Unlike speedy in-and-out coffee shops, cafés indulge fantasies of sneaking off through misty European streets paved with pain au chocolat and lined with biscotti parking meters. Indulge in savory streetside fare with today's Groupon: for $5, you get $10 worth of vegan and vegetarian fare and organic tea and coffee at Firestorm Cafe & Books.

Firestorm Cafe & Books is a staff-owned cooperative with a thoughtfully assembled menu comprised of organic and locally sourced vegan and vegetarian fare, tea, and coffee. Tempeh gyros fuel chew machines with grilled tempeh and veggies in tzatziki sauce on hot pita bread ($6.50), and the Pacific curry wrap mellows appetites with fresh vegetables and fruit that, like most advanced board-riders, surf on waves of creamy curry dressing ($5.90). Layered with maple-baked tofu, tomato, spinach, and thin-sliced red onion, the maple barbecue panini ($7.90) equips palates for the looming army of signature world-conquering cupcakes ($2.20) and daily baked double-chocolate brownies ($2.20). The café's organic teas and coffees—concocted from ethically traded Counter Culture Coffee beans—tidily conclude meals and accompany readings from the bookstore's collection of independently published novels, treatises, and important refrigerator notes.

Dedicated to community, accessibility, and alternative economic structures, the operators of Firestorm Cafe make all of their recipes available to the public free of charge. Although all dishes are vegan, orders can be customized to accommodate dietary desires and restrictions such as allergies to gluten. Check out the café's calendar of horizon-expanding events such as book readings, open mic nights, and rabbits pulling magicians out of hats.