Happy 7th Anniversary, Imagine Vegan Cafe!

My favorite vegan restaurant/home away from home — Imagine Vegan Cafe — celebrated 7 years at the end of April! I can't believe it's been so long. I was there on day one, and I've eaten there at least once every 2 weeks (usually once a week) since. I've met a number of my closest friends there, and it's served as a meeting spot for so many lunches, dinners, and brunches, I couldn't even begin to count. Hell, my friend Mike's baby was born because of Imagine! He met his baby mama/ex-gf Shay there about seven years ago when we held weekly Wednesday night Imagine get-togethers.

Owners Kristie and Adam (and their four daughters) are the kindest, gentlest people on the planet. They're in it for the animals, 100%. They have a ton of rescue/foster dogs on their farm in Mississippi, and they even have a rescued pig and donkey! Plus, they feed vegan food to some of Memphis' homeless population regularly.

I'm so happy they've made it this far! And I hope they'll be around for many more years to come (otherwise, I don't know what I'll do with myself). Anyway, they held their annual anniversary buffet party last week (over two days, Monday and Tuesday). I went on Monday, along with Pam, Megan, and Mike.

As always when Imagine holds a buffet party, the options were INSANE. Here are a few shots from the buffet, like this build-your-own chili cheese dog bar.

A build-your-own black bean taco bar.

Two kinds of vegan mac & cheese!

Spaghetti, beefless tips, and garlic knots.

Plus, there was Imagine's famous spinach dip & chips, vegan hot wings, vegan chicken tenders, and pigs in blankets.

And you can't celebrate a birthday without cake! There was a giant chocolate cake.

And a couple funfetti cakes, plus peanut butter fudge.

And a chocolate fountain with Dandies, berries, and pretzels.

I had one of EVERYTHING because I don't play at a buffet. Here's plate number one.

And plate number two.

And my dessert plate!

In case you're wondering, yes I ate everything. And yes, I was miserably full afterward (like food coma full), but it was so worth it.

That said, because I've been eating like this a little too often since I've been unable to run, I've been feeling the need for a little spring cleaning diet reboot. So starting today (Sunday), I'm doing the Engine 2 7-Day Rescue Diet (no oil, low salt, low sugar, limited processed food). I'll be blogging about it daily starting tomorrow!