spitting coffee all over your computer.) Ok, first we enjoyed an incredible black-lentil soup that was perfectly spiced. It warmed us from the inside out on this blustery, winter day. Next up, we enjoyed the trio of treats you see here, namely ravioli, salad, and collard rolls. The rolls had homemade tempeh, rice, kabocha squash, and an incredibly good marinade. The salad was blood oranges, fennel, and greens with blood-orange vinaigrette. Oh, and that ravioli? That would be filled with pumpkin and homemade vegan cheese, and covered in a perfect pesto. No, it does not end there. We also devoured the amazing poached-pear tart that you see below with homemade vegan banana-chocolate ice cream.

The Goods: You know what? Just go ahead and see above if you want to hear about goods. This meal was freaking incredible. This is the second time Philip has graced us with a delicious lunch, and we hope to see lots more of him in the future.

Cheater-itos

The Chef: Elizabeth

The Menu: Molé-smothered burritos filled with homemade seitan, home-style potatoes, and sautéed zucchini and red bell pepper. Wrapped in warm flour tortillas and doused with mashed avocado, these babies filled us right up. A vibrant salad of romaine, cherry tomatoes, and sliced yellow squash made for a fresh side to our saucy main.

The Goods: Yes, Elizabeth slaved over a hot stove all day to make this meal. No, in no way did she just cobble together leftovers from Philip Gelb's visit, which would totally be cheating. The origins of today's lunch aside, everything tastes better when it's wrapped in a tortilla, and it's always great to have fabulous fillings on-hand. Err, we mean it's always great to make fillings from scratch, even if it takes hours and not the roughly 30 minutes that this meal required in reality. Hey! Look over there! It's a giveaway!

Top Chef, SF Edition

The Chef: Philip Gelb

The Menu: When a popular vegan chef/caterer offers to treat your staff to a lovingly prepared gourmet lunch feast, there's only one response in the world that's appropriate: Yes, please! Philip Gelb—a creative multitasker who juggles music and food—shuttled over from Oakland to our Outer Sunset offices and brought with him an amazingly delectable spread. We began with homemade seitan in a velvety molé sauce served with quinoa pilaf loaded with fresh herbs and veggies, then moved on to a colorful, perfectly sweet corn salad before tucking into bright green rappini paired with black olives. You might find this hard to believe, but each of us licked our plates clean. REALLY clean. For dessert, Phil dazzled our taste buds with heavenly scoops of homemade blueberry-cashew ice "cream." One of us—and I'm not saying it was our publisher, but it might've been—had four servings. It was that good.

The Goods: In addition to having established himself as a top-tier caterer in the San Francisco Bay Area, Philip is also known for hosting a popular series of dinner-concert events at different locations throughout the East Bay. Invite is by word-of-mouth only, and guests are always treated to a sensory feast, from the food to the live music to the great company. Look for a piece on him in an upcoming edition of Oakland Magazine, and of course, VegNews!