MN Vegan's Best of 2016

Ok guys...I know that I've been more inactive than usual on this thing. That's because I'm mostly posting on the FB and IG these days (@themnvegan on both). Also I co-star on Feed Me Vegan and that's been keeping me busy too (@feedmeveganshow on IG and FB!). Check me out!

I felt it imperative, NAY-ABSOLUTELY 100% NECESSARY, to post about my favorite things that I ate this year, and lord knows I can't fit all of that in one FB/IG post (read: I eat a lot).

I wanted to make certain this was feasible for readers and so I made it very, very simple for you: Best Lunch/Dinner Meal, Best Breffest/Brunch Meal (bc it's my fave meal of the day. Luh you soooo very much, brunch, you the best), and Best Dessert (second favorite meal).

BEST LUNCH/DINNER MEAL: Gotta give it up to Señor Wongs in St Paul. If you're wanting a good lunch/Taco Tuesday/date dinner this place provides a damn good meal with lots of vegan options.

Honorary mention to anything that Herbivorous Butcher serves in their deli (sandwiches and soups mostly).

BEST BREFFEST/BRUNCH MEAL: The "Yes It's Vegan" donut sammy from Glam Doll Donuts. They use Herbivorous Butcher vegan meats and the vegan egg to make this awesome hangover killer. Check out the NE location of Glam Doll Donuts that just opened!

BEST DESSERT THING/MEAL: Any of the non-dairy ice creams from Milk Jam Creamery. Try the peanut butter Oreo one-it is bomb!

That's a wrap! And shout out to you guys (readers). You guys are the bestest. My page is almost at 50,000 hits and that warms my heart so much it might just burst. DO IT YOU GUYS. MAKE IT BURST. PLZ.

Ok enough of the tomfoolery. See you guys on the flip.

The MN Vegan

Party like a rocksta!

Feast your eyes on THAT! That is what I made for the Vegan Heat n Eat event at Ethique Nouveau that happened a couple of weekends ago right here in Minneapolis. Good times. I made a orange vanilla cupcake with zesty orange buttercream and a sugared orange wedge to garnish the damn thing. Yap. You'd better believe that shit was off the hook!

Other things that were sold: vegan chili with sweet taters, some kickass pesto and cheese sauces and vegan scones that were to die for! Ugh. Take me back.

Totally dood.

Heyyy there guys. I'm really sorry I haven't been keeping up on this blog much. I've really been trying to balance my mental and physical health right now and it has never been this challenging, what with the stress at work and the eating healthy and crap like that.

Anyhoobs, I apologize, and I'm going to hop to giving you all a dose of what I've been up to (eating). Cool beans?

Cool beans.

OK! First up! Triple Rock Social Club.

I'm just going to say one thing and be done with it about these guys-they have been a bit of a disappointment to me lately. The changes they made to their menu not only added some items but it also took away some of the best items, like that huge ass vegan burrito they had with "nacho cheez". Eff that man. But in and of itself, Triple Rock is still a great place to go for vegan bar grub. I would almost always recommend the vegan cook's revenge, as it always turns out to be something real grubby and tasty. Here's a sample of a meal that Manfriend and I recently had there:

Pictured closest is their vegan nachos which are freaking huge and fantastic. They will not disappoint. Neither will that behemoth of a sammy behind it. THAT sandwich, my friends, usually comes out of the kitchen the size of your head. It is not for the faint of heart. It is....drum roll please....THE VEGAN PO BOY. Manfriend likes to get the Minneapolis Po Boy which has mock duck or tofu mixed with taters and covered in soy cheese on a huge as bun and served with chips! Yumm. I like the vegan BBQ Po Boy with mock duck personally. It's got the same stuff, only it's slathered in a zesty BBQ sauce. Urrrgh. I want one in my mouth now. So so tasty.

OK! There's a new restaurant in town (it's not really that new) and it's connected to First Ave (the famous Minneapolis music venue). We heard they had some vegan options on the menu (and did they!) so we decided to make it a date night.

I ordered the vegan mock duck tacos while Manfriend ordered a side of sweet tater fries and a vegan lemon walnut burger. Now, I have very high standards for mock duck tacos, as Senor Wong (see the side bar for the post) in St Paul has THE BEST mock duck tacos I have ever had the chance to put in my mouth. I mean, fucking yummers man. The mock duck tacos from The Depot did not disappoint, however, they did not provide the sneaky spice and beautiful savoriness that the tacos from S. Wongs did. The sweet tater fries were crispy and delicious however! Perfectly seasoned and a great start to the meal. The lemon walnut burger... oh lordy. It was sweet and savory at the same time. I thought it sounded boring but I immediately bit my tongue (not literally) when I tasted it. It was topped with sweet bell peppers which, in my opinion, made the burger fucking fantastic! Yum. I'm making myself hungry all over again dammit.

Stay tuned for another update fairly soonish. There's a new vegan pizza in town (well...there has been for a while but I just tried it recently), and it don't take kindly to be calling "cheez-less and boring".

Rock!

MN Vegan

Lookit!

"Santa" aka my parents (shh don't tell them I know) got a me some silicon cupcake liners for XMAS. Yay!! No more waste! So I made low fat vegan pumpkin chocolate chip muffins with them and it was SO CONVENIENT and non-wasteful that my head exploded.

Have a looky (not at my exploded head, at the muffins):

Ohhhh yeeaaahh (Barry White voice). You know you want a taste. Sorry, they're long gone, people.

Recently, I took Manfriend out for a fancy happy hour at Senor Wong in downtown St Paul where they have taco Tuesdays ($2 tacos people!) and the vegan "mockos" on the menu are included in this awesome deal. So fucking good. The "mockos" are deliciously seasoned, spicy as hell and they come with a lime to spritz on them and a slice of avocado!

Sorry the picture is so dark, but there's our "mockos" and the edamame appetizer on the left in a steam basket. We washed it all down with some very strong drinks (below). I was not fit to drive after all of that and Manfriend drove us home, but it's nothing a walk in the skyway, food and water couldn't fix.

Pictured here is the Shanghai Lemonade on the left and the Donkey Punch on the right. These drinks are not for pussies though so be aware that they are extremely delicious and alcoholic at the same time. Beware, I says!

I will definitely be going back to Senor Wong. It is easily my favorite happy hour joint in St Paul, near my work and it's freaking awesome that they have vegan items labeled on their menu. Go now!!

Senor Wong

111 Kellogg Boulevard East
Saint Paul, MN 55101

MN Vegan