I’m eating vegan and vegetarian meals now more than ever, though I’m a full-on omnivore and a known appreciator of a good cheeseburger and killer carnitas.

And, sure, some of this change is because, like many of us, I want to be mindful of my diet. But in truth, there are plenty of days when I don’t eat meat at all, and it’s not because I’m trying. I like tofu, love a good vegetable plate and adore a salad full of spicy greens, sweet fruit and savory vegetables.

$10 Deal: At Fino’s, any sandwich can now be a salad

So eating at City Silo + Pantry, which is close and convenient to me and also bright and welcoming, is easy to do. It’s also, by the way, a nice place to work away from home when you’re working from home and need a change of scenery.

And it’s full of $10 Deals.

I met a friend for a late lunch last week, and everything we ordered was $10 or less. Though I sometimes order the $12 sunshine burrito at breakfast, a friend and I split it and the $8 Greek yogurt bowl, so there you go: $20 for two.

Scott and Rebekah Tashie opened the Sanderlin Avenue City Silo in 2016 and a second location in Saddle Creek in January 2021. The menus are the same in both places and are vegetarian except for a farm-raised chicken breast option that you can get as a sandwich or add to your otherwise meatless meal.

No need.

Let me introduce you to tempeh.

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I liked it so much when I first ate it at City Silo, back when it first opened, that I started buying it to eat at home, but it wasn’t the same. I claim the product I got in the grocery was inferior to theirs, which could be the truth, but whatever the case, it doesn’t taste the same in my house as it does at City Silo.

So I eat it there, and I often order the cauliwings for my meal or a snack. For the dish, cauliflower is marinated in a Buffalo sauce, and it’s served with grilled tempeh, celery and carrot sticks and a cashew ranch dip that doesn’t taste like ranch, but for me, that’s a good thing. It’s a creamy, simple and savory sauce that plays off the tangy hot sauce. Last week, we split it, and maybe I’ve eaten it so much that I take it for granted, but it was my friend’s favorite of the three dishes we tried. It also cost $10.

At her insistence, I ordered the Silo burger, house-made with black beans, kidney beans, lentils, quinoa, oats, spicy peppers, herbs and spices, served with the cashew ranch. I don’t like bean burgers very much, and only at this meal did I figure out why: The beans and the bun together can be too much. It makes for a dense mouth full, something you can chew on a good long while before it’s swallowable.

There’s a simple solution, of course. Eat the bean patty, which is delicious, and nibble on the bun; it’s $9. I meant to order cheese, which would have added $1, but I was glad I didn’t as I deconstructed it for eating.

But the winner, winner of our chicken-less dinner was the four tempeh sandwich. I can’t tell you why I haven’t ordered it before, except that by habit I order the cauliwings for my tempeh fix. This was excellent.

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Four strips of buffalo-marinated tempeh is served on simple wheat toast spread with lemony hummus, garnished with zucchini spirals, microgreens, spinach, pickles and sriracha mayo. Fabulous sandwich, and $9. You can add chips or a side salad for $1.50.

Quickly on the Greek yogurt bowl. You start with a scoop of creamy, protein-rich yogurt and add three toppings from a nice list that includes a good selection of fruit, nuts and seed, plus some fancier choices such as cacao nib and bee pollen. It’s all topped with your choice of agave or honey, and experience tells me it’s not just good for breakfast, but makes an energizing mid-afternoon snack when you miss lunch and can’t quite make it until dinner without something; it’s $8.

Most things on the menu are $10 or less; many items are $10.50 or $11, one or two are $12 and there’s a super-topped acai bowl that’s $13. You can easily stay true to a $10 Deal and have a meal that is good for you, in an open and light-filled room that invites you to linger a little outside of prime hours.

City Silo + Pantry, 5101 Sanderlin Ave. (901-729-6787) and 7605 W. Farmington Blvd. in Germantown (901-236-7223) are both open 7 a.m.-8 p.m., Monday through Thursday, and 7 a.m.-9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. The Sanderlin location is closed on Sunday; Germantown is open 9 a.m.-3 p.m.