Day 23 - Sloppy Joseph

I've never really been that much a part of the sloppy joe phenomenon. I always figured that if you wanted ground meat and sauce, might as well throw in some pasta and garlic bread. Limiting the sauce/meat concoction to a mere white bread bun seemed like a copout, like you're just settling for a substandard meal.

Even the name grosses me out a little. Who was Joe and what exactly reminded someone of him when they were naming a greasy, meaty, oozing sandwich? Not so pleasant now that I think about it.

Mmmmm, just like Lunchlady used to make


Regardless, we took another expedition into the jungle of vegantown in search of a decent faux-meat meal. Our hunt brought us to a Southeast side classic, Paradox Cafe.

Yes, they have a vegan sloppy joe (Sloppy Joseph) on the menu. Although there were tons of other choices to pick from, my eye kept wandering back to this unlikely and unassuming entree.

What was it about the "meat"/sauce combo that had me hooked this time? I couldn't say what sounded so good, but the sloppy joseph had to be mine.

And so it was. Open-faced, piled high with tomatoes, onions, spices and good ol' TVP all blended and heated into a slag pile of molten vegan goodness. Served up on a plate that looked as if it was subbing in for the first string plate and was not prepared for the line-backer of a portion that body-tackled the unsuspecting dish at a full sprint.

If you want to talk soul food, nothing beats an enormous portion of meat and bread. If you want to talk VEGAN soul food, a little bit (or a lot-a-bit) of TVP can do wonders.

I ate everything, scraped the plate, and spent the rest of the afternoon wondering if my stomach had indeed exploded from the abuse that I willfully forced upon it.

So worth it.

Check out Paradox. Eat a lot or a little, just make sure to go in and order up some awesome food.

Be Healthy (and full!)
Brendan