Funk played overhead, as musicians set up for open mic. As the lights above the stage burned bright, it felt like a welcomed return to the good ol’ days.
The first act barreled out an original tune before enduring some technical difficulties. Cafe co-owner Jason Wussow offered up his guitar. All was well as more customers and music-appreciators filtered in.
Wussow’s offers a mix of locally produced everything — posters spoken word Thursdays and open-mic Wednesdays — also a Naughty Bird sandwich with Ferndale smoked turkey or the sausage pepper panini with protein from Yker Acres or Superior Small Batch.
The advertised a collab with Lift Bridge Bagels next to a “no soup for you” magnet on the specials board.
There’s no upcharge for gluten-free bread or veggie substitutes — a definite plus, so I ordered the breakfast melt with gluten-free sunflower wheat, a quality vegan bread. Crunchy, hearty and warming, this bread tastes substantial with bits of sunflower seed freckling its crusts.
This sammy comes with a thin layer of mozzarella, the freshest pesto, a cooked egg and your pick of protein: Yker or veggie sausage, ham, smoked turkey, bacon or smoked lake trout.
I went with the vegetarian sausage, which was well-flavored and executed with a perfect, meat-like consistency.
I enjoyed every bite, and I didn’t know how hungry I was until I was halfway through.
I topped brinner off with a vegan scotcharoo, a newer addition to Wussow’s case of baked goodness. As with the O.G., this treat is a solid brick of peanut butter and rice cereal covered with a thick layer of butterscotch and vegan chocolate.
The vegan scotcharoo at Wussow’s Concert Cafe is a solid brick of deliciousness. Also: peanut butter, rice cereal, vegan chocolate and butterscotch.
Melinda Lavine / Duluth News Tribune
Delicious and less sugary-tasting than the original, which, depending on what you’re going for, can be a benefit.
The breakfast melt for brinner was the perfect, warming meal on an oddly-for-anywhere-but-Minnesota cool summer day, and you can’t beat that for $8.50.
324 N. Central Ave., Duluth
218-624-5957