Eating out in Minneapolis/St. Paul

[VeganKen]

With a nod to those who started this idea here are some places to eat in the Twin Cities. In case you're ever in the area. Only one is stictly vegan, but another is vegetarian, and the others have vegan offerings. Not bad for the midwestern US. I've only listed places that I've personally been too. Must do more research! I'll add more as I remember them.

Ecopolitan
2409 Lyndale Avenue South, Minneapolis
Completely organic, vegan, and raw! How much better can you get! The food is way beyond excellent. They even serve organic vegan wine!! Finally a place were we can eat and drink anything on the menu!!!!

Udupi Cafe
4920 Central Ave, NE Minneapolis
South Indian vegetarian restaurant. Mostly vegan. Highly attentive staff. This place regularly wins "best Indian restaurant" in a number of polls. Some of the items listed on the menu as vegan aren't. So read the descriptions carefully. The owner and staff are almost enthusiastic to explain ingredients. Very inexpensive.

Pizza Luce
119 North 4th St, Minneapolis
3200 Lyndale Ave S, Minneapolis
11 East Superior St, Duluth
Great staff and people watching. A whole section of vegan toppings including their own "rinotta cheese". Vegan dessert each day. Highly recommended.

Birchwood Cafe
3311 25th Avenue E, Minneapolis
I would live here if they'd let me. Mostly veggie with a well educated staff. Menu changes weekly with regular organic vegan entrees, soups, desserts, and substantial salads. Everything is made from scratch, in house. They'll always ask you if you want butter with your bread. Otherwise, their very veggie sensitive. It's the only place in town where I trust them enough to eat the soup.

Seward Community Cafe
2129 E Franklin Ave, Minneapolis
The place for vegan breakfasts! Cheap and, I guess you'd call it "bohemian". Try the vegan french toast. Ordering can be confusing the first time you go there so be brave and talk to the person in line ahead of you.

French Meadow Bakery & Cafe
2610 Lyndale Ave South, Minneapolis
Mostly organic with some truely outstanding vegan selections. Known more for their breakfasts (which can be more tricky), be sure to check out their dinners. Can get rather spendy for meaties. $$$

Everest on Grand
1278 Grand Ave, St. Paul
Nepali restaurant with a good offering of vegan dishes. The lunch buffet is usually 75% vegan. Excellent and inexpensive.

Rainbow Chinese
2739 Nicollet Ave, Minneapolis
Not vegan but they do have a few vegan selection on the menu (remember to ask for no MSG). The only worth while Chinese restaurant in the cities, as far as I am concerned. The staff is very nice and accomodating. Can get rather spendy for meaties.

Blue Moon Coffee Cafe, 39th and E Lake St
Second Moon Coffee, 23rd and E Franklin Ave
Like the sign above the door says, "All Are Welcome". I'm mentioning them because they are the only coffee houses that I've found that have vegan snacks. Great staff.

Cafe Brenda
300 1st Ave N, Minneapolis
Everyone will tell you to go here only because it's the best known "vegetarian" restaurant. They serve fish. Their token vegan selection is usually bland and boring except in the summer when the food is fresher. And Brenda, the owner, has gone back to eating flesh, which she apparently talks about in detail in her cooking classes. I'd pass.

Other things to note
Mudpie Vegetarian Restaurant has closed it's doors. The staff at the Good Earth restaurants will stare at you blankly if you ask for something vegan. Lotus Vietnamese is cheap and fine if you really don't care about how your food tastes. St. Martin's Table, while a wonderful, wonderful place - the wait staff are volunteers who donate their wages to various charities - has little to offer the vegan diner.

[pjchmiel]

The most outstanding thing about the Mpls veg scene: Minneapolis is the "mock duck" (actually seitan, but so-named locally by the many vietnamese restaurants) capital of the world! From mock duck curries and stir fries at asian eateries like Kinh Do to spicy mock duck pizza at Pizza Lucé (with special vegan cheese no less!), you'll find it all over town in dozens of delicious incarnations.

Also noteworthy are all-veg Indian Udupi Café, the down-home Seward Café cooperative (vegan pancakes and amazing veg breakfasts) the hipster bar atmosphere of Triple Rock with its many vegan comfort food options, and a whole host of veg-friendly ethnic establishments (indian, mid-eastern, thai, ethiopian, cambodian, etc).

That was from a blurb I wrote to somebody else in an e-mail.
Another account of a vegan adventure in Mpls can be found here:
Vegan Eating in Minneapolis

[VeganKen]

I always forget about the Triple Rock Social Club. Probably because it's a bar and I wrongly don't associate it with food.

You have a great site by the way.

[Justitia]

On a whim, Stephen and I decided to go to Minneapolis for Labor Day weekend. We arrive on Saturday afternoon and are leaving on Monday evening.

Looks to me like we need to hit: Pizza Luce, Triple Rock Social Club, Seward Community Cafe, and Ecopolitan.

I think we'll do it this way: Saturday night at Triple Rock, Sunday breakfast at Seward, Sunday dinner at Ecopolitan, and Monday lunch or dinner at Pizza Luce.

What do you think???

Any new places I should know about?

[VeganKen]

You're plan sounds like a good one! Note that when you go to the Seward for breakfast that you need to go up to the counter where the menu is and write down your order. Otherwise you'll just stand there looking stupid and ain't nobody going to help you! :P Oh, and avoid the vegan french toast. *cough* *cough* Water! Water! Next to the Seward Cafe is the Seward Co-op which has the best vegan muffins in the cities. Pizza Luce downtown is the best for people watching. The one by the Seward Cafe is more family oriented.

Ignore the Birchwood. Since I wrote that last post they have switched their focus to be more meat based. I don't bother going their anymore.

Check out the VegGuide before you go.

Some new places that I would recommend:

Singapore! at 5554 34th Avenue in Minneapolis is amazing! They may have weird hours over the holiday weekend so call first. 612-722-0888. They have a small menu but on weeknights Chef Lee will make you pretty much whatever you want. Ask for a suggestion anyway.

Everest on Grand at 1278 Grand Avenue in St Paul. Wonderful, filling Tibetan food. Reasonably priced. Almost everything is vegan, just ask. Except the Yak. I have a friend who tried it and did. So there you go.

Tanpopo Noodle Shop at 308 Prince Street in St Paul (behind the Black Dog coffee shop), has warming Japanese noodles. I love this place. For a buck, they will substitute the fish broth with a vegan mushroom one. I like this place better in the winter, but they do serve cold noodles as well.

More rambling: If you go to Ecopolitan get the apple smoothie. It tastes like apple pie in a glass! Two blocks north of Ecopolitan is the Wedge co-op. They have a number of yummy vegan baked goods. Next door to Ecopolitan is Muddy Waters coffee shop which, strangely, does not have decaf. (not really recommending it - just a comment) Across from the Wedge is a dilapidated restaurant called the Red Dragon. Don't eat there. However, their long island ice teas are verrry niiiiice. And huge. Don't drive.

Okay, now I'm all hungry and thristy.

[VeganKen]

Oops! I noticed that I promoted Everest on Grand twice now. I don't work for them honestly.

[JasonSt]

That does sound like a very nice plan! Have fun! I would second visiting the Red Dragon for their crazy big and strong drinks. But be careful; many bad nights stemmed from overindulging at the Dragon.

[Justitia]

Thanks guys! I will add those to our list!

I'll report back after our weekend

[Justitia]

Hey Ken and Jason--

Do you guys know anything about this place? It sounds pretty cool!

Galactic Pizza

Thanks for all of your input!

--Libby

[Dandelion]

OMG! that place looks like it kicks ass!

Hey Ken and Jason--

Do you guys know anything about this place? It sounds pretty cool!

Galactic Pizza

Thanks for all of your input!

--Libby

[JasonSt]

Whoa, we can post "kicks ass?" Thanks for the link, Justita; I haven't heard of that place. I always go to the same couple of places and am too pessimistic to think that new vegan places would pop up. I guess I know where to go for dinner tomorrow evening.

A couple things to add/reinforce
-stay away from Good Earth, as VeganKen mentioned. I've eaten there a couple times and have had the same experience; as the waiter brings out the food for the rest of the people in my party, he turns to me and says, "Oh, it turns out that that isn't vegan", much to my chagrin.
-Bryant Lake Bowl is a fun night out. They have an excellent beer selection, some good vegan food, and about eight bowling lanes. You can bowl in your socks if you don't have your own vegan bowling shoes.

[VeganKen]

Hey Ken and Jason--

Do you guys know anything about this place? It sounds pretty cool!

Galactic Pizza

Thanks for all of your input!

--Libby

That's in my neighborhood! I have yet to eat there myself, but friends rave about it. Other than being a tad on the expensive side. I love their delivery cars!

[VeganKen]

That does sound like a very nice plan! Have fun! I would second visiting the Red Dragon for their crazy big and strong drinks. But be careful; many bad nights stemmed from overindulging at the Dragon.

Then there's Caffetto, which is around the corner, where you can sit and nurse your hang over (or your passive smoking tendancies). I am unsure why I like these places. Maybe because either would be the perfect place for a indie film. I think I have at least part of my weekend planned out now.

[Dandelion]

ROADTRIP!
have a couch for two pizza-deprived vegans?

That's in my neighborhood! I have yet to eat there myself, but friends rave about it. Other than being a tad on the expensive side. I love their delivery cars!

[Justitia]

-Bryant Lake Bowl is a fun night out. They have an excellent beer selection, some good vegan food, and about eight bowling lanes. You can bowl in your socks if you don't have your own vegan bowling shoes.

Thanks for another great suggestion! Unfortunately, Stephen injured his knee while we were in Australia, so there won't be any bowling for us Too bad, because it looks like a great time!

I think we're going to do Triple Rock tomorrow night. The show looks decent, and if it sucks we'll head to Red Dragon instead!