Lots of Vegan Food in Rochester, NY {Part 4}

Though many of these are repeats from previous visits, a second visit is a nice progression to developing reliability for cravings. Like the chocolate chip cookie from Balsam Bagels. Thick and just barely cooked like I like…

And their breakfast bagel is also an easy pleaser

There is not a more delicious drink than fresh squeezed orange juice… especially when one is under the weather.

Back at Swillburger… an area must! A double beet burger did the trick as it always does.

Pomegranate … for health.

Don’t you wish you can see inside the papaya before you select one? This was not ripe enough, but I ate it all anyway.

Another breakfast repeat, Original Grain‘s avocado toast: Smashed avocado, red pepper flakes, tomato, scallions, carrot-cumin sauce on multigrain toast. A tasty bite, but the tomatoes were very cold. Am I weird to criticize this? It just kind of made it feel like it wasn’t fresh.

Strangebird is a new eatery connected to the Strangebird Brewery. It is a big, beautiful and bright space that captures a vibe, however it’s pretty disorganized. As in “Do I seat myself?” “How do I order food?” “Are there menus?” These things should be abundantly clear or there should be a host person. Compartmentalized duties, in essence, make all staff kind of unaccountable. This is the frustration of the millennial eatery. You’re there for their convenience. Anyway, their strawberry rhubarb soda was just about the best soda I ever had…

The BBQ Cauliflower sandwich is a crispy cauliflower on top of a cherry BBQ sauce, topped with braised greens and crispy onions on sesame roll.

But I was pretty annoyed the bun was buttered, while my guy’s non-vegan version of the sammy (with cheddar) was dry. I just ate the innards. I didn’t want to complain as it’s yet another thing I had to do while there!

I picked up the vegetarian plate from Zemeta Ethiopian on the way to the skate shop. And I got a ton of food for $12.95 along with great service. They know what vegan means, too.

Salena’s Mexican Restaurant has a separate vegan menu… with no weird mock meats on it thankfully. Their protein choices are a seasoned quinoa, black bean mix, or pinto bean. That’s all you need! I got the Enchilada with light vegan cheese with the black bean mix and a quinoa taco. Along with the rice and beans, this was the perfect amount of food. I’m very impressed!

In the same complex as Salena’s Mexican Restaurant is Get Caked Bakery… and their vegan cupcake options. I believe Get Caked have the best vegan cupcake base in the whole city. Great texture, great flavor and always with imaginative combinations. To the left, an espresso vanilla. To the right, the chocolate stormtrooper… for May the 4th.

Looking closer…

Lastly, a meal at The Owl House.

The Buffalo Cauli Wings are crispy cauliflower covered in frank’s red hot in a pool of vegan bleu cheese, served with a celery slaw. Very gorgeous and delicious.

The BVE Chickpea Burger is a soft housemade chickpea patty, a heavenly sriracha-strawberry jam, crispy onions, vegan mayo on a toasted bun. With rosemary fries. Very tasty, but a tad too high of a price point overall.