Veggie Sausage Sandwich

The Chef: Colleen

The Menu: Veggie sausage sandwich with hummus and avocado on a focaccia roll

The Goods: You've probably seen this sandwich before, as it's one of our favorites from Valencia Whole Foods (not the chain) right around the corner. They make this baby in-house, and it's nothing short of divine. And what you see above is only half of it; I ate the other half for lunch yesterday! So it's a great deal at just $6.50. If you find yourself in San Francisco and want a guide to some of the best vegan eateries around, don't miss either our gorgeous veggie food map in the January+February issue featuring all the must-try meat-free fare within a two-block radius of the VNHQ, or our own Hilary Pollack's brilliant story on VegNews.com, "The 20 Best Vegan Dishes in the Mission District." We have you covered, friends. In other news, we're going to press today with our March+April "Man" issue. Get ready, because it's AMAZING! We're all pretty excited around here (and exhausted), but we can't wait for this very-special edition to start hitting mailboxes and newsstands. Have a great weekend!

Grateful for Café Gratitude

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The Chef: Colleen and Café Gratitude

The Menu: I Am Fortified, a heaping bowl of steamed quinoa topped with sauteéd seasonal vegetables, sunflower sprouts, and a delicious tahini-garlic sauce

The Dish: I am a huge fan of the local healthy dining spot, Café Gratitude, and never seem to eat there enough. What started off as a gaming salon years ago at 20th & Harrison (just blocks from the VNHQ) has now blossomed into eight locations, plus one sister restaurant (our beloved Gracias Madre down the street). So when my brother visited our offices today to help out with a project, I knew where we needed to go for lunch. In addition to the I Am Fortified (all menu items are listed as affirmations), I sipped on the very-luscious I Am Cool, a chocolate-mint smoothie with raw cacao nibs. It was a lovely lunch, and I wholeheartedly recommend it on your next visit to San Francisco. In fact, if you're still wanting to squeeze in that late-summer road trip, vegan style, VegNews has done all the work for you. Check out our just-launched Ultimate Vegan Road Trip over on VegNews.com! Bon voyage.

Gracias Madre, Ole!

The Chef: Anna and Gracias Madre

The Menu: An heirloom masa tamal filled with zucchini and onions, plus black beans and some spicy pickled vegetables

The Dish: Okay, so the picture is not what I ordered. But hang with me for a second! My friend, who is currently on her summer vacation (teachers have all the luck, no?) came to the Mission to dine with me. Since it's just really fun to blow people's non-vegan socks off (though I must admit, her socks are vegetarian), I took her to Gracias Madre. I decided on the tamal and my friend ordered the tacos, very similar to those pictured above (I forgot the camera, I'm sorry!). As always, everything was delicious. My friend was particularly impressed by her taco filled with collards and corn that had been stewed in a chile verde sauce. I think there's only one way to respond to that: truth.

Mission Tacos

The Chef: Gabrielle and Taqueria Cancún

The Menu: Two delicious vegan tacos stacked with beans, rice, salsa, veggies, and avocado, with some chips and spicy salsas on the side.

The Goods: Associate Publisher Colleen Holland has been raving about Taqueria Cancún ever since we moved the VNHQ to the Mission District, so Editorial Assistant Brooke Still and I were thrilled when she generously offered to take us out for tacos! People, I think I have found my favorite San Francisco taqueria. Four fresh corn tortillas were topped with black beans, savory rice, the most delicious salsa, onions, cilantro, lime, and the true pièce de résistance, huge chunks of avocado. This is my last week in San Francisco before I head back to Canada, so I figure it's only right to fill it with as much Mexican food-eating as humanly possible. Wish me luck!

Oktoberfest Sausage

The Chef: Gabrielle and Rosamunde Sausage Grill

The Menu: Apple-sage sausage with sauerkraut and hot peppers, and a pickle.

The Goods: As I’m sure you’ve noticed by our Mexican-, Mediterranean-, and Japanese-inspired lunches of late, the Mission district offers an ethnically diverse selection of eats. Since my dad is a German professor and my first name is Germanic, I took it upon myself to celebrate Oktoberfest today and get a vegan sausage at the nearby Rosamunde Sausage Grill. This place sounds about as unvegan as you can get, but Rosamunde actually does care about vegans, offering us four vegan sausage varieties. I ordered the Field Roast apple sage, with complimentary toppings sauerkraut and hot peppers to round out the flavors. I added a pickle on the side to get my veggies, because that counts, right? With free curry ketchup and spicy brown mustard, Rosamunde is definitely a place I’ll revisit. Oh, and they also offer an impressive selection of craft beers, for future post-work libations!

Jay's Cheesesteak

The Chef: Gabrielle and Jay's Cheesesteak

The Menu: A scrumptious sandwich stuffed with seitan, veggies, garlic spread, and hot peppers, all on a fresh baguette, and washed down with a refreshing raspberry kombucha.

The Goods: Today marks the first ever Café VegNews from our new offices in San Francisco's Mission district, so I thought it only right to continue the celebration that began this morning with mimosas and a fruit platter. Before I get on to the food, can I just say how unbelievably psyched we are to be in our gorgeous new space? Our spacious and sunny offices are stunning, and the Mission district is an appropriately vegan-friendly haven full of delicious food offerings. Since office manager Lyndsay Orwig and I both have boyfriends name Jay (though, fortunately not the same one), we headed to Jay's Cheesesteak for insanely delicious seitan sandwiches. I honestly don't know how I'll be able to get through every day without visiting Jay's, but at least I'll have a visit with my own Jay this weekend when he comes to help out at the VegNews booth at the 11th Annual San Francisco World Veg Festival weekend. Hope to see you there!

Tomato Soup, Fluffy Bread

The Chef: Liz

The Menu: A hearty bowl of Campbell's Select Harvest Tomato Basil soup sprinkled with fresh black pepper and spinach leafs. To accompany my bowl of soup toasted two slices of whole-grain Dave's Killer Bread—perfect for dipping.

The Goods: This is my favorite accidentally-vegan soup ever, as unlike many Campbell's soups, it uses clean ingredients and steers clear of unpronounceable preservatives. This satisfying soup offered a nice lunchtime break from an otherwise chaotic day here at the VNHQ—moving day! Yes, that's right, as of Monday, September 27, the VN staff will be working out of our new offices in San Francisco's Mission District. We're totally excited for the big move, and in the spirit of cleaning house beforehand, we'll be closing the office tomorrow, and hosting our first-ever Great Big Vegan Garage Sale this weekend. Stop by, meet the staff, and pick up a piece of VegNews history!