Sticky Fingers Bakery, Columbia Heights

I've been meaning to write about Sticky Fingers Bakery, on Park Road NW in Columbia Heights, for some time. In fact, every time I eat there, as I'm munching my vegan food the thought occurs to me. But then, by the time I get home, the moment has passed. But this time, I will not let that happen.

Sticky Fingers, a vegan bakery across the street from Mayorga, deserves significant props. I'm not a vegan, and I initially started going there only under duress (forced to by the lack of other options for a good, quick bite to eat in this neighborhood). But I quickly grew to appreciate it.

What put me off at first was that I associate vegan meals with feeling hungry and unsatisfied -- and with fake lunchmeats. Sticky Fingers does have the fake meats, if you really have to have that. But there are also some solid, yummy choices that are genuinely satisfying, like the vegan chili, and the chick pea sandwich. These choices have moved me away from my previous standard meal, the Italian sub -- so fewer animals are dying on my behalf, and I'm probably healthier, too.

The coffee is good too, although I take it black so I can't comment on what it's like with vegan cream. Atmosphere wise, the place is friendly, although if you were to walk in pimped out in your long fur coat, you might not feel so welcome. Even though it gets busy around lunchtime, it's rarely uncomfortably crowded. For all you protest kids, it now seems to be the derigeur post-rally stop -- after big protests downtown, you always see crowds dutifully shuffling from the Columbia Heights station in search of their vegan buns, like zombies in search of brains. Not the time to go if you seek to avoid a crowd, but on any other day, well worth repeated visits.