Robert and I are both sick this weekend. It sucks. Neither of us felt much like going out for dinner so we did something we rarely do: ordered take-out. I don’t have anything against take-out; it’s just not part of our normal routine. Occasionally we will pick up piroshkies from My Favorite Piroshky or burritos from Tacos Guaymas but, for the most part, I either or cook or we dine out in restaurants as these are two of my favorite pastimes.

Last night, we headed up to the Hillside Quickie Cafe for gourmet vegan sandwiches. The Hillside Quickie restaurants are run by the Howell siblings from Tacoma, WA. Their mother, a follower of the Rastafarian religion and diet, began a wholesale vegan food business several decades ago (I remember buying her Jamaican tofu sandwiches in health food stores a long time ago.) These days, the family owns two cafes, the original Hillside Quickie Vegan Sandwich Shop in the U-District and the newer Hillside Quickie Cafe on Capitol Hill. The Capitol Hill location is tiny but cheerful, with lime green walls and about 5 small tables and lots of windows. It mostly does take-out business. Luckily for us, it is located only a few blocks from our apartment.

The Hillside Quickie Cafe serves only organic, vegan foods. The menu mainly features sandwiches and wraps filled with some sort of flavored tofu, tempeh or seitan. Some of the more interesting choices include the Mama Africa which is a quinoa millet burger, the Fire Roasted Yam which comes with smoked seitan and smoked yams, and the Big Fish, a mock fish burger made with breaded tempeh. There are also daily specials including their semi-famous Macaroni & Yease (made with nutritional yeast.) When we were there, the deli case was full of vegan pizzas. I’m not really into vegan food, especially when it comes to pizza, but these pies did look pretty good. One looked like it was spread with baba ganoush and another was piled several inches high with beautiful roasted vegetables.

Robert and I both ordered the same thing, the Crazy Jamaican Burger. And crazy it was! This sandwich consists of a jerk-marinated tofu burger topped with grilled onions, sweet heirloom tomatoes, fried plantains and vegan mayo all served on a hearty wheat bun. I think there was even a thin smear of potato salad in there as well which was totally unexpected. Our burgers came with a small side of barley and vegetable pilaf. It was all very tasty if a bit on the oily side (it may be vegan and organic, but it ain’t low fat.) The tofu itself had tons of flavor and the toppings made it even better. Even the tomatoes were sweet and good. Service can be a bit slow and the sandwiches aren’t exactly cheap ($8 to $9 each), but for the inventiveness and yummy flavor plus the fact that these sandwiches will more than fill you up, it is well worth the price. Besides, any place that serves fried plantains as a sandwich topping is okay in my book. The Hillside Quickie Cafe is located at 324 15th Ave. E.