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

  Traveling on Christmas Day trying to find nonboxstore food is not easy. I tried an Asian restaurant that was not open (altho online said otherwise). Then I found a second… read more one. As I was leaving my car I saw Sir Vegaani and had no idea a vegan place was nearby let alone open. I walked in was greeted by the sweetest man who I believe is the owner/chef. He explained they had just  closed but he had made a plate for himself to take home. I said, are you sure, what will you eat? His gesture of kindness on that day was something I will never forget. And the food was beyond fabulous. Southern vegan homestyle love. So for fun I then went into the Asian restaurant next door and said the wait for takeout was 90 minutes. Someone was watching over me…..I can’t wait to return to Sir Vegaani in future travels…..