Friday, September 20, 2013

Vegan MoFo VII: Sews Before Bros Freaky Friday!


MoFos...please welcome Erika to my blog for Freaky Friday.  -Mo


Hello and welcome to Freaky Friday! I’m Erika of Sews Before Bros and I’m excited to be here on Mo Betta Vegan! Mo told me today’s post theme would be failures and redemptions, and I immediately thought of Dante’s Weird Fish.

 Weird Fish was a teeny tiny little restaurant here in San Francisco known for their seafood and also their extensive vegan options. When I first started eating there years ago, they were renowned for their vegan fish & chips, hellfish (seitan) tacos with mango salsa, and buffalo girls (breaded and fried seitan with spicy buffalo sauce and ranch dressing). All this AND beer!

Then, in 2010—stormclouds. Drama! Betrayal! Weird Fish changed up their menu, and as a result, the vegan options were rounded down to a couple of salads (the only vegan option is a salad? STFU!!!!!). After a healthy back-and-forth with vegans on the interwebz, it took the owner a few weeks without sweet green vegan moolah to quietly bring back the buffalo girls. Which he then killed off again a few months later.

In 2012, Weird Fish changed hands and became Dante’s Weird Fish. True to form, the new owner inherited some drama. An early review of the newly re-opened restaurant was bungled when they served a buffalo girl. As in, a single buffalo girl. Hell hath no fury like vegans shortchanged on food! Thankfully, things were sorted out again and happy bellies made everything okay.


I’m happy to say that Dante’s Weird Fish is back in the swing of things, and it’s like nothing ever happened! Buffalo girls are plentiful and delicious- in fact, every time I order it I forget how much I’m going to get. I recently took advantage of a rare lull in the Mission District dining crush—a perfect storm of Burning Man weekend and a bridge closure—to enjoy a quiet night in the living room-sized restaurant. Part of Weird Fish’s charm is their ambient lighting, which also makes food photography impossible. Please accept my raggedy-looking (but still damn delicious) doggie bag instead!

Thanks to you for reading and thanks to Mo for hosting me!

6 comments:

Lazy Smurf said...

I think because of the drama Weird Fish is wired in my brain as a must try. It looks delicious!

Kendy P said...

I still do not think it has gotten as good as the first time around. Last time we ate there I got sick - I am not sure if it was due to them or the wine! I miss the old Buffalo Girls and vegan cheesecake!

Bianca said...

Yay for redemption! What were those people thinking taking vegan food off the menu? Assholes. Glad things are back to normal.

dreaminitvegan said...

What's up with that! Good to hear they came back to their senses on bringing back the vegan grub. I'm sure the salad tastes amazing! Have a great weekend!

vegan.in.brighton said...

Great Freaky Friday you guys! I need to fit in a visit to Weird Fish before I go home!

x said...

I'm glad the restaurant now has vegan options again! My fave vegan-friendly cafe that I have been going to for 7 years has removed all vegan options apart from 1 salad and then lied to me about the pancakes still being vegan *sob*