Usually, when I eat tempeh, it’s fried up, sauced up, grilled up, or sliced wafer-thin and marinated to bejeezy.

Tonight I sat down with a simpler tempeh. Unspoiled, like the girl in that book who later got way into speed—before the speed, when she still made her own clothes and helped her little sister with her homework. Tonight’s tempeh was simply steamed in a bit of Bragg’s, liquid smoke, cayenne, and garlic powder for just a few minutes, then browned in a skillet with a touch of olive oil.

If you’re new to tempeh or just have never been crazy about it, this may not be for you. I, however, adore its naturally nutty flavor, so throwing it on a bun with onion, pickles, and lettuce does the job for me. (Tom added mustard to his, but that’s ’cause his senses are clogged with allergies and he can only taste half of what he eats.) With the steaming, the texture is light and tender—and there’s no question what you’re eating. It’s not a super-processed veggie burger.

I don’t know if you can get it where you live, but my co-op (People’s) has giant slabs of tempeh that I cut up into meal-size portions and freeze. It’s way cheaper than the 8-ounce blocks and it tastes fresher too!

Awesome idea. Whether you’re not home or unconscious due to smoke inhalation, the firefighters will know you’ve got critters in your apartment. In my building of more than 100 units, I think the doors would be completely covered. But we live in a super-new building with sprinklers and big automatic fire doors and stuff, so fingers crossed, I guess. Or everyone could have one on their individual doors, which would also help in the case of repairfolk. Hmmm.

On to the food! My first full day there, after accompanying my mom to a couple of medical institutions, we headed to (where else?!) Chicago Diner for take-out and shot down LSD to Navy Pier, where this friggin’ bird would not leave us alone. Others came and went, but he just sat there, fluffin’ his feathers, lettin’ out a little birdy bark now and then. Nope, I didn’t share, no matter how he begged. It’s Navy Pier, there’s tons of stuff for him to eat.

So here’s the basic Chicago Diner burger. I can’t believe I’ve never had one before. It’s pretty tomato-y (think Field Roast) and tangy, and between that and the mound of sweet potato fries, I could only eat half. (But the rest was great for dinner!) My mom got the black bean burger but she put—gasp!—real cheese on it so I refused to photograph it. She also got through about half, which is pretty darn good for her. She got the potatoes and said they were perfect. As if the food we couldn’t get through wasn’t enough, we also split a strawberry shake. Since we weren’t at the restaurant and didn’t have a menu in front of us, I freaked out a little over the shake. It was so rich and creamy and soy-taste-less that I started to wonder if it was vegan. Today, if I were to drink a dairy shake, I imagine it’d give me quite the tummyache. Oh, I kept drinking it. When I got home, I checked. The shakes are indeed vegan. How do they do it?!

I went back to Chicago Diner with a friend later in the week. I’d told them about Veggie Thing, and how the ravioli had made it to the Top Choices page, so Chef Kim said the next time I was in, dessert was on her. Oh my friggin’ frig. This is the Raspberry Mocha, and it’s not really that pink. That’s just how the photo turned out. Whatever, I like it. And that’s my friend Amy on the other side of it. She’s omni, but she dug into that thing as fiercely as I did. Again, how do they do it?!

And on to Green Zebra. I cannot tell you how amazing this dish was. Looks totally simple, right? It’s slow-roasted shitakes and cabbage in crispy potato, like a spring roll, in a broth with more shitakes and cabbage. As you can see, there’s not much here, so it killed me to give up a single bite, but I had to share with my friend so she could experience the savory roundhouse kick this thing was hiding in its little crispy potato wrapper.

Green Zebra is vegetarian, aside from one seafood dish, and they have at least one vegan item per course. They’re small plates and they will cost you. If you’ve got the tummyspace, the $55 tasting menu is actually worth it. I ended up spending almost that on a cocktail (rum, berries, and mint), this, a side of grilled corn on the cob, regular ol’ coffee, and dessert. Worth it.

And what was for dessert? Blueberry strudel, peach granita, sliced peaches, and candied pecans. The flavors all worked amazingly together, and it was the perfect size. It was the perfect end to a perfect meal. If you’re in Chicago and have an excuse or an expense account…

Finally, an old favorite from the omni days, Leona’s. They’re sprinkled throughout the city, and apparently my parents live in close-enough suburbs to have one near them too! We met my brother for lunch, and while he got a grease-drippin’ meatburger, I got the Big Fat Vegan Burger. You never know what you’re going to get when you order the vegan burger. If it doesn’t say Boca or Gardenburger, you could get one of those squishy things that you end up eating with a fork. Not today, my friends. This held up pretty well, and it tasted like stuffing. My mom didn’t believe me so I gave her a taste. Agreed. Thanks-friggin’-givin’ stuffing. With roasted mushrooms and onions on this pretzel roll, I was in burger-lovin’ heaven. Again, only made it through half and the rest became dinner. Thank you, old friend, for having this for me.

So that’s it. Last Chicago round-up. Until next year at least.

In spite of my dislike of beer, I found myself at Mash Tun (on Alberta) for the grub of pubs. Tom and I sat at a picnic table in the back patio, which was far more charming than the inside. I haven’t sat in a really good patio since Brooklyn, so this was super and duper. And instead of having a single vegan option (required if you’re on Alberta), the menu has several vegetarian and vegan items, marked as such.

Tom had the black bean burger (friggin’ huge!), and while it was a little loose in consistency, as expected, he said he’d definitely order it again. It packed a flavor puch, with a lot of spice, and you can see the half avocado there and the mountain of greens. Oh, and the red stuff is salsa.

I went with the vegan BLATO, hold the Veganaise. I make this sandwich at home, but I call it the BLOAT ’cause I’m a wise-ass. Between the two sandwich halves, there’s a whole avocado there. And I don’t know why onion isn’t standard on any BLT.

Both of us got fries on the side. I L-U-V skinny fries with the peels on, and that’s just what these were. So potato-y and crispy.

So for a pretty cheap lunch at an untested restaurant, we were delightfully surprised. I’d want to go back on a clear summer night so I could look up at the stars whilst chomping away and trying to ignore the drunkards.

Saving the wonton ravioli for next time, we went with the polenta fries. These normally come with a vegan garlic mayo, so sayeth the waitress, but vegan or no, I hate mayo. We got a side of marinara instead. The “fries” are little breaded herbed polenta fingers. A little on the unhealthy side, perhaps, but they were pretty darn good. I’ll probably make this one at home sometime.

Tom got the Boca burger again, armed with avocado and jalapenos. The fact that this is served on sourdough toast still puzzles me. If they’re so on top of things that they have vegan options for many of their foods, why not carry a vegan bun/roll? I guess this is made up for by the extra Boca patty and the mountain of fries.

I got the tempeh BLT plus onion (yes, that’s a bite taken out of the sandwich—I was so hungry I almost forgot to take pictures) and sweet potato fries. I would have put a second layer of tempeh on there—the strips are so thin they get lost. Then again, I still had a tough time finishing it. That’s a lot of food.

This is what I was trying to show you last time but my camera’s Ebola was kickin’ in for the final bleed-out. I was able to get past the inappropriate apostrophe in “da’beers” to appreciate this drinker’s little helper. The wines listed were all apparently vegan and all but three beers are. I don’t drink beer or wine, but considering this place is half bar, a lot of people do. And who knows, it might make someone ask what might make a beer not vegan, gross them out, and make them rethink some things.

Oh wait—that’s super uncool. My camera started doing this every once in a while, throwing crazy color bands through the image, which it refuses to focus. Sometimes this actually looks interesting, if you’re not trying to read words. What I was attempting to show you here was the drink menu on the table at Hungry Tiger Too. Next to some of the beers, it says “not vegan.” That’s pretty cool for an omni joint. The menu also has a little symbol next to items with vegan options.

We each got a “burger” on sourdough toast, Tom the Boca and I the portabella. The only other vegan bread option was rye, and that sounded even weirder, so we weren’t expecting much from our sandwiches that would surely resemble what Eddie Murphy was served as a child. (If you don’t get the reference on your own, I can’t help you, other than to say I believe it was from Raw.)

I’m happy to say we were pleasantly surprised. And I’m not sure, but those might have been the tastiest sweet potato fries I’ve had. (There’s a place around 10th and Broadway in New York that may have them beat, but I might be romanticizing them.) Of course you get no pictures of any of this.

The verdict? We could take Tom’s parents there for a lunch or early dinner. I guess after 7:00 it gets more bar-like. The other verdict? I need a new camera. I can probably get one twice as powerful as the one I have now for a third of the price I paid five years ago. Sick!

UPDATE: Check out the new vegan menu here.