This is probably our most-requested dish to make with our crispy seitan cutlets. And this is hardly a recipe, but mostly just guidelines for how to pile hot, gooey, savory things on top our our delicious seitan. Traditionally, this grinder (or hoagie, or sub, or hero...) is made from breaded and fried chicken breasts. But you've got our wicked tasty, hand-battered, southern-fried seitan, so grab those babies instead! It's perfect comfort food for good devils.

We learned some things while putting this dish together. First, the interwebs is split down the middle in terms of the primary cheese used in a Parm sub. Call me a stickler, but Parmesan should make an appearance on a Parm sub. Lots of recipes omit the Parm entirely and use only mozzarella. Or provolone! Holy hell, what's a devil to do? We used a mix of all three, and we encourage you to use your favorite(s) in proportions to your liking.

Second, we surveyed you devils on Instagram about your favorite plant-based cheeses. We got lots of responses, because there are happily lots of options out there today. Our service menu at Bartleby's Food is soy-free and nut-free, so we're tipping our horns to these brands that follow suite:

1. Violife. All products are 100% vegan, and free of soy, nuts, gluten, and lactose. In this recipe, you might like the Mozzarella Shreds, Smoked Provolone Slices, and Parmesan Wedge. The wedge is just as sturdy as the animal-milk version, and made perfect shredded bits in our box grater. 
2. GOOD PLANeT. Non-GMO and allergen-free. On your Hellacious Hero, try their shreds of Mozzarella or Smoked Mozzarella, or Parmesan. You could also layer down slices of Smoked Provolone.
3. Daiya Foods. The Mozzarella Shreds are free of dairy, gluten, soy, and nuts.
4. Follow Your Heart. Double check the labels on the product lines, but some cheese variations are soy-free as well as dairy-free.
5. Thrive Market. Vegan Parmesan-Style Cheese Alternative.

​A printable PDF version is available at the bottom of the page. Stay well and eat wickedly, dearest demons.

PDF Printable Version:
Bartleby's_Food_BAH_recipe_printable_hellacious_parm_hero.pdf (2 MB)

Knowing better allows us to do better. Running a small business creates profound connections with members of the local community. Since its inception, Bartleby's has made it a priority to create positive change within the circles we operate―through our hiring choices, our partnerships with other local entrepreneurs, our picks for food suppliers, even the makers from whom we gather inspiration for new creations. We're not perfect, but we remain committed to listening, learning, and striving always to do better in support of the Black community.

As a part of the food industry, and we have many outstanding peers working hard to bring their good eats to the people. Black-owned businesses had already been hit hard because of COVID-19 closures, and in the wake of the brutality and unrest of the last couple weeks, these folks need our help more than ever.

Consider supporting these businesses in our birthplace (Boston) and in our new headquarters (Northwest Arkansas). Some are open for take-out, some are offering gift certificates for future business, some have staff funds set up to which you can contribute. And if you're not able to send along your dollars, you can still amplify their voices by sharing their names, re-posting their messages, and talking to your friends and family about their existence.

Being a plant-based business ourselves, we want to highlight these Black-owned vegan restaurants and services:

• Oasis Vegan Veggie Parlor (Dorchester). Soulful stews, vegetables, and grains with Ethiopian and Jamaican influences.
• Clarke's Cakes & Cookies (Dorchester). Delicious cakes,cupcakes, pastries, and cookies―all plant-based.
• Discover Vegans (Boston). Woman-owned, pop-up, plant-based catering service.
• Vegan Nest Cafe (Worcester). Sandwiches, bowls, smoothies, and obsession-worthy soft serve.
• Veganish Foodies (Springfield). Affordable plant-based catering, multiple vegan burger options, and their magic Everthang Sauce.

Other omnivore/carnivore places that are part of the southern-fried family of food folks:

• Maxine's on Saint James (Roxbury). Southern! The best dinner in Roxbury. Banana pudding!
• Next Step Soul Food Cafe (Dorchester). Fried chicken, collards, candied yams, and other southern delights.
• The Coast Cafe (Cambridge). Southern-cooked Soul Food. Fried chicken, mac and cheese, sweet potato pie.
• Petsi Pies (Somerville). Exquisite pies, both sweet and savory, including FOUR VEGAN VERSIONS!

And there are SO MANY more. The Boston Globe has gathered a large list here: "Support Boston's Black-owned restaurants".
Pammy's in Cambridge shared a list of "60+ Black-Owned Restaurants to Support in Greater Boston," and @taste_andsea compiled a general list of Black-owned business, including restaurants.

Holy hell, there's a vegan kitchen in NWA! Huge devil props out to Mary:

• Mary's Vegan Kitchen (Bentonville). All plant-based cakes, pastries, brownies, cobblers. Some gluten-free options, too.

A little farther out we have...

• MeMe's Twisted Potato (Little Rock). Homemade sauces, sausages, cheese, burgers, and sandwiches―made with produce from local farmers or grown in MeMe's own garden.

And some other omnivore/carnivore selections. We're highlighting just a handful here that are neighbors to our own southern-fried stylings.

• KDK's Chicken and Waffles (Fayetteville). Soul food, chicken and waffles (duh), loaded fries, and peach cobbler.
• Williams Famous Fried Chicken & Soul Food (Bentonville). Name pretty much says it all.
• Kinley's Soul Food and Catering (Fayetteville). Po' Boys, nachos, seafood platters, cornbread, sweet potatoes.

And more!

• Fruit of the Vine Market (Johnson). Sourcing meat, fish, eggs, seeds, nuts, fruits and veggies from local farms and makers in Arkansas.
• The Nines (Bentonville). Cocktail bar.
• Rollin' in the Dough (Fayetteville). Cookies and bakery.
• Second Hand Smoke (Fayetteville). Where old-school BBQ, made with love, intersects with community service.
• Avenue Smokers (Cave Springs). The best thing smoking... brisket, ribs, pulled pork, etc. 
• Zanzibar Kitchen (Rogers). Pop-up/mobile restaurant serving food representing East Africa. Dishes representing cuisines from Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda.
• Meme's Caribbean Flavour (Rogers). Hand pies, jerk wings, doubles, pelau, and other specialties.
• Recipes and Barbecue (Springdale).
• Karen's Kreations and Delights (Springdale). Homemade desserts.
• Wes' BBQ (Fayetteville).
• Amoke (Rogers). West African cusine.
• Herman's Ribhouse (Fayetteville). Since 1964.
• Yolanda's Cakes, LLC (Bentonville).

VegOut Magazine has compiled a list of Black-Owned Vegan and Vegan Friendly Restaurants in the U.S.
VegOut Magazine also has a list of 21 Black-Owned Vegan Food Brands to Support Right Now.
VegWorld Magazine has a similar list of Black-Owned Vegan Restaurants & Eats By State.

Rolling Stone Magazine says Here’s Where You Can Donate to Help Protests Against Police Brutality.
New York Magazine has a list of 115 Ways to Donate in Support of Black Lives and Communities of Color.

We've long been know as a #SauceBoss, and our next Bartleby's at Home recipe is more evidence in favor of that moniker. As we edge closer to reopening the online store, Bartleby's Seitan Shop, we're putting together a bunch of recipes that use our crispy seitan cutlets and craggy nuggz so you can create devilicious meals at home. Today, we present Seitan & Satay Sauce. This rich peanut-based sauce hits those savory-sweet buttons, and it's silky-smooth consistency is a great match with our hot, hand-battered seitan cutlets.

If you're a nut-free devil, feel free to swap in sun butter, or another seed butter of your choice. A printable PDF version is available at the bottom of the page. Stay well and eat wickedly, dearest demons.

SEITAN & SATAY SAUCE
Traditionally, this dish would be made with roasted peanuts, but most of us in the United States have easy access to peanut butter, which speeds the preparation of this dish. It's not for devils who are faint of heart. A lot of good fats appear in the peanut butter and coconut milk, and the sauce is so good you'll just want to drink it straight from the pot. You've been warned.

Maybe you heard the HOT TEASER, that after being completely shut down because of COVID-19, we've finally been able to take the steps toward opening our new kitchen space and getting Bartleby's Seitan Shop, our online store, back up and running. This means that soon you'll be able to order our crispy seitan cutlets and nuggz for delivery anywhere in the 48 states. HOLY HELL! We are wicked excited.
​
​If you've still got a stash of cutlets in the freezer, you can use them in this Bartleby's at Home recipe for Seitan Piccata. Recipe here below, and a handy-dandy printable PDF version, too, if you roll that way (that's at the bottom of the page). Be sure to tag us (@bartlebysfood) and use hashtag #bartlebysathome if you try this dish (or any of the others we're working on).

PDF Printable Version:
Bartleby's_Food_BAH_recipe_printable_seitan_piccata.pdf (743 KB)

Hi Devils,

We have some big news. In many ways this change is exciting, full of opportunity and potential. In other ways, it is heartbreaking.

We are moving Bartleby’s headquarters from its birthplace in Massachusetts to northwest Arkansas. And not because we don’t love the amazing community here, because we do. Your smiling faces and hungry bellies have made our first two years in operation truly magical. We feel lucky to have so many incredible people who surround and support this project. I never thought this truck would make such a big impact―but wild dreams do come true. Mine certainly did.

Arkansas provides a really unique opportunity for Bartleby’s. There is a robust food truck community already established in Fayetteville, our destination, and the warmer climate will allow us to operate comfortably all year long. We are also looking to grow Bartleby’s menu, and in the heart of the south we can be immersed in the type of culinary scene that inspired our first recipes. The vegan lifestyle is becoming more mainstream: there are vegan options available at many restaurants, and a fully vegan restaurant slated to open over the next few months. Though the popularity of plant-based dining is surging in Arkansas, the demand currently exceeds the supply. Enter Bartleby’s. 

Practically speaking, the lower cost of living provides Bartleby’s the opportunity to build out a major headquarters: a location to expand into wholesale distribution, grow our online business, and establish a dedicated storefront. Arkansas also puts my partner and I hundreds and hundreds of miles closer to our families.

While I am thrilled to build a new home for Bartleby’s in a place with so much opportunity for growth, I am equally sad to leave Boston. Boston is home to me, and the birthplace of Bart. I am profoundly grateful to this city and all you devils who have come by to try some nuggz, grab a Deluxe sandwich, or drizzle your meals with our scratch-made sauces.

Near the end of February, we will take approximately two months off to make the move south, set up in our new commissary, secure our location permits, and so forth. We will relaunch the online shop once settled so you can still have Bartleby’s delivered right to your doorstep, wherever you’re located. We also have plans to bring Bartleby’s back to the northeast in a more permanent way, so this isn’t goodbye. I hope to see you at our last few truck shifts, pop-ups, and cooking classes to share some smiles and say “see you later!”

xo,​

Download a PDF version of this letter and schedule:
Bartleby's_Seitan_Stand_relocation_letter_Jan2020.pdf (159 KB)