I recently discovered a one-of-a-kind restaurant in the Shoppes at West Village in the Cave Spring area of Roanoke that specializes in delicious and healthy vegan cuisine. I have never… read more been a lover of vegan food but now see what I have been missing…interesting unique surprisingly succulent dishes such as mashed potatoes with quinoa burgers and gravy, spaghetti alla boscaiola and the recent addition of a pineapple and vegetable sandwich. Fast food chain restaurants abound in our city but this family-owned establishment is akin to a Beethoven symphony among ordinary ditties. My hope is that our community will support this nascent business enough to allow it not just to survive but thrive….to continue adding a even more exciting array of selections to their menu.

  My daughter arrived just outside of Roanoke for a wedding a few days before me. She warned me ahead of time that good vegan/vegetarian options were scarce. But I’m older,… read more wiser, and a more thorough researcher than she is, so it didn’t take me long to find Sir Vegaani on Yelp.

The place is tucked away in a shopping center, so easy to miss, but worth seeking out. Tastefully decorated with only a counter for seating. The couple running it are really lovely people.

The menu is small and changes daily, not sure to what extent. There were several tasty sounding options–pineapple stir fry, mac n cheese, mushroom sandwich, lemon pepper ‘shrimp’–so I had a hard time deciding what to order.

Ultimately I chose the Pineapple Sandwich with grilled pineapple, kale, red onion, tomato, cucumber, and guacamole. Not sure if there was also some kind of sauce in it or it was juice from the veggies.

You know how you can look straight at a pregnant woman and not know she is with child until she turns sideways and her swollen belly suddenly appears? That’s what happened with my sandwich. Opening the package, it looked normal enough. But the side view revealed a sandwich bursting out of the bread.

Piled thick and high with veggies, picking up and holding the sandwich required two hands. First bite was an explosion of flavors that complemented each other perfectly. I still consider myself a novice vegetarian (and not a very loyal one), mostly because, to me, the options are kind of boring. If I could eat at Sir Vegaani every day, I’d not have that problem. I really couldn’t believe how much flavor was packed into that sandwich.

I was tempted to take home a piece of the delightful looking lemon cake. But the wedding was later that day, so I figured I’d get wedding cake. Joke was on me because they had an ice cream and candy bar (millennials!) and didn’t serve wedding cake. Next time, I’ll order dessert and won’t concern myself with having two pieces of cake in one day. I still fantasize about how good that lemon cake must have tasted.

  Delicious, vegan without tasting like vegan ! We had the buffalo lions mane mushrooms tasted like chicken ! So good , chocolate crunch cake all 5 stars