Photograph by Katherine Bish

Oh, Vegadeli, what a Teese you are.

For starters, you’re a vegan café/deli that opened back in October in a Schnucks shopping plaza out in way-West County. Way to create an intriguing air about you, Vegadeli! My friends and I were shocked to hear that you hadn’t debuted somewhere within the city, amongst all the cruelty-free, up-with-sorghum sweethearts we know. But no, you decided to stick to the suburbs…which is cool. You’ve probably got a thing or two to teach us about how healthy, eco-conscious eating ain’t just for (city?) kids anymore. Plus, thanks to your 636 locale, we think our parents are really gonna like you. I mean, we’ll make the trek, too. But way to play hard to get, Vegadeli!

Anyway, the drive out is a commitment we’re willing to make, because your tempting assortment of smoothies, sandwiches, soups, salads, and sweets—all of them 100 percent vegan, artificial ingredient–free, and fresh-never-frozen—had us at “hold the mayo.”

Let’s start with your soups. Your corn chowder is the best I’ve ever had—precisely because your “no animal products” rule means there’s no cream base. I like cream-based soups, but since you had to figure out a way to work around that, your results are less candied-tasting than typical corn chowders. In fact, your corn chowder boasts a unique, grassy freshness, plus lots of whole corn kernels. And don’t even get me started on your purple tomato-beet soup. (When I asked your owners, Aaron and Leah Mensey, how that soup is made, I was told only that it uses three kinds of tomatoes, plus some locally and organically grown beets and spices. Then I was suggestively told that I’d have to “buy the cookbook to get more details.” Oh Vegadeli, you really know how to lead a girl on!)

And your sandwiches. Vegadeli—I thought I knew tuna-salad sandwiches. I grew up on tuna-salad sandwiches. Tuna-salad sandwiches are a friend of mine. But the tuna salad in your tuna-salad sandwich—though ravishingly delicious—had this green hue and porridge-like consistency that was foreign to me. Turns out, it’s an “un-tuna” sandwich, made with garbanzo beans and seaweed! You’re just full of tricks up your sleeve, aren’t you, Vegadeli—you little Vegavixen!

I have never really been into smoothies, but I had to give yours a whirl. I now get why some people fall so madly in love with them: Yours was thick but not overly rich, sweet but not sugary. I was less thrilled by your herbed potatoes and your mac and cheese—both could’ve used much more of an herbaceous kick. But that’s OK, Vegadeli. Nobody’s perfect.

And besides, there was still your yellow cake with chocolate icing left to try. Oh. My. God! Again, the best I’ve ever had. Moist beyond compare, with a decadently powerful chocolate scent. (Made me feel like those cartoon characters who get led away nose-first by fingers of aromatic steam.) And again, the Menseys left me with frustratingly little to go on—they’d only tell me that their sweets use a lot of unbleached whole-wheat or soy flour, soy or rice milk, and blue-agave nectar as a natural sweetener. I’d embarrass myself John Cusack–style, holding a boombox in the Schnucks parking lot, to get another piece of that cake.

Oh, and last but not least, there’s the Adventurer, your most daring—and therefore most aptly named—sandwich. Stacked between two slices of multigrain bread are avocado, soy nut butter, and…Teese, your organic soy cheese that’s shipped in from Chicago. I really need to trust a place, Vegadeli, before I’ll put a soy cheese/avocado/soy nut butter sandwich in my mouth. And I’m glad I did. It was fantastic. And once again, Vegadeli, you’ve left me wanting more.

The Bottom Line: You, too, can fall in love with a West County oxymoron.

Address: 177 Hilltown Village Center, Chesterfield
Phone: 636-536-6938
Website: vegadeli.com
Hours: Lunch and dinner Tue–Sat
Average Main Course: $6