New England Vegan
A few weeks ago we visited New England for a dear friend’s wedding (have I mentioned this already? I think perhaps I have). It was so nice to be out in the country and around trees and quiet. Mostly it was nice to spend time celebrating with old friends. We were able to drive around in the days following and explore a few states I’d never been to. I wasn’t too sure what the vegan choices would be like in more secluded areas, but we managed to find some great restaurants all over. Here’s a little round up of where we went:
First, we found the lovely Riverbend Cafe, conveniently located across the street from the motel we stayed at in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. We were surprised to find a spot with vegan french toast, not to mention bagels and tofu cream cheese. I had some super tasty oatmeal with peaches and brown sugar. The setting here was idyllic and the food was great. Plus we got to spend the morning catching up with Agatha which made the whole thing extra awesome.
Randomly, we stumbled upon a farmers market where there happened to be some goats hanging out. I love goats!
As our travels continued, Shawn once again proved he is the vegan pizza finding master. I had us routed to a spot in Northampton, Massachusetts which ended up being closed. He tracked down Pizzeria Paradiso which not only had vegan pizza, they used Follow Your Heart, which made me extra happy.
In Keene, New Hampshire we stopped in at Country Life, a Seventh Day Adventist buffet spot. Even though it was sort of vegan 1.0, it was really good, and felt really fulfilling. They also had a cute little market.
Concord, New Hampshire had some great vegan spots. First we stopped in at Hermanos Cocina Mexicana which, while not a vegan restaurant, had some superb vegan options. They had some spicy seitan for their burritos, plus all the fun stuff like soy sour cream and vegan cheese. I had some truly amazing enchiladas.
Also in Concord was Cafe Indigo. We stopped here for a great lunch and picked up a ton of sweets. A giant box of cookies, blondies and more for about $10. It was awesome. I had a wonderful ToFishy sandwich and Shawn had their infamous Rachael, a vegan reuben, both of which we loved.
Our last stop was in Boston. We ran into the Clover food truck and picked up some chickpea fritters and a soy BLT. It was a pretty good snack for a hot afternoon in the park.
Last but not least, we hit up a double whammy of vegan pizza and ice cream. First, Piece o’ Pie served us a fantastic margarita pizza with tofu ricotta, which kept me fed for our entire flight home. I think if we could have stayed longer, Shawn would have tried all the pizzas here.
Right next door was FoMu, a decadent vegan ice cream shop. It took forever for me to choose a flavor (I went with espresso) while Shawn went all out with a sundae. They had some really neat flavors and I wish I could have tried more.
Okay so there were a few more spots along the way, but this post is too long already! And yet there were still places we missed. I guess we’ll just have to go back.
I love this post!!!! Yummy food and cutest pics of you and Shawn <3
I used to live off of Country Life as a college student when they had a location in Boston. Their weekend brunches were the best!
Mmmm, everything looks so good! That bread on the ToFishy sandwich reminds of the bread they used to use at Pure Luck (which I deeply long for on a daily basis).
The bread at Cafe Indigo was baked in house and was so good. Good news for you though, Pure Luck used La Brea Bakery rolls, so you can still have it!
Carb overload, here I come!
I miss country life, there used to be one in boston, it was our go to spot after sunday fur protests!!! I love piece o pie to 🙂
I randomly found your blog, as I am a new vegan and have been looking for support online. I’m curious if you eat this way all the time? I know being vegan in random places means that you have to deal with what you are given…but on a normal day do you eat better food? More greens? Less soy? Surely vegan french toast, pizza and ice cream can’t sustain your health/body? It’s just so heavy and lacking in nutrients!
I definitely don’t eat only pizza and ice cream. Certainly there are more veggies and whole foods in my regular every day diet. Also, I wouldn’t include every single thing I ate on a trip because that would be ultra boring, so this is sort of just a fun sampling. That being said, I do like pizza and ice cream and french toast and soy and those aren’t going to get cut from my personal menu either.
You will find lots of support online – there are plenty of wonderful vegan food blogs.
A word of advice about eating at random places: if you find nothing on the menu, often you can simply ask and they may be able to prepare something special for you. (If you call ahead, they might serve you something even better, although if the chef is good, s/he’ll be able to whip something yum up from scratch.)
This is totally true. Even at places where there haven’t been many choices, good chefs have been able to help make something special.
I’m trying to decide which one of those meals I’d like to try the most! Probably the first pizza or the enchiladas, mmmmmhhh.
What are oyster crackers? In the shape of oysters? (I’m such a long-time vegan I’m not even sure what oysters look like…)
I’m not sure why they’re called oyster crackers but they’re basically little saltines. Perfect for soups.
If you fell in love with any of the sweets at Cafe Indigo, Whole Foods Market in Long Beach, CA now carries a bunch of their dessert items. (Maple whoopie pies, Chocolate whoopie pies, lemon bars, chocolate chip bars, creme filled cupcakes, giant chocolate cupcakes…)
They fly them in frozen and have had them about 3 weeks, they are in the refrigerated cakes/pastry section with big green VEGAN signs.
Maybe the WFM near you has them too?
Enjoy!
Mr. W
Oh good to know! I would love to get some of their desserts again.
I’d like to commend you for being a vegan. I tried to go vegetarian a few years ago but I missed bacon so much lol. I’ve noticed so many people are going vegan nowadays and I love reading blogs about what types of those you all eat. It’s very interesting. I have noticed that so many vegans eat so much pizza! lol (bonus) hahaha. I’ve love to try a vegan restaurant one day.
So glad you found Piece o’ Pie! Grasshopper, the Asian place next door, is also a vegan haven. Next time you’re in town, check out Veggie Galaxy. It’s a vegan diner with a full menu of diner staples and beautiful, classic desserts. I’d also recommend The Elephant Walk – many vegan and gluten free options in a chic setting.
Thank you for posting these places! I’m from RI and we are always looking for vegan/vegetarian restaurants when we travel 🙂
it’s funny you just vacation here from LA and find more vegan places than I have in 13 years of living here as a vegan. other honorable mentions to represent new england: true bistro in somerville, susty’s radical vegan cafe in northwood nh, my thai in chinatown, veggie galaxy in cambridge.