Fuel Cafe's New Menu

When vegans visiting Memphis for the first time ask me where to eat while they're in town, I list off about five or six places. That list always includes Imagine Vegan Cafe and 2 Vegan Sistas, as well as Cosmic Coconut and I Love Juice Bar. Those are all totally vegan establishments (okay, Juice Bar has honey, but that's it).

But also on top of that list is Fuel Cafe. It's a very vegan-friendly, casual cafe with a focus on natural ingredients. They do serve some meat, but about a big chunk of the menu is either vegan or veganizable. Fuel is located in a converted mechanic shop, so the inside is very small. But the patio is huge, and that's perfect for this time of year in Memphis. The temps are dipping down into the 80s next week (that's cool weather here).

Fuel has always been vegan-friendly, but they recently released a new menu. And it's even more vegan-friendly! We had our September Vegan Drinks meetup there last week, and I took lots of pics of both old and new menu items.

Perhaps the most exciting new item is the Vegan Grilled Cheese. On the menu, there's a DIY grilled cheese section, and you can make a sandwich with Chao cheese and all sorts of veggies — tomatoes, spinach, avocado, mushrooms, etc. Kenzie ordered hers with avocado.

I ordered one a few weeks prior to our Drinks meetup. I added both avocado and spinach. The grilled cheeses come with the BEST homemade pickles.

Another new menu item is vegan tacos! Fuel Cafe has operated a separate food truck for years, and the truck specializes in tacos, but until now, those tacos were not available in the restaurant. Now they are! The Vegan Tacos come with crumbled veggie burger (made in-house), vegan cheese, vegan sour cream, and all the fixins. You can add avocado for $1. It looks like Stephanie did not add avocado to her tacos. Taco fail.

Speaking of that burger, it's not new. It's been on Fuel's menu for years. But it's the best damn veggie burger in town. It's so good that our Whole Foods even sells Fuel veggie patties in the deli to take home and make your own Fuel burger. Steven ordered the Fuel Veggie Burger with Chao. Classic.

Menu items are a la carte. And most people at our table ordered chips for their sides. Some went with pico, and others, like Stephanie, opted for guac. Good choice. This makes up for the lack of avocado on her tacos.

Another new menu item is the Vegan Power Bowl, which is what I ordered at our Vegan Drinks meetup. This super-healthy dish has black beans, brown rice, sauteed okra, squash, and zucchini, avocado, and ranchero sauce. It was amazing! I could have used a slightly larger portion, but nonetheless, I felt pretty good about myself after I ate this.

Another hold-over from the old menu is the Quinoa Black Bean Chili. This chili is the best! And now you can get it in a bowl or over a plate of vegan nachos. Pro tip: On the menu, it says this comes with cojita cheese and lime crema, but ask for it vegan-style, and they'll top it with vegan sour cream.