Posts from our 2014 roadtrip
Coffee Monday – Roadtrip Coffee Round Up
Roadtrip 2014: Hello Again Saskatoon.
Blue Rose Vegan Baking Co. & the Vegan Snack Attack – Edmonton
Vancouver – Indigo Age Cafe
The first few times we saw Indigo Age Cafe come up on a vegan-friendly food list we mentally skipped it because we thought it was some raw food place and we’re not usually into that. But after repeatedly seeing it, I got curious – maybe it would hit the spot anyway. I really like salad rolls… so I took a look at the menu. And I’m so glad that I did. Sure, they have raw food, and plenty of it, but in a wonderfully unexpected curveball, they also have cooked vegan Ukrainian cuisine. Surprise! Pirogies! And cabbage rolls! And borscht! oh my. Something else they do that’s pretty neat is a Vegan High Tea. Several of the other tables were doing it while we were there – I kind of regret not going for it, but our small human was reaching the end of his evening tolerance, so we didn’t have much time and we weren’t sure how long it would take – but it looks great. We started with some stuffed tomatoes with a raw fermented coconut-almond cheese, cashew sauce and pesto sauce – these were especially popular with our toddler (who like me, is keen on strong flavours.) And of course, we had to dip into the Ukrainian menu and ordered plates of assorted savoury pirogies and cabbage rolls. The pirogies had an incredible soft and tender dough, and were filled with sauerkraut or potato (they also have a cherry filled one that we didn’t order.) Drizzled with olive…
Vancouver – Chickpea Food Truck
Back when we were in Vancouver we were staying close to Coal Harbour, there were several options within walking distance of our hotel, and plenty of vegan delivery options too. But what a wonderful find the Chickpea Food Truck was. On our first full day there, we met up with some friends for lunch – I suggested the Chickpea truck after finding out their location via the StreetFoodApp (and you can too.) They were at the waterfront near Canada Place (which is their “usual downtown spot.”) We wandered over, and got in line. Plenty of folks were milling about waiting for their order or waiting to order, but the line moved reasonably quickly. I ordered the Shakshuka platter which was a massive amount of food, but was great to share with JC and our son. Once upon a time this platter would have had eggs in it, but Chickpea recently went totally vegan – so the shakshuka was based around chickpeas and nicely spiced tomatoes, with sliced up vegan sausage, a very delicious hummus. The platter comes with a salad and chickpea fries, and you want the chickpea fries, I promise. I’ve had a bit of an obsession with vegan shakshuka for some reason – which started inexplicably because I neither have a nostalgia for it, or a cultural affiliation. I think the first one I tried was one with Tofu with a recipe from A Virtual Vegan, followed a few weeks later by a recipe from One Arab Vegan where silken…
We were in Vancouver. Cartems Doughnuts. Get em.
We were in Vancouver last month and it was a lot of fun. Traveling with an infant has had some challenges, but also some benefits. Mostly we’re lucky with a kiddo that’s pretty easy going, and one that enjoys sleeping on the plane as much as possible. One thing I didn’t know about having a baby and flying was that we’d get to skip so many lines – who knew. I guess I knew when I travelled with the little one alone, but I didn’t realize it would apply when we were all travelling together. It is definitely a lot easier to travel as a trio, but we did pretty well just the two of us on our last trip to Edmonton to visit my parents. Anyway, ostensibly, I went for a conference, but as a delightful happenstance, we still managed to get a bunch of walking and eating in while we were there. It’s not the same as travelling alone, or as a pair of adults, but it actually worked out fairly well, since we got some mandatory relaxation time. The fun thing about being in the pacific time zone, when you’re used to eastern standard time is that everyone is still sleeping and you’re all wide awake. So you get to do things like watch the sunrise over the city and get to enjoy hotel swimming pools all to yourself. We took the redeye over to Vancouver and got in on the skytrain. They’ve got a lovely transit…
Veggielicious 2017 – Southern Accent
Once upon a time Southern Accent used to be in Mirvish Village, and we’d walk by and always plan to go in. They had a lovely and inviting patio outside, but we never got our act together and Mirvish Village is turning into a condo complex. We were worried we wouldn’t get to try the food at Southern Accent, but thankfully they’ve moved over to College and Ossington(ish.) I have a real fondness for New Orleans and Creole cuisine. JC and I went on a tiny south-western US roadtrip a few years ago – and it was incredible driving through Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and then ending up in New Orleans, Louisiana for New Years Eve way back when. We ate well. We had a great time. There were so many vegan options right on the menu in the French Quarter and around the city, you’d be pleasantly surprised if you’ve never been before. So I was missing that flavour, that ambiance, that music, the colours, the sounds. Well, lucky us – we’ve got a taste of N’awlins right here in Toronto. And double lucky us, Southern Accent was participating in Veggielicious this year. They have a few vegan options on their menu year-round, but they had a couple of special dishes for Veggielicious on the go as well, so we picked the specials – planning to return again in the future for some of their regular menu items. The Southern Accent Veggielicious Menu (Prix-fixe $25 per person) First Course: Soup of the…
Roadtrip 2014 – Yellowstone – The beginning
The drive to Yellowstone from Glacier National Park, and through Montana was lovely. Possibly one of the most remarkable drives we’d taken on this road trip. We started out on US 89, 287, 191 and worked our way up through several National Forests and historic sites, stopping occasionally, but mostly just pushing on, enjoying the rich diversity of terrain and elevations between Glacier and Yellowstone. We stopped in Helena, Montana to pick up a few provisions and grab a bite to eat and drove on. We also, as tradition dictated – stood beside the Continental Divide sign. This time at an Elevation of 8391. We arrived in Yellowstone, through the West entrance, in the late evening just a few hours before sunset. The whole length of the road has inviting signs sending you on to different sites and drives and campgrounds, so we stopped to take a look at Fountain Paint Pots, and Old Faithful before heading to our pre-reserved site in Grant Village Campground. Fountain Paint Pots was a great walk through with amazing colours, bacterial mats, springs, mud pots, steam vents, geysers, and a long stretch of boardwalk. I was happy we ended up there in the evening, in the rain, because the steam was even more dramatic in lower temperatures, and it was just nicer to be outside in the sunset than the sunny +30 C temperatures we’d experience during our subsequent days in Yellowstone. It was our first taste of the incredible alien wonder that Yellowstone…
2014 Roadtrip – Helena, Montana
It wouldn’t be my first visit to Helena, Montana, but it had been at least a couple of decades since my last time there as a kid. We had left Glacier National Park, and were heading to Yellowstone National Park for that evening. Helena is conveniently located right between Glacier and Yellowstone so it was the perfect place to stop, pick up some food, and ideally grab something to eat. On the way there we visited a couple of scenic rest stops, one of those was the Missouri River Canyon. One of the cool things about our road trip is that occasionally we followed along the path of Lewis and Clark’s expedition – there are the occasional highway markers indicating this. “The Lewis and Clark Expedition pass through this canyon of “nearly perpendicular rocks during its journey up the Missouri River in July 1805.” We were hungry and wondering if there was anything vegan in Helena- according to happycow we had a couple of natural grocery store options, but I had a suspicion that there might be a Taco Del Mar there. And thankfully, I was right. So we went to the one and only at 3215 Dredge Dr, in Helena. Taco Del Mar is the proto-Chipotle. They started in the west coast and spread around offering a variety of tacos, burritos, and Baja Tex Mex cuisine. They were also one of the first fairly mainstream chains I can remember that had “vegan” right on their menu. So when I found…
Roadtrip 2014 – Glacier National Park, Montana
Driving away from Waterton Lakes National Park in Canada – we passed through Chief Mountain Border Crossing, it’s an incline to get up there, followed by some rolling roads. It’s a lonely looking station, but one fits in with the surroundings with stone and wood accents, and a gruff agent was working the booth. He asked us what our destination was – which was hard to pinpoint really depending on how far in the future we wanted to look – but more immediately our focus was on Glacier National Park and Yellowstone National Park. He told us to have a good time and sent us on our way – we would not be back in Canada for a bit over 3 weeks. Yes, here I am continuing my series of posts from our Summer Roadtrip in 2014, in the belief that it’s always better to be late than never, you can see some of the past posts on this helpful board on Pinterest, or just click on the Roadtrip 2014 tag to peek at some of our past summer adventures sightseeing and eating delicious vegan food across Canada and the USA. I have some stories to tell, and at bare minimum I want to write them out so I remember them a few years down the road. Once you’re in Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park – there are so many different activities you can do. We ended up buying a season’s pass for all of the National Parks in the USA, America The Beautiful pass and…
Sorelle & Co. A New Vegan Gluten Free and Nutfree Bakery in Vaughan
Just north of Steeles and west of Yonge Street is a beautiful new bakery called Sorelle & Co in Vaughan. It was started by a mom with 5 daughters with food allergies – you can read the story on their website, but I loved the little mural on the wall on the main floor depicting what I imagine is the family. They have a lovely variety of baked goods, including breads, donuts, cakes, tarts, macaroons, and more, drinks like coffee, tea, and smoothies, and more substantial eating options like soups, salads, and sandwiches. You can find a menu of their full offerings by the cash register (or check out their website), but when we walked in we saw the bakery case and started ordering (and planned to take more with us later.) The interior is unique, with a colour scheme of teal, gold, white, and silver, with plump chairs to sit on (and regular chairs), and several tables. It’s located in a historical building (formerly Carrville Post Office & General Store built by Thomas Cook in 1845.) I can’t get over the polished brand strategy of this place. Everything overlaps and is connected in some way from interior, to packaging, to website, to social media. I had been invited to their media pre-launch event a few weeks ago, but I realized I had no idea how to get anywhere effectively with the Sapling beyond my small TTC comfort zone – but we’re learning and getting betterat it. We went up the…
1 Day of Vegan Hospital Food
Well, nearly 4 months ago I wrote a big long piece about the birth of our new baby, and since I spent about 24 hours in a hospital, that meant that they also tried to feed me a few meals at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Toronto, and since some folks were curious what vegan hospital food looked like… here it is! The first night, right after surgery, no one got the vegan memo, and to be fair, the hospital stay was unexpected (by me and them) Sadly, there was some kind of icky chicken thing waiting for me, so I passed on it. JC had brought over some baked goods from TBC before we even knew we’d be meeting the baby that day, but he also made sure I had lots of buckets of ice water afterwards. I was too busy basking in the afterglow of meeting our little sapling anyway (plus it was super late in the evening.) Breakfast In the morning I got oatmeal, and the person that brought me my tray said she had been vegan for a year or so and congratulated me on my long term veganness. She was also impressed that JC was also vegan since her partner and son would not do it. Despite that, I did however end up with a carton of (dairy) milk on my tray, but obviously skipped it (I think we’d all have a bad time.) I was quite surprised there was no soy milk offered at any meal. At a hospital stay in Edmonton, AB…
Montréal 2016 – Café Dei Campi
One of my favourite surprise finds in Montreal was Café Dei Campi. It was one of those times instagram really paid off and connections were helpful. I posted a picture from Cafe Venosa (a vegan cat cafe) and a friend tagged one of their friends (@odilejp on IG who also happens to write a great vegan food blog in Montreal called La Végane D’à Côté.) It was our last few hours in Montreal, and we really wanted to check this spot out, so a quick hotel check out, we jumped into a car2go, and drove out to Café Dei Campi. It’s in a totally unassuming location in the Rosemont-La Petite-Patrie neighbourhood, in an industrialish block. But there is was Café Dei Campi. We were enthusiastically early, and they weren’t open yet, but I paced back and forth until they did. The Vegan Word wasn’t around anywhere, but all of the homemade baked goods and treats are vegan. They had beautiful chocolate-filled cornettos, apple tarts, pizzettes on the way, and other things coming out warm and cozy (come early, enjoy warm baked goods – my favourite.) You can choose between almond milk or soy milk for your coffee, and the latte we had was magical. We’re going back to Montreal again soon and I’m very much looking forward to going back there again soon. Café Dei Campi 1360 Boulevard Rosemont, Montréal, QC (map) facebook | instagram