Jerry's Sandwiches and Deli: A True Revelation

When I'm in my vegetarian mode, there's nothing more appealing than the thought of a sandwich. But the heartache seeps in pretty quickly—it's next to impossible to find a good one made for a veggie.
When I hit the point where I just can't stomach one more caprese sandwich on foccacia bread or another roasted vegetable and portabella mushroom concoction, I'll admit it—I start to crave a meaty sandwich full of thinly-shaved ham, crisp lettuce, brilliant red tomatoes and slathers of mayo on soft white bread. It's just the simple, but I can't bring myself to order the meat-filled wonder these days.

Veggie Sausage @ The Lake Side Cafe

There are some mornings when I wake up thinking, My God!  I could eat a pound of bacon...unfortunately, I cant bring myself to do it anymore (all those poor little pigs), but what I can do is slam a handful of the awesome veggie sausages at one of my fave vegan eateries, Lake Side Cafe.  This little gem of a place has some of the best veggie links and the line is nothing like Victory Banner.  I raved about their veggie polish sausage and now that I'm moving to the 'hood (E. Rogers Park)--really just a few blocks away--I'm gonna have to try every single thing on their menu.  They also have those crazy cheap vegetarian cooking classes ($15 each) and just a good, positive vibe rolling around.  Time to flip out and get healthy, no???

Lake Side Cafe & An Awesome Veggie Polish {From The Raving Dish}

Being a vegetarian is an on-again, off-again process for me. I can go months without ever thinking about meat and find myself preaching, "You know you're eating the fear that the animal experienced when it died, right?" Then out of nowhere I'm slammed with an animalistic urge to devour entire legs of lamb, to slurp down half a spit-fired pig, or to go on a citywide hunt for the juiciest cheeseburger I can find.

This impulsive feeding frenzy hasn't happened in quite some time, and now that I've discovered the best place to get my vegetarian Polish sausage fix, I'm one step closer to saying no to meat forever.