Ultra-Good Upside-Down Pizza

The Chef: Aurelia

The Menu: An utterly delicious casserole-style, upside-down pizza. Yes, Aurelia is just as creative in the kitchen as she is in our editorial meetings, for which we are all very, very thankful! This dish featured potatoes, Swiss chard, zucchini, and onions, all simmered in Frankie's barbecue sauce and baked under a pizza-dough crust. Savory and satisfying, we all went back for seconds of this one! Aurelia also busted out a fantastic salad of butter lettuce, grated carrots, kidney beans, and avocado.

The Goods: We've been eating outside all this week, though to varying degrees of success. Today was the first day that we didn't clutch our jackets super-tightly and hope for the wind to subside, as it was actually sunny, and, dare we say, warm! Of course, since this weekend is supposed to be gorgeous here in SF, the majority of us will be out of town, either attending the Chicago Green Festival or WorldFest. Go figure! Also, have you been grinding your teeth hoping for recipes to accompany the lunches you see here on Café VegNews? Now's your chance! The entries in our first-ever Café VegNews Showdown that receive the most votes will have recipes printed in our September+October edition! Go! Vote!

Five-Star Soup

The Chef: Colleen

The Menu: An incredible three-squash soup! Colleen blended acorn, butternut, and delicata squashes together with an Indian-food-inspired blend of spices for this thick, filling main course. Alongside our bowls were slices of perfectly crunchy rosemary crostini, and a mixed green salad with our favorite new add-in: craisins. All together this was one satisfying meal, utterly worthy of the five-star rating.

The Goods: Get ready, we've got gobs of goods today! First, we got to share this amazing lunch with Mr. Billy Hulting, who just happens to be a rockstar. No, literally, that's what he does for a living. Billy plays percussion for Zappa Plays Zappa, and we just learned that the band is nominated for a Grammy! Woo hoo! In his limited free time, Billy also helps to organize WorldFest, a totally-vegan eco-friendly festival in Los Angeles, where you're sure to find a VegNews booth. Accompanying Billy was his delightful mother, Pat, who lives here in San Francisco and whom we hope to see again soon! As if all this wasn't enough, we were also treated to some insanely good candy cane brownies from Sticky Fingers. Yes, you read that right: candy cane brownies. If anyone needs us this afternoon, we'll be under our desks in hyperglycemic comas.