Jerzday!

Yes, New York City (and BK- woot!) have more than enough to entertain even the most discerning vegan.  But sometimes you gotta get out and have a Jersey day (with PA thrown in for good measure); this is how you do it.

Gather your friends and eat vegan M&M's for breakfast (Ok, they're from Economy Candy, so technically they still count as NY).

I can't even look at them without wanting to eat them all.

Call ahead to make sure Jackie is working and then head directly to Sprig & Vine for lunch or brunch.  Consider your stomach capacity and order just about everything on the menu.  With a pleasant and efficient waitress to guide you, you are sure to enjoy a gastronomically intense feast.

As luck would have it, we were both greeted pleasantly at the door and found the dining room plenty warm; the S&V stars were aligned!

We went with two appetizers to start: the roasted gold beet crostini with black beluga lentils and smoked cashew ricotta and the kennebec potato wedges with grain mustard aoili (Jackie always remembers to bring ketchup as well!):

One of my friends tried the soup of the day, a sweet potato & butternut squash puree w/ smoked paprika croutons & toasted cumin oil; it looked extremely appetizing and he really enjoyed.

Another friend went with one of VM's favorites, the edamame falafel wrap with black sesame tahini and pickled vegetables on a whole wheat tortilla. 

Of course someone at the table had to order the intense caraway-crusted tempeh reuben with thousand island dressing, pickles, and sauerkraut on grilled pumpernickel- always a hit, but I'm not sure why it wasn't on their luscious, dark pumpernickel!

As for me, I went for something I'd never tried before, the oyster mushroom po' boy with spicy remoulade, pickles & shredded lettuce on a baguette.  This is the richest sandwich I've ever eaten!  Between the battered and fried mushrooms and the generous serving of remoulade (similar to tartar sauce), I had no business whatsoever eating the whole thing.  But I did. 

Perhaps overeating wasn't the best plan, since the next stop on the Jerzday agenda was Vegan Treats!

With only the hour-long drive to digest, I kept it light: a classic glazed donut and- glory be- peanut butter and chocolate swirl softserve with rainbow sprinkles. 

Good eats were had by all:

And then I took some stuff home....

For starters, chocolate covered cannolis! 

Yep, just when I had all but finished swooning over their original cannolis, they go and improve upon divine decadence by generously dipping them in chocolate.  Possibly a new Bean Family favorite.

I certainly couldn't leave without cowboy cookies.

And there was a new (to me) cookie in town: pecan sandies!  How have I never tried these cookies before?  They're great- even to a chocolate lover like me: almost like a dense, non-buttery, pecan shortbread.

Also, a chocolate raspberry cake!  This cake was phenomenal. 

I was a little wary when I saw that fresh raspberry poised atop, but I made sure to check: there were only preserves and raspberry buttercream inside, tucked between chocolate cake and coated with the same chocolate as my all-time favorite, the Death By Chocolate.  SO GOOD!! 

VM is a sucker for all things chocolate raspberry, so I conceded the bigger slice to her (<3!), but in future I think I'd just go ahead and get two.  Or four. 

Hey, it's a long drive; sometimes you just have to stock up.