we're considering opening up a little cafe?!

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I like veggie sandwiches. At a former job, I was near a healthy foods restaurant that had a hummus and veggie pita. You could put a schmear of hummus in a pita, then load it up with lettuce, tomato, cucumbers, onions, whatever veggies, and maybe a spritz of lemon juice. You could also do a hummus wrap with a variety of vegetables. How about rice bowls with the customer's choice of meat and veggies? For veg*an customers, you could offer grilled tofu or a meat analogue (such as Gardein). I suggest making all the soups vegan. Nobody will miss the meat--you could do mushroom barley soup, a root vegetable puree, a vegetable soup, and so on.

The dishes I like depend on the occasion. But I offered a few lunch-type suggestions.

I own a full blown restaurant for omnis and vegetarians so our menu is a bit more complicated than what you would have in mind. If I get you correctly, the size of your establishment calls for a much smaller single page menu with at most 4-5 options for each (4-5 sandwiches, 4-5 salads etc) dish type. Wraps, paninis, bread sandwiches can all fall under one heading with the option being the type of bread or can be served as a salad. And in cafe type restos, I prefer dishes to be light, snack type finger foods and pastries. Trick is to concentrate on a few dishes and do it better than most other places so you will be recognized
Sample
"BLT - Classic bacon lettuce and tomato with ....."
panini $ (price)
wrap $(price)
on whole wheat $(price)
vegetarian - mushroom or avocado, lettuce, tomato
You get the picture.
Remember you cannot satisfy everyone but you can build loyalty in those you do. And trust me, there are not enough vegan customers for you to bother and be specific with "vegan" after each dish. Not worth the headache they are sure to give you from nit picking individual ingredients (to see if if they are really "vegan" or not) to questioning your facilities ( cross contamination, etc) to menu changes you may not be really willing to do to complaining that one ingredient or other is not really "vegan" and therefore you are falsely advertising and must be sued.

whole grain pancakes,whole grain muffins, whole grain cookies, whole grain cakes, whole grain pies, ice cream, and smoothies.also do a lot of marketing in and around the area where you and your friends might open up a little cafe.marketing as in leaflets on the little cafe in and around the area the little cafe would open.also marketing in websites like

happy cow at http://www.happycow.net

vegetarian-restaurants at http://www.vegetarian-restaurants.net

vegetarian dining at http://www.vegdining.com/Home.cfm

vegetarian guide at http://www.vegguide.org

the vegetarian travel guide at http://www.vegetarianusa.com/restaurants…
of http://www.vegetarianusa.com

the vegetarian resource group at http://www.vrg.org

vegan world order at http://www.veganworldorder.com

http://www.happycow.net

http://www.vegetarian-restaurants.net

http://www.vegdining.com/Home.cfm

http://www.vegguide.org

http://www.vegetarianusa.com

http://www.vrg.org

http://www.veganworldorder.com

Opening a little cafe will be nice. I am vegetarian, so I enjoy: burritos, tacos, ceasar salads, soups, subs (cheese, mayo, lettuce, etc.), also Boca and other brands of meatless products are good. Those are like: meatless meatballs, chicken pattis, ham, chicken nuggets, burgers.

Sweet potato fries are always a big hit.
Fake meat can be a favorite for those vegans that only eat out on special occasions. Offer things that would be hard for a vegan to find or make at home, like a (fake) gyros sandwich, or philly cheese steak.

The vegan cafes in chicago

Meat- Chicken sandwiches are good. I have those at my lunch at my school almost everyday :3.

Vegetables- Salads, fruits :)

If you want one\ of meat and vegetables, do a taco salad :3.
Jake

Anything not bland or kinda tasteless.

Southwest roasted tofu wraps are good. It's beans, rice, seasoned tofu, lettuce, guac, etc. Love it.

I love going to vegan cafes for yummy/somewhat healthful baked goods and tea.
If you're doing sandwiches maybe wraps too?

try hero sandwiches? and soups too. maybe a homemade mac n cheese, salads. cornbread, cakes muffins cookies...these are some things id expect to see in a cafe...thts about it! And good luck!

Falafels, vegan breads (I can never eat restaurant bread), and desserts! :3

Vegan

Burritos for all.

I'm addicted.

Calzone, just a pesto one is fine.

pastrami