Gussie's Chicken and Waffles

I know what you're thinking, folks. What can a vegan gal like me possibly find on the menu at a place specializing in chicken and waffles, right? Well, within this particular menu (that's it over there on the left), vegan gems are hidden - the likes of which I just had to eat to believe. Trust me, I was skeptical too, but Gussie's Chicken and Waffles is a place to truly eat well with others.




There are 3 veggie items (not including the sides) at Gussies, and I tried two of them last night. Above is the aptly named "Vegetarian Plate" and heaped upon said plate you'll find a plethora of goodies. Toward the back is what they're calling "home fries" but which I call mashed potatoes. To be fair they tasted like home fries (usually fried in a skillet with some onion and what not) - they just had a mashed consistency. Still, delicious. On the left there's red beans and rice. Eh. I could take 'em or leave 'em. You see those black-eyed peas on the right, though? Those were tangy (like pickles kind of), cooked to perfection, and extremely tasty. Sitting in their rightful place up front, we have the greens. Now if there are two things in life I love, it's greens and salt. However, these greens were super-duper salty, even for me. I'm not sure if the chefs were trying to replace the typical ham flavor with saltiness, but it was overload.

Luckily, there were these sweet bad boys to balance things out. Welcome to Gussie's vegan waffles. These huge buckwheat cakes arrived at the table pipin' hot, the aroma of warm spices (nutmeg, cinnamon, etc.) wafting in the air, and a scoop of Earth Balance melting in the middle. They were a little soft for my liking (I like a crisp waffle) but the taste was good. Not too sweet, just the right amount of spice, and great for pairing with my salty greens.

The 3rd veggie item on Gussie's menu is a veggie burger and since I wasn't into that I forgot to check if it's vegan or not. I suppose I could find out next time, though honestly, I'm not sure I'll be rushing back. The food was decent, but not mind-blowing. It is right around the corner from Yoshi's though, so I know where I'll be eating next time I have tickets to a show....

Gussie's also made for a perfect "last meal" as I'm on a raw food cleanse for a while now. I love to do this twice a year or so to just kind of clean out the cobwebs. I'm sure I'll hit some of SF's raw food havens, so stick around to read about it. Meanwhile, have a great week!