Vegan Job Opening! New Memphis Vegan Meetup Group! Vegan Ramen! OMG!

I interrupt this Vegan Mofo for a couple of vegan announcements.

* Unemployed vegans: Imagine Vegan Cafe is hiring an EXPERIENCED vegan general manager! If you live in Memphis (or are planning to move here soon) and need a job, don't miss this opportunity. Kristie and Adam, the adorable couple who own Imagine, were finally able to branch out this year and expand their hours and hire several employees (before, Kristie and Adam did all the work themselves). But Kristie needs someone with lots of restaurant experience to help with point-of-sale stuff, ordering, and other restaurant stuff. Since it's a vegan restaurant, Kristie would prefer to hire someone who is already vegan (or at least vegetarian). If you're interested, call Imagine at 901-654-3455.

* There's a new vegan meetup group in Memphis! For years, it was just our little Food Awareness group holding things down. Plus, we have our monthly Vegan Drinks meetups, but those are some of the same people who come to FA meetings. But about a month ago, Susan Stern, who just moved to Memphis, established another vegan group, Memphis Vegan Dineouts and Potlucks, using meetup.com.

There have been two social outings so far. Last month, we gathered at Imagine for the inaugural meeting, and last night, we met at Crazy Noodle. It's been pretty cool because I'm getting a chance to meet vegans outside my circle. Plus, Food Awareness has been on hiatus for a couple months while organizer Vaughan moves into and remodels his new house. Here's a blurry picture of us at Crazy Noodle last night.

If you're interested in the Memphis Vegan Dineouts and Potlucks group, check out the Meetup.com page. The next meetup has not yet been set, but if you're interested, join the page and you'll get updates.

* And that brings me to my final (and most delicious) announcement — Crazy Noodle has VEGAN RAMEN! OMG!

I'd heard my favorite noodle shop had added ramen to their new menu, and because they were already so vegan-friendly, I figured there'd be a number of vegan ramen options. But I'd yet to check it out until our meetup last night. This Mandu Ramen was simply magical.

That's ramen in a vegetable broth with vegetable dumplings, cabbage, carrots, seaweed, and turnip kimchi.

There are a number of vegan bowls on the menu — Tofu Ramen, Miso Ramen, Vegetable Ramen, etc. But you can basically order almost any of the multiple ramen bowls vegan-style. Cassi ordered the Curry Ramen, which typically comes with chicken broth and chicken pieces, but she subbed tofu and veggie broth. Each bowl comes served in this cuteness.

I also learned last night that some of the appetizers that used to contain eggs in the batter no longer do. But I'd suggest clarifying that before ordering in case it changes again. Paul and I split the delicious battered Tofu Jean.

I also learned that Crazy Noodle serves fantastic veggie sushi. Both Cassi and Susan ordered a plate of their Veggie Sushi. I tried a bite, and wow! Even though Crazy Noodle is more Korean than Japanese, this is definitely better than any veg sushi I've had at Japanese sushi joints around town.

I'll definitely be going back to Crazy Noodle more often. For years, I've ordered the same thing there (Mandu Guk!) over and over, but now I'm determined to try so many more dishes! To read more about Crazy Noodle, check out my original Bluff City Vegan Eats review.

3rd Annual Memphis Plant-Based Food Fest!!!

Hey y'all! This past weekend was the third annual Memphis Plant-Based Food Fest! This year, it was held in Audubon Park and it stretched over two days (Saturday and Sunday). But I only went Saturday because I didn't have time today. On Saturday, I lead a cooking demo in the morning. I made the Cheesy Tofu Scramble and the Sweet Potato Hash from Cookin' Crunk.

And Ms. Cassi lead her first cooking demo!!! She was so worked up about it before, but it went very smoothly. She did awesome. She made this Avocado Kale Salad that went over great with the crowd, and she got a chance to talk about her plans for Memphis' next vegan restaurant, The Pink Noodle.

One of the highlights of the fest for me actually happened after all of my friends had left! It was 100 degrees outside, so, one by one, my friends snuck away. But I wanted to stay for Melanie Lacey's demo. She's a Little Rock vegan who came down for the fest, and she makes legendary Raw Carrot "Tuna" Salad using the carrot pulp left over from juicing. She sells the spice mix she uses, and she had some for sale there. I watched her make carrot salad and went up for seconds on my samples. And then I just had to buy some spice mix! Here's Melanie with the demo tent/speaker organizer Katherine.

People come to vegan food fests to eat, right? Well, there was no shortage of delicious vegan food. Unlike some fests I've been to where major vegan companies come from all over the country to pass out samples, our fest is more about local vegan food vendors and artisans. So of course Imagine Vegan Cafe had a booth there. Here are Imagine's owners Kristie and Adam.

They were selling vegan hot dogs, BBQ sandwiches, and most importantly, VEGAN PIZZA BY THE SLICE!!! I scooped up this slice of Vegan Sausage Pizza before it was all gone.

And they had a ton of desserts for sale, all baked by my friend Stephanie.

I opted for a Cinnamon Roll because those are my favorite thing she makes. And since I arrived early, I got first pick of an ooey-gooey center piece.

Later on, Nigel, who cooks at Imagine by day but also hosts random vegan food events around town, set up his own booth with lots of fresh, hot meals. Cassi ordered his Sesame Ginger Seitan with Brown Rice. I took one bite and had to get some to take home for dinner. Nigel makes the best homemade seitan. I failed to get a close-up of the dish, but here is Cassi eating it.

Besides food vendors, there were also booths peddling homemade jewelry, incense, supplements, herbs, watermelon juice, and more. My friends Thrasher and Emily were there selling Thrasher's homemade copper bracelets. Even though there were shade trees for the vendors to set up under, Thrasher chose this sunny spot because he needed to "charge his crystals." Yep, these are the kind of weirdo friends I have!

My herbalist friend Monica was there too, selling her homemade teas, tinctures, and syrups at her Little Red Oak Herbs booth.

I bought some of her Nourish Tea made with raspberry leaf, oat straw, nettles, rose hips, and rose petals. I don't really drink much hot tea, but I've started making awesome iced tea and tisanes using dried herbs.

Since it was sooooo hot outside, by the end of the day, I was in serious need of hydration. Thankfully, the Deez Coconuts booth was selling Young Thai Coconut Water.

As usual, the fest was a great time. Thanks to Bastet and Katherine for organizing the whole thing again this year!! Those ladies rock. There were so many more great demos, speakers, and events that I just couldn't catch — yoga demos, meditation, juicing demos, Monica's herbology talk, Kristie from Imagine's food demo. But hopefully, I'll be able to see more next year!

Vegan Cheese Pizza in Memphis!

One year ago, I'd have laughed in your face if you'd told me, in 2011, I'd be able to score vegan cheese pizza in Memphis. If you'd told me I'd be able to find said vegan cheese pizza in not one, but FOUR restaurants, I'm sure I'd have laughed so hard, I'd pee myself.

But here we are in 2011, and you'd have been right. First, there was Mellow Mushroom in Germantown, a cutesy chain joint that added Daiya to their menu last fall. It's about a 45-minute drive from my house, so I don't get there often enough. But the Mega-Veggie with Daiya is well worth the drive:

Then came the Hi-Tone Cafe, a Midtown rock club/hipster hangout that serves pizza, sandwiches, and a delicious veg-friendly brunch. They added Daiya for pizzas and calzones this past winter. The Veggie Pizza with Vegan Cheese is to-die-for, but sometimes they're out of Daiya. So call ahead to be sure it's in stock:

Around the same time the Hi-Tone began offering vegan cheese, the Trolley Stop Market added Daiya to its locally-famous pies. I've still not tried the vegan pizza from their regular menu, but this Thai Pizza with Peanut Sauce and Daiya was offered on special one Vegan Night Monday a few months ago:

They serve vegan specials every Monday, fyi. I tried ordering the vegan pizza from the regular pizza menu a few weeks ago, but they had a party dining in and pizza orders were backed up. So I ordered their Spinny Shroom Sandwich with Daiya instead (spinach, mushroom, tomato, and mozzarella).

And Imagine Vegan Cafe's super-loaded Pizza with the Works makes four! Memphis' only all-vegan cafe opened in April, and I'm working my way down their massive menu. I can't order the same thing twice until I've tried everything. Tonight, my friend Greg and I split this yummy pizza loaded with Follow Your Heart mozzarella, vegan sausage, vegan chicken, vegan pepperoni, peppers, onion, pineapple, broccoli, tomatoes, mushrooms, olives, and spinach:

You can choose less toppings, but we went "The Works"-style with every topping they had. The crust was soft and flavorful, and my slice was so heavy, I had to eat it with a fork! I love that Imagine uses Follow Your Heart for something a little different. I love both Daiya and FYH, and it's nice to have a choice.

So if you live in Memphis or you're visiting here and craving a pizza, you know where to go. You can find more info, like addresses and phone numbers for these places, in my Memphis Vegan Dining Guide.

Vegan Brunch

Memphis' only all-vegan restaurant, Imagine Vegan Cafe, is now serving brunch! The comfort food cafe opened in April, and they've been serving hearty, vegan meat-based entrees for lunch and dinner daily. But this afternoon, Imagine launched brunch, and my friends and I (we call ourselves the Imagine Vegan Supper Club, but we'll have to change that to Breakfast Club on Sundays) were there for the big event.

Much like their regular menu, the brunch menu is huge and loaded with mouth-watering options. I couldn't resist the Memphis Slam — two biscuits topped with sausage, tofu scramble, gravy, and cheezy sauce!

This was clearly enough food for two meals, but I ate it all! And I paid for it later by feeling miserably full all day. Next time, I'm asking for a to-go box.

My friend Kim went with the Breakfast Platter — potatoes, grits, tofu scramble, biscuits, and your choice of bacon or sausage. For some crazy reason, Kim didn't want the scramble, but pretend it's on this plate:

Leslie ordered the BLT, which is supposed to come with breakfast potatoes. But she wanted fruit, so they let her swap out the side. I would have totally chosen potatoes over fruit though!

And Mike ordered a platter of Piggies in a Blanket for the table — sausage links wrapped in flaky crescent rolls:

Everything I tried was amazing, and I'm sure I'll be back to try everything on the brunch menu. Our supper club meets at Imagine every Wednesday night for dinner, but we may have to start coming every Sunday too. In fact, I love this place so much, I could totally stop cooking and eat there everyday! But don't worry ... I need to cook to be happy. So that won't happen.

The Elusive Country Fried Steak

In late April, Imagine Vegan Cafe, Memphis' only totally-vegan eatery, opened in Cooper-Young to satisfy the appetites of comfort food-craving vegans. I did a massive post (with loads of photos) a few weeks ago.

The menu at Imagine is huge! I actually printed a copy, and I've been highlighting each dish as I try it. Sort of an Imagine bucket list, if you will. But almost right after the cafe opened, it sold out of the one item my friends and I have been dying to try — Country Fried Steak!

A few of us started a little Imagine Vegan Supper Club on Wednesday nights, and every time we'd ask if the steak was in, co-owner Adam would give us a sad, knowing look and shake his head. There was some issue with the supplier not being able to re-stock, and Imagine co-owners Adam and Kristie were as saddened by the delay as their customers.

But when I arrived at Imagine for our Food Awareness meeting (our local veggie social club) on Saturday, I was thrilled to see the little "sold out" sign missing from the space next to Country Fried Steak on the menu. So guess what I ordered?

Oh yea. Every bite of this meal was pure bliss. The steak was a thin seitan-based patty, breaded, fried, and smothered in creamy white gravy. You can choose your own sides, but the only proper sides for a country fried steak are vegan mac & cheese and green beans. Am I right? By the way, Imagine's vegan mac & cheese is out-of-this-world too. Um, I totally devoured that plate and finished the meal off with a shared slice of Imagine's Flying Elvis Cake (layered peanut butter, chocolate, and banana cakes iced with buttercream).

So if you live in Memphis and you too have been anxiously awaiting the country fried steak, heed the good news. Just save some for me.

Bluff City Vegan Eats: Imagine Vegan Cafe

Memphis finally has an all-vegan restaurant! Imagine Vegan Cafe opened on the last Saturday in April, but I'm just now getting around to a post because I've been collecting images of the food served there. I wanted to show y'all the variety of vegan comfort foods on the menu at this no-frills, diner-style eatery.

Imagine is run by the awesome Adam and Kristie (read my interview with Kristie here), a couple of young parents who wanted to open a place that served kid-friendly vegan comfort fare. Think corn dogs, country fried steak, cheesesticks, veggie dogs with the works, pizza. I'm a big fan of faux meat, and there's plenty of that served at Imagine. They use different brands, but several dishes are made with Gardein, my favorite plant protein brand.

Since the place opened, Adam said they have had a huge number of omnis wandering in to try vegan food for the first time. I love that Imagine has omni-friendly menu items, like fried vegan chicken sandwiches and vegan flank steak. It's not all super-healthy food. It's comfort food, and that's what vegans need when we dine out. I can do healthy at home, but when I eat out, I want something a little naughty.

Despite the fact that Imagine serves lots of faux fare, the prices are very reasonable. Sandwiches with a side item cost about $6, and most entrees are under $10.

But enough with all this talk. Let's get to the photos.

The most important thing about Imagine: They have VEGAN CHEESESTICKS!!!! OMG, y'all. These are so, so good. I believe these are the Chicago Soy Dairy brand, which are Teese-filled. Even my cheese-eating vegetarian friend thought these were better than ones made with dairy mozzarella:

Also on the appetizer menu is this very creamy Spinach Dip, which my newly-vegan friend Hannah said was very much like its dairy-laden counterpart:

You can't have a comfort food cafe without Dogs 'n' Blankets! These are wrapped in flaky crescent rolls:

Even salads can be a little sinful when they're topped with fried goodness and plenty of dressing, like this Fried Chicken Salad:

Imagine offers a couple of entrees in a bowl, like three-bean chili (not pictured) and this Gumbo with vegan chicken and sausage:

There's an extensive sandwich menu, and all sandwiches come with your choice of one side item. Here's my friend Stephanie's Philly Cheesesteak with Mashed Sweet Potatoes:

And my Fried Chicken Sandwich (yep, that's Gardein) with some of the world's best vegan Macaroni & Cheese:

My friend Leslie had the Eggless Egg Salad with Sauteed Spinach:

I can't remember who ordered this Buffalo Chicken Sandwich, but I'm sure it was delicious:

And several friends tried the Vegan Memphis, a shredded BBQ sandwich with slaw, beans, and fries. I haven't tried it yet, but I've only heard fabulous things:

Entree plates come with a choice of two sides, making for a heartier meal. I fell in love with this Chicken Drumstick Meal with Mashed Potatoes & Gravy and Corn Casserole. They use Veggie Brothers Drumstix, but this was the first I'd heard of that brand. The "chicken" was really, really fibrous, and when you bit into it, it pulled apart just like eating actual chicken. Some people might be weirded out by realistic fake meat, but that just makes it better to me:

My pal Michael ordered the Beef Tips & Rice, Mac & Cheese, and Broccoli & Cheese. They use the Gardein Beefless Tips for this:

And Amy ordered the Spinach Florentine Raviolis with Garlic Toast:

But wait! That's not all! Imagine has a great selection of vegan desserts! There's brownie sundaes, banana splits, and several flavors of VEGAN MILKSHAKES! The Peanut Butter Milkshake is, hands down, the best thing I've ever put in my mouth:

A local lady named Karina Khun bakes cupcakes, layer cakes, brownies, and cookies daily to sell at Imagine. I couldn't resist this Cookies 'n' Cream Cupcake:

Imagine even sells the Go Max Go candy bars!! Now I'll never have to order my Mahalo's online again!

I might be biased, but I think Imagine Vegan Cafe may be the best thing to happen to Memphis ... like ever. Now that we have a vegan restaurant, the city's cool points just inched way, way higher. Look out, Portland. Here we come!

Imagine Vegan Cafe is located at 2156 Young Ave. Check out their website here.

Extra, Extra!! Vegan Cafe Opening in April!!

As I've lamented over and over again, Memphis doesn't have one single, totally-vegan restaurant with a full menu. Cosmic Coconut, a vegan/raw juice and smoothie bar, is opening soon, and there is Belawa's tasty little raw vegan burger stand inside Smooth Moves cafe (which is also home to a Middle Eastern food counter that serves meat). But where does a vegan go for "junk" food?

We do have some guilty pleasure options (BBQ tofu nachos at R.P. Tracks, the best vegan burger ever at Fuel) at veg-friendly places around town, but Memphis will soon be home to a totally-vegan comfort food eatery called Imagine Vegan Cafe. It'll be in the old Casa Grill location at 2156 Young Avenue, and they're opening on April 18th.

Co-owner Kristie Jeffrey (who's opening the cafe with her partner Adam, both pictured here with their kids) took some time out of prepping the new space to answer a few questions about Imagine Vegan Cafe:

1) What inspired you to open a vegan cafe in Memphis?

Feeling like a weirdo. Our daughter Savannah loves to eat out, but 90% of the times we do, our order is messed up, and we get some sort of animal product on our food. This can be hard on many adults, but it is much harder on a child. She winds up feeling like a weirdo and we all wind up feeling bad for being so complicated.

So, after numerous experiences of getting our food wrong, not knowing in detail how they make certain items, and sometimes just bad service from people who don't understand the vegan lifestyle, I was bound and determined to open a place that was different. A place where you never have to question what is in your food, a place where you will never accidentally wind up with some sort of animal product in your food, and where you never feel out of place for eating vegan!

2) What kind of entrees, appetizers, and sides will you be offering?

We are so excited about the menu! It is very extensive. Appetizers range from cheese sticks to spinach dip, pigs-in-blankets to chicken drumsticks. Entrees include items such as mahi mahi, flank steak, tacos, beef tips and even country fried steak.

We will also offer close to 15 sandwiches including Memphis BBQ and Philly cheesesteaks. Sides will primarily consist of southern comfort foods such as hush puppies, mac 'n' cheese, black-eyed peas, cole slaw, etc.

We are also very excited about the build-your-own menu items of pizza and chili dogs. You can keep them simple or order them as messy as possible!!! We will also offer gumbo year-round, which is one of our favorite items!!!

3) Any desserts?

YES!!! This is Adam's favorite part of the menu. =) We will offer a lot of ice cream desserts, such as brownie sundaes, banana splits, and milkshakes. We will also have homemade chocolate chip cookies, killer chocolate cake, and pecan pie.

4) Will you be serving alcohol?

LOTS of Beer!!! As soon as we are approved with our beer license, we will sell a range of odd beers. The more unique the better!

5) What hours will you be open?

We are not entirely certain of this yet, but we think Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. and on Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Closed Tuesdays.

6) Will the restaurant have table service or counter service?

You will order at the counter but all food and most drinks will be brought to you. Iced tea will be self service.

7) Yours will be the only totally-vegan cafe with a full menu in Memphis, and it will surely go over well with the vegetarian population. But how you plan to attract omnis?

1) By offering items they never even thought could be vegan. Many of our family and friends have tried items such as the corn dogs and beef tips and enjoy them just as much, if not better than the original. There's nothing better than enjoying great foods like these without biting into a piece of fat, gristle, or that thing you bite into sometimes not knowing what it is but you swallow really fast before you gag. =)

2) Live music. We want to get local bands in to play on the weekends. Not only because we are actually musicians ourselves but to have a place musicians can come show off their talent.

3) GOOD cheap beer! This always attracts people. We hope they might actually try a new item while they are enjoying a brew!

8) You've said you're not going for the "healthy vegan" approach, but rather you'll be catering to vegans who want junk food options (like me!!). Why are you taking that approach?

This is really important to us because sometimes you just want to eat what society calls "normal" without having to ask someone to give up their life in the process. You don't want to HAVE TO eat salad or tofu. Although these items are great, they are the standard option anywhere you go.
Our children want to go out and get chicken nuggets or pizza just like every other kid in America. They just want to do it without harming their animal friends in the process. For us, being vegan is about respecting all life that surrounds us. Being healthy is the added bonus.

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Stay tuned to Vegan Crunk for further updates on Imagine Vegan Cafe's opening. This place is so right up my alley — comfort food, good beer, vegan cheese sticks, dairy-free milkshakes. I don't think I'll ever leave this place once it opens.

In other vegan news, Midtown Yolo (a local yogurt joint with a few dairy-free options) will feature the top five winners from their Project Green Fork Flavor Creation gelato contest on Friday, April 1st from 2 to 6 p.m. I have the inside scoop (no pun intended) that one or more of the winners will be dairy-free! The address is 6 S. Cooper St.