"No thanks" to the circus; yes to growing food

In case you missed them, here are two stories that should be of interest to Minneapolis vegans.

Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale

Check out the annual Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale.  The only participating Minnesota event will be at Ethique Nouveau this Sunday, April 24th, from 1-4.  Elsewhere in the world, follow the link to find events taking place from April 23rd through May 1st.

Wayfare Cheddar Spread

I REALLY enjoy finding new vegan products on grocery store shelves. Here is a discovery I made at the Linden Hills Co-op. It's a cheddar-flavored spread by a company called Wayfare. The product is called "We Can't Say It's Cheese." I can confirm that the packaging is correct in claiming that the product melts. In fact, it seems to have a more robust flavor when you melt it on chips or crackers. I paid $3.49 for the 8 oz. container. The list of ingredients is pretty impressive (i.e., not bad for you). While I'm not sure this product will take the vegan world by storm, it's pretty tasty and I'll certainly buy it again some time.

Peoples Organic Coffee & Wine Cafe

I made my first trip to Peoples Organic Coffee & Wine Cafe last night. Owned by those responsible for the French Meadow, this is a "stylish" place located in Edina's Galleria. Because we were on our our way to a movie that was scheduled to start in less than an hour, and I was the only one in the group who hadn't already eaten dinner, I ordered a cup of chili and a raspberry bar in order to make it a quick trip. They indicated that a veggie burger would take about 20 minutes. Really good chili and a decent bar. Looking forward to a veggie burger next time. 

Mill City Vegan Visits Boston

I've been fortunate to have traveled to Boston four times since the late 1990s. Three visits have been for conferences related to my profession, and a family vacation accounted for the other trip. Each visit to this wonderfully walkable city has resulted in new vegan discoveries.

My flight arrived on a Friday night.  After checking into my Back Bay hotel, I headed straight for The Other Side Cafe, located a short walk from the Sheraton. I had enjoyed this place during a previous visit, so a return trip was in order. I indulged in the vegan burrito, which is quite possibly the world's perfect food. This vegan gem is stuffed full of all of the things that one should hope for in a burrito. I also like that it includes brown rice. The Other Side is a pretty loud and happening place on a Friday night.

I didn't have a lot of time to go out for breakfast during my time in Boston, so I usually found myself walking over to a nearby Whole Foods Market for vegan muffins and juice prior to heading to my conference each day.

Saturday morning I found one of my most anticipated destinations of the trip: an all-vegan shoe store called Sudo Shoes. After a five-minute walk from the Porter T station in Cambridge, I arrived shortly after the 10:00 a.m. opening time. I settled on a pair of $116 work shoes made by Vegetarian Shoes. Because my carry-on bag was already going to be stuffed full for the flight home, I asked them if they could ship the shoes to my home. They happily obliged for an additional $14 shipping fee. I could have spent A LOT more money at this place had I not exercised a bit of restraint. This is the kind of place that I wish would be located in every major city. But we're not all that fortunate.

Sudo Shoes

Inside Sudo Shoes

We had lunch at My Thai Vegan Cafe that afternoon. Located on the edge of Chinatown, you're rewarded with a really great vegan meal after braving their scary entryway to get up to the second-floor. The mock beef with mixed vegetables is definitely a winner.

Mock beef and mixed veggies at My Thai

Later that night, we hopped on the Green Line out to Allston, where we LOVED the pizza at another all-vegan establishment, Peace o' Pie Gourmet Vegan Pizza.  I'm a pizza fanatic.  This place certainly didn't disappoint.

Peace o' Pie

I headed back to The Other Side Cafe for lunch on Sunday. This time I ordered the vegan BLT, which was stacked super high with vegan bacon, among the other good stuff found on your typical BLT, including vegan mayo.

For our final dining out experience in Boston, we were looking for something reasonably close to the hotel. The destination: Mumbai Chopstix, located on Newbury Street. Indian/Asian fusion with at least a few dishes on the menu that appeared to be vegan. Mine was a mix of tofu, eggplant and spinach, all in a tangy garlic sauce. This turned out to be a nice find.

One of the many things I love about traveling is the adventure of seeking out vegan food and vegan-friendly businesses. Given that I'm also quite fond of enjoying urban places and getting around on public transportation while seeking out great those vegan-friendly establishments, Boston has definitely become one of my favorite places to visit.

This visit was certainly made easier by the consulting Vegguide.org, which is my favorite online source for tracking down vegan food.

Trieste Cafe

The Trieste Cafe is a downtown lunch spot that should not be overlooked. This is a small Greek cafe in the historic Lumber Exchange Building, located at 5th and Hennepin. Every time I've gone there I've ordered the hummus & veggie pita. These guys do not skimp on the hummus or the veggies. For seven bucks, including tax, they fill it up with a generous amount of hummus as well as peppers, lettuce, onions, cucumbers, and tomatoes. You'll need at least one napkin! The pita bread is appropriately soft rather than the difficult-to-bite stuff that you get at some establishments. They also give you a bag of chips with your order.

One person takes your order while the other slices the veggies right before your eyes. Friendly people providing fresh and delicious food. In addition to the pita sandwiches, some day I'll convince myself to order falafel or a wrap. There are about a dozen tables packed into the space and you can watch light rail trains glide by out the window while you enjoy your sandwich.

I think they're only open on weekdays and they close at 3:00 p.m.