sugar plum vegan cafe

for me the name of the place was enough to avoid. where i grew up in auburn, there was a group of middle aged ladies called the sugar plum fairies who dressed up like fairies and walked in the local parades. they were very scary to me, and they still are...i don't know how many times i've been wanded by one of those weirdos...
sash and i were on a bike ride saturday, touring midtown thrift stores and bike shops. we ended up riding down k st. on our way to city cyclery, and decided it was time to eat. on a tip from a friend, sash wanted to try the ruben at sugar plum.
vegan food has never excited me...vegetarian food is alright. at least vegetarian food can contain cheese, milk, eggs...to me vegan food is a pile of lettuce.
the place is in the old true love...it is less cluttered and still kind of "coffee house" feeling with the couch and coffee table in one room and the mismatched furniture throughout...still a welcoming place...
http://www.sugarplumvegan.com/
i ordered the black bean nachos, and sash ordered the ruben. we decided to share. the food took a fairly long time to come out, but it was obvious from the start that it was going to be a wait. this place is fairly new, and running on a skeleton crew. the guy who took our order and our money also brought our food out when it was done and bussed all of the tables. he never once looked stressed or bothered...a very cool cat.
when the food arrived, i was shocked. the ruben was of average size. it included marinated tempeh "bacon", avocado, pickle, and thousand island dressing on grilled rye. it was flanked by a generous portion of lightly dressed mixed greens...very good looking sandwich. it tasted great.
the nachos were seriously piled so high i was concerned for their well being...a tremendous amount of chips, smothered in 2 vegan cheeses, mild salsa, jalapenos, black beans and sour cream...
both dishes were delicious. the fake meat on the ruben had a nice texture and a really nice flavor. the pickles and the avocado were a nice touch...very original.
the nachos continued to impress...somehow they had gotten beans into the middle of the large pile of chips...surprises around every corner.
everyone was happy. i thought the baked goods in the cases inside also looked great...can't wait to go back and try them. they also cater, and have a bottomless sunday brunch...
i might have to head down there right now.