Seattle's Essential Dishes: Mac and Yease from Sage Cafe

Photo courtesy Peter Mumford

Mac and Yease from Sage Cafe:

If you are a vegetarian or vegan, living and working in the greater Seattle area and trying to get through your daily grind without being cruel to any animals, then I'm willing to bet you already know all about Sage Cafe (formerly Hillside Quickie's Cafe, at 324 15th Avenue). I'll bet you know about their crepes, their sandwiches made of various soy-based meat substitutes, their cruelty-free soups and barbecue. For you, Sage is likely already essential in that most basic of ways: If you wanna eat out in a town not exactly overflowing with excellent vegan options, then you have to know about this place.

But for the rest of you--for those who haven't dedicated their lives to the worship of sprouts, twigs and the humble soy bean? You are who I'm speaking to today. Because if you miss out on the "mac and yease" (vegan macaroni, in a cheese sauce made with no actual cheese, jumped up with a bunch of Cajun spices) at Sage just because you don't have to eat it--because you can go anywhere and get real mac-and-cheese made with full-cruelty ingredients and eat it without making any sort of political or moral statement at all--you're going to be missing out on something that not only defines the upper end of vegan cooking in this city, but really tastes good to boot.

This dish is one of those that, in my mind, manages to surpass any discussions of vegans versus omnivores and all the ugly name-calling that tends to occur whenever any meat-eater and plant fan sit down to try and discuss cuisine. It is a dish that is simply good, all on its own, and is one of those rare plates that, while mimicking a dish beloved in the non-vegan canon, manages to be better than many examples of the original article.

Don't believe me? Then get down there and try it for yourself. It's one of those dishes that you simply have to taste before forming an opinion about vegan eating in general--a beautiful example of smart cooks working hard with the ingredients available. And it is an essential step on the way to understanding the food city that Seattle is, and the food city it is trying to become.