Souley Vegan--Souley DELICIOUS

Southern Fried Tofu, Mac and Cheese, Mashed Potatoes and Gravy

Southern Fried Tofu, Potato Salad, Black Eye Peas

Portabella Mushroom Burger and Potato Salad

Portabella Mushroom Burger and Mustard Greens
(The stuff oozing out of the burger is the Tangy Spinach.)

Apple Cobbler

Let's be honest, when people hear "vegan," they don't think tasty. And, the combination of vegan and soul food sounds even more strange. Well Special K., Tob-asco, CS, EJ, and I were pleasantly surprised last Friday, when we decided to make a Souley Vegan, Beer Revolution, and Trappist pilgrimage. We were so hungry that we didn't even think of ordering the "everything" plate, but instead all got similar orders. Here's a breakdown of some of the offerings:

• Southern Fried Tofu: HOLY CRAP THIS STUFF ACTUALLY LOOKS LIKE CHICKEN. I don't know how they managed to bread and fry the tofu in such fashion, but the fried-ness tastes similar to fried chicken. Advice: share this with a friend because you kind of feel like dying after eating one piece (in a semi-good way).

• Mac and Cheese: Everyone who I've asked about vegan cheese seems to have had bad experiences. Therefore, I was a little skeptical when I ordered it, but the yelp pictures looked fucking amazing. The cheese was surprisingly cheese-like, and the dish was well-seasoned. This was probably my favorite side dish of the night.

• Mashed Potatoes and Gravy/Potato Salad: Both were not bad, but not the most amazing things I've ever had. The mashed potatoes were very creamy with a tiny bit of spice, and the potato salad was exactly what you would expect.
  

• Black Eye Peas/Mustard Greens: Both were not mine, but there were no complaints about either. Actually, I remember the greens being noms, and they made us feel slightly less terrible about ourselves.

• Portabella Mushroom Burger: This thing was huge!! I didn't get to try some of the mushroom, but I did try the "tangy spinach" on top. Holy crap, be aware that these greens are spicy. Tob-asco called it "death spinach." It wasn't bad, just a kick in the face that we weren't expecting.

• Apple Cobbler: Wait for this to cool down, before you eat it! We all nearly burned our mouths. But, it was the perfect end to a soul food meal...the cobbler, not the burning.

Oh I almost forgot to mention, the music here is amazing! Nothing like some soul jams.

Souley Vegan
301 Broadway, Oakland

Quick Summary of Beer Revolution and the Trappist (for those who are curious):

Beer Revolution: A bit divey, but has an incredibly extensive beer selection. There are refrigerator cases filled with bottles, and they have blackboards filled with on-tap options. You can apparently bring food from Souley Vegan over to eat or there's also a Tamale guy that goes around offering people...tamales.

The Trappist: I almost want to say that the mood of the place is the complete opposite of Beer Revolution. It has a cute European pub feel, and there's a front bar and a back bar. Their selection is also quite extensive, but seems less so when compared to the Bevmo beer-ness of the previous place.

Beer Revolution
464 3rd Street, Oakland

The Trappist
460 8th Street, Oakland