**UPDATE!! As of Summer 2016, The Brewery at Lake Tahoe NO Longer offers the vegan burger. I have updated the post below**
There are two ends of the Rubicon trail in Northern California.
Most people start on the Loon Lake end and make their way toward South Lake Tahoe on the Eastern end. While the West end at Loon doesn’t have any amenities, the Lake Tahoe region has a ton of great, hidden vegan gems – some to hit up, and some to avoid.
I will update this little guide as my time in Tahoe expands and I am able to check out more and more places.
UPDATED 9/14/15! We returned to NLB for an amazing breakfast! See the new content below!
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When it comes to vegan fast food, us vegans miss out on three key elements of the fast food culture:
1. We don’t camp out weeks in advance of an opening. And, while I would never be one of the schmucks in a $20 Coleman tent sleeping on a sidewalk outside some vegan Chick-Fil-A, the concept of it is appealing. I mean, how committed do you need to be to artery-clogging, fat soaked food to actually sleep outside for a week? That is true, foodie commitment.
Camping in the winter for a week. For fried chicken.
2. We can’t just have a greasy, bad-for-you burger experience. Most vegan burgers I have seen are typically some malted oregano-kale infused, carrot fiber burger, promising all kinds of health claims. Sometimes, I just want to eat something bad for me too.
3. We don’t have a vegan fast food mecca that beckons us to make multi-mile journeys off major interstates. We need a vegan In-and-Out kinda place.
So when I heard there was a new vegan burger joint in Bend, I had a chance to do a little of all three.
Vegan mexican food is really nothing special. I can get an amazing burrito with beans, rice, lettuce and tomatoes (provided the beans are lard free and the rice has no chicken stock).
This guy was all business.
But a fully authentic Mexican vegan experience? Now that is something awesome.
When it comes to vegan grocery stores, Food Fight in Portland is considered my own personal “high water mark.” They just don’t get any better than that.
So I was really stunned to find a vegan grocery store in California that blew Food Fight out of the proverbial coconut water.
Viva La Vegan is a huge grocery store in an old railroad building nestled among the community of Rancho Cucamonga. With a ton of open space and great lighting, the store is bright and airy, and very well laid out.
I have been complaining about Burlington’s vegan scene for a while now, with only a few places (like Stone Soup) offering anything substantial.
So when I heard about Pingala in the Chace Mills at Winooski, I was really excited to check them out.
Their location is pretty awesome, right on the banks of the Winooski River at the falls. While the idea of a nice outdoor spot sounded nice, the mercury was hovering around 15 degrees. So we elected to sit inside.
San Diego has a pretty decent vegan scene, and Moncai Vegan is a cornerstone. The nice thing about it, is that it contrasts to the “fast food” nature of other pillars, such as Evolution and Veggie Grill.
Moncai Vegan is more of a take your time and relax kinda place.
A funky/eclectic design felt a little cold at first, but I soon settled in.
While a small space, it is setup very well with about six or seven tables. The ambiance is a bit austere, but the warm service combined with the scent of fresh baked goodies more than makes up for it. They have an awesome display case filled with donuts , cinnamon buns, and other baked goodies.
I’ll be honest. From time to time I miss the ability to go grab a bag of fried, cheesy, meaty food from a fast food joint. And, while there are plenty of vegan places that try to fill this niche, have never found one that did it perfectly.
Until today.
Inside this greasy bag is amazing vegan eats.
When I found out I was heading to San Diego, I knew I’d also haveta make a beeline for Evolution. Evolution’s tag line is simple “Delicious Vegan Fast Food. ”
The building is located in an easy location nicely situated next to Balboa Park and seemed to have ample parking (I walked there). It was nice to see a drive up window, proving that vegans should also be allowed the occasional lazy fast food experience.
The drive thru window at Evolution.
The outdoor seating area, while a bit sparse was nice, and provided a shady spot to eat out of the sun. Service was brisk and friendly.
I ordered at the register where they also had a nice selection of grab and go foods, desserts, and drinks. I picked up an organic Blue Sky organic soda to go with my lunch. The decision was tough, between the Bacon Cheeseburger and the Buffalo Chicken Sandwich, but at the staff’s recommendation I went with the Buffalo.
Lots of grab and go options if you don’t have time to stay.
What was most exciting for me? Honestly it was the greasy bag that reminded me of lunch at Ronnie’s (a legendary, non-vegan greasy spoon lunch spot in Auburn MA my family would frequent). Inside the bag was an awesome white bag of fries, the buffalo chicken sandwich, and ketchup. It was brilliant. Taking the fast food theme even further, a voice squawked over the intercom when my order was ready to be picked up at the counter.
I opened the bag, and the strong smell of Buffalo indicated I made the right choice. This sandwich was absolutely amazing. The “chick’n,” while similar to Gardein seemed housemade and had a great texture and flavor. The soft bun was also super good.
Messy, saucy, chick’ny goodness.
The fries, made fresh from Kennebec potatoes were cooked to perfection and had just the right salt.
Perfect fries.
I had to save some room for the chocolate shake I ordered. Made with housemade ice cream, it was not too heavy but perfectly sweet.
Chocolate shake was perfect!
The best part of this meal was that I didn’t leave in a food coma. While I definitely treated myself to some good ol’ vegan junk food, I still felt good enough to walk the 2 miles back to the hotel.
I still have about four days left in San Diego, so I know I will be back to Evolution!
On a recent trip back to Boston, I was lucky enough to stop by the Red Lentil Cafe in Watertown. The restaurant was popular and highly rated on HappyCow so I parked on Auburn Street, and headed in for dinner.
The space was very bright, clean, and well laid out. I was happily surprised at how busy it was. The tables were set up mostly for couples which lent a nice ambiance to the place, and the bright colors complimented the friendly service.
There is a little village outside Boston (right off the Pike) that should be on all vegans’ travel plans – Allston. Similar to Portland’s vegan mini mall, there is a corner at a major intersection with a vegan chinese food restaurant, vegan ice cream shop, and the newest member – Root.
Root occupies the space that used to feature Peace O’ Pie, one of my staple vegan establishments in Boston. But they occupy it well, offering something new to the scene.
The branding and space design is beautiful and a respite from the urban environment of Allston.
Believe it or not, we have so many vegan establishments in Portland that it is still a possibility to explore new ones. And this is exactly what happened to me recently when visiting Sweetpea Baking Company in SE Portland.
I had been there before, but usually only to pick up a special order cake, or for a coffee emergency.
![Restaurant Review: Next Level Burger [Bend]](https://offroadvegan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/dsc00956.jpg?w=672&h=372&crop=1)
Camping in the winter for a week. For fried chicken.![Restaurant Review: Gracias Madre [San Francisco]](https://offroadvegan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/20150423_173214.jpg?w=672&h=372&crop=1)
![Store Review: Viva La Vegan Grocery [Rancho Cucamonga]](https://offroadvegan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/20150318_120026.jpg?w=672&h=372&crop=1)
![Restaurant Review: Pingala [Burlington]](https://offroadvegan.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/20150118_144816.jpg?w=672&h=372&crop=1)
![Restaurant Review: Moncai Vegan [San Diego]](https://offroadvegan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/20141119_124705.jpg?w=672&h=372&crop=1)
![Restaurant Review: Evolution [San Diego]](https://offroadvegan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/2014-11-17-01-07-05-1.jpg?w=672&h=372&crop=1)
![Restaurant Review: Red Lentil Cafe [Boston]](https://offroadvegan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/2014-04-10-19-18-14.jpg?w=672&h=372&crop=1)
![Restaurant Review: Root [Boston]](https://offroadvegan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/20140409_192524.jpg?w=672&h=372&crop=1)
![Restaurant Review: Sweetpea Baking Co. [Portland]](https://offroadvegan.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/feat.jpg?w=672&h=372&crop=1)
Off-road Vegan 