a seagull with one leg on alcatraz!

this post is like a joke with a crappy punch line. there’s no food at all (vegan or otherwise) on alcatraz island, and the stuff that’s available on the ferry is nothing to write home about. that being said, i’m sure some that someday a starving tourist who has skipped a meal will wind up in the long ass line to get a boat to the island, and search for vegan alcatraz options on their smart phone. it’s that person who this post is written for…because that’s EXACTLY what i went through a couple of months ago.

i booked my alcatraz tickets way in advance (you have to—tours fill up quickly), i mapped out the appropriate public transport, and i allowed for enough time to eat breakfast at a nearby vegan-friendly restaurant. however, the bus was late and my plans were foiled. i boarded the alcatraz ferry hungry as fuck and was beyond relieved to see an old vegan standby staring me in the face.

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san francisco seems to be the city of awesome sandwiches. they’ve got fried tofu banh mis at dinosaurs, fake meaty masterpieces at ike’s place, and now i’ve fallen in love with the wheat meat cheesesteaks at jay’s.

mushroom style seitan cheesesteak with vegan mayo, mustard, lettuce and tomato. $8.45

although jay’s cheesesteak isn’t a vegetarian restaurant by any means, they do their vegan sandwiches right with over 10 seitan styles to choose from and a vegenaise option so we don’t have to skip the mayo altogether.

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no trip to san francisco is complete without visiting ike’s place. the small hole in the wall in the castro consistently turns out the best sandwiches i’ve ever eaten. i’m on a mission to try everything on their vegan menu, and now i can officially cross the vegan reuben off the list.

vegan reuben: vegan turkey, homemade poppy seed coleslaw, french dressing, soy cheese. $9.99

this sandwich is no joke. it’s fully loaded, costs just under ten bucks and could easily feed two people.

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here in los angeles vegan cookies and cupcakes are super easy to come by, but vegan donuts are a bit more elusive. it’s a crime! donuts are the perfect junk food—they’re sugary, often fried, and covered in frosting—and vegans deserve the chance to indulge. this is why i’m super jealous of people who live in the bay area, pepples vegan donuts are everywhere! the main “donut farm,” as they call it, is based in oakland…but pepples treats can be found in oodles of locations from berkeley to santa cruz.

pepples vegan donuts!

on a recent trip to SF i hit up the pepples stall in the ferry building, and had a rough time deciding what to order. they had loads of flavors on hand including salted caramel, orange creamsicle, and matcha green tea to name a few…not to mention a whole tray of FRITTERS!! i’m a self-proclaimed chocoholic though, so when i saw that they had a chocolate covered “chocolate cookie flavor,” i knew i had to have it.

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an old school diner that’s been around for almost a century, serves breakfast all day, and has loads of vegan options? sounds to good to be true! well believe me folks, it does exist…it’s called st. francis fountain, and it’s located in san francisco’s mission district.

we schlepped our bags to st francis straight from the airport when we visited SF a few weeks ago. our flight got in at around 9am, and we were ravenous. i was immediately taken aback by how crowded it was for a weekday morning! almost all the stools at the bar were taken, and the booths along the wall were full. we were lucky enough to get the last seat in the house, a small two top tucked away in the corner under a window. i loved the vibe of the place right away, decorated very 50s style with a friendly staff.

the menu was huge with lots of hearty vegan options. it’s completely different and much more vegan-friendly than the one posted on their website, so don’t even bother looking there. scrambles, pancakes, milkshakes—all available animal-free.

vegan thing: breakfast potatoes covered in vegan cheese, guacamole and salsa. $7.50

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i love sandwiches. i’ve probably eaten thousands of them in my life…and this may very well be the best.

dinosaurs in san francisco is a somewhat new hole in the wall joint in the castro. the menu is small, and they’ve only got one vegan sandwich…but that one sanwich is guaranteed to blow your mind. let me introduce you to their ridiculously good tofu vietnamese offering…

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vegan pizza day is less than 2 days away! how are you going to celebrate it? if you are in san francisco, i can highly recommend the vegan pie at escape from new york.

the small chain has 6 locations in SF, and has recently started carrying daiya. we found them by accident when we were vacationing last month, and the haight restaurant was just steps away from our hotel. the pizzeria is very new yorky-themed, from the name of the business, to the statue of liberty logo, to the massive thin ny-style pies and pizza by the slice.

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vegan pizza, we love it! and with vegan pizza day less than a week away, we wanna be sure to get you prepared by telling you about as many vegan pizza options as possible.

today’s vegan pizza comes to us from mythic pizza in san francisco…a small little take out and delivery joint on haight with awesome late hours (until 2am, and even open on xmas!). while mythic pizza doesn’t carry any fake cheese, they do have a clearly marked vegan option on the menu, and we became quite addicted to it last time we were in SF…

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One of the greatest poets of our times, Robbie Williams, penned the now-classic song “Millennium” to commemorate the demise of San Francisco’s famed restaurant of the same name.

The prescience of his words cannot be understated, as we witness first-hand the falling from grace of this much-hyped, over-priced restaurant:

We’ve got stars directing our fate
and we’re praying its not too late
‘Cause we know we’re falling from grace
Millennium
And when we come we always come too late
I often think that we were born to hate

Let’s deconstruct these inspired words:

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i’ve said it before, and i will say it again: ike’s place makes the best sandwiches, vegan or otherwise. the small san francisco shop is nothing short of legendary (i mean come ON, it has almost THREE THOUSAND yelp reviews) and is loved by herbivores and omnivores alike. when we checked them out in fall of 2010, they were having some major dramz with neighbors and were in the midst of being forced to shut down. fortunately for us though, they’ve found a temporary home at lime nightclub just around the corner in the casto district, and are still serving their famous sandwiches for the time being until they move to a more permanent location. (huge thanks to our BFFs at vegansaurus who keep us updated with ike’s info!) we checked out ike’s new digs on our trip to SF over the holidays, and i am happy to say that they officially served me the best sandwich i’ve eaten, ever.

vegan sometimes i'm a vegan: grilled mushrooms, marinated artichoke hearts, soy cheese. $7.97

here’s how it went down…

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today’s quick bite comes to us from greg kanimian who recently visited fancy pants restaurant masa’s in san francisco. this isn’t a vegan restaurant by any means, but the chef accepted the challenge of making greg a 4 course animal-free dinner, and apparently it was awesome. here goes:

I don’t remember exactly what each course was since I didn’t have a menu to read off of. I was just told what I was eating as it was given to me.

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the quick bite series continues! this one comes to us from tettes, who recently hit up gracias madre in san francisco. as of recently we are HUGE FANS OF GRACIAS MADRE….so we were super excited to receive tettes’ glowing review. here goes:

I visited San Francisco during the Thanksgiving holiday, and I went to Gracias Madre twice.

Here are a couple of pics of food items that Quarrygirl didn’t order, including a butternut squash tamale smothered in mole sauce, a butternut squash quesadilla and one of the best items I’ve ever eaten: roasted brussel sprouts in a cashew cheese sauce baked with garlic breadcrumbs on top. OMG!!!

This place is beyond amazing. Perhaps the best vegan place I’ve ever visited!

Butternut squash tamale smothered in mole sauce with a side of refried black beans and spicy pickled vegetables.

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i’ve only been there once, but i’m head over heels in love with gracias madre. the entirely vegan restaurant in san francisco’s mission district serves up huge portions of organic mexican food that’s just fantastic.

we hit up gracias madre a couple months ago, and were shocked by how good it was. we were first taken aback by the amazing atmosphere. i’m used to vegan restaurants being small and often times dingy…but this was a huge wide open space with a clean and colorful decor.

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