Recently I finally got a chance to check out Wayward Cafe’s new digs in the university district. Wayward has been a vegan staple in Seattle for years. It opened some years ago, originally as a workers collective, but after a time it began to experience some organizational issues and slid down hill for a time. Eventually some new owners took over and whipped it back into shape. Now, it has moved into a great new location across the street from Sidecar.

We made it up to Wayward for a late Sunday breakfast. The new location features a reasonable amount of seating, and while it was busy, we were able to grab a table about two minutes after walking in. Despite a full house, service was still prompt and the food came out swiftly. With the opening of the new location came a new expanded menu, so we decided to try some new items as well a some classics.

Filling in for the classics we have the perennial biscuits and gravy. I’m not sure how biscuits and gravy became such a staple of American vegan cuisine, but I’m not complaining. Wayward’s are top notch, served smothered in a creamy mushroom gravy that I could pretty much eat on its own.

“Suns Over Seattle” is a vegan take on “Moons Over My-Hammy” that some of you may remember from the Denny’s menu. Scrambled tofu, veg ham, and a “cheddar” sauce sit between buttery grilled sourdough. An amazing sandwich served with hash browns.

Last up was the “Cream Cheese” Blintzes.  The blintzes were good (FYI a blintz is similar to crepe, but typically a little thicker), but the filling was pretty much just a cream cheese icing (obviously made with Tofutti). While it was tasty, I would have liked a little more body from the filling. It was also surprising that this was the only crepe/blintz on the menu. I would love to see one with some fruit.

Over all Wayward remains on my top recommendations for Seattle, so get up there and check them out.

Recently Seattle has started to get on the street food band wagon. Unfortunately, there are not a lot of vegan options available. While many hot dog stands might have a veggie dog, rare is the vegan hot dog bun (most typical buns contain milk or animal derived dough conditioners). So I was supprised and excited to find some excellent vegan offerings at what seemed a verry unlikely place: a BBQ catering truck shaped like a giant metal pig. Unfortunately the pig has gone into hibernation for the winter and won’t be back on the street until April.

Maximus/Minimus is built on the idea of two flavor profiles: maximus (spicy and savory), and minimus (sweet and tangy). While the specialty of Maximus/Minimus is pulled pork, they also offer a surprising veggie sandwich. The sandwich, which is listed on the menu as 100% vegan including bun (pretty sure they use Rudy’s Organics), is composed on barley with grilled fennel and onions with your choice of sauce (which you are limited to maximus as minimus does contain honey), which makes a very good, and original, sloppy joe/pulled pork kind of sandwich. For the sides they offer two slaws, both of which are vinaigrette based and dairy free (although the minimus does again contain honey), and house made vegetable chips. The chips are one of the highlights, composed of potato, carrot, beet, and green beans spiced with a little jalapeno.

When active, Maximus/Minimus spends most of the day at 2nd and Pike in downtown, as well as at events around the area. While a bit of a line can form durring the luch rush, they are good at handling it. They usually have someone out front taking orders and payment and things move along quickly. There is no seating, only a few folding tables you can hunch over if you don’t want to take your food back to the office. A veggie sandwich, slaw, and chips will run you $9. Check them out at www.maximus-minimus.com