Shuffle Off to Buffalo:
Attractions & Vegan Food in Western New York

A quick trip to Western New York would of course mean a scouring of vegan options. As is the nowadays, there was so much to try. Veganism is thriving everywhere these days. Not only at my destination, but on stops along the way. Like at 96 Lives Vegan Bakery & Cafe in Lancaster, New York.

96 lies referred to the number of animals… shoot, I totally forgot. But now this song is my head.

There was so much to choose from. Vegan Cupcake Master Maxine Grabowski takes pride in her delicious vegan cupcakes, even offering free mini’s. But I was driving since the wee hours of the morning with no breakfast. So I went the savory route.

I got the… Garbage Plate. Yes, the Garbage Plate. Fun to order it was a golden Belgian waffle, tofu scramble, and a hash brown all smothered in a delicious chic’n gravy. Just what I needed!

Satisfies road hunger and then some. It was my dinner so many hours afterwards as I sat in a very gross motel room on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls.

I didn’t get a sweet treat from 96 Lives because I thought I would be getting a donut 20 minutes later at the all-vegan Fry Baby Donut. But I didn’t because for some odd reason their door was locked though I heard them inside and I was within their normal business hours. The outside looked cute, but that was kind of annoying.

But no fear! Buffalo has its very own vegan grocery store, aptly named The Vegan Grocery Store. What a delight to find this gem in Western New York!

Shelves were stocked with all the vegan products one could desire. And I could definitely desire.

In the end I got a oat milk latte served New York City-style and a pumpkin spiced frosted donut. Just what I needed to press through.

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Because I was near them and it had been many years, I saw Niagara Falls, a quick drive from Buffalo. The motion and power of the falls is a spectacular sight. Something about that tipping point right there is the most beautiful. I think its the clarity of the water before bursting below.

Dear Ice Ages, Thank you for making so much beautiful stuff happen to our Earth. You aftermath comprises most of my travel destinations.

Where’s my barrel? Niagara Falls has the highest flow rate in all of North America.

A roadside attraction in the rundown streets of Niagara Falls city. The Second Coming House of Prophet Isaiah, which would have served as an important stop at the Second Coming in 2014. In 2019, here the house is still, luring in shepherds of the road.

I am beginning to love that most cities have a vegan-forward coffee shop with breakfast items, alternative milks, good music playing and local art on the walls. In Buffalo it is Grindhaus Coffee. Here, a coconut biscotto while I wait for…

Ricotta & Pesto Toast! Basil walnut pesto on top of whole wheat toast with two dollops of vegan ricotta. Very good but toast was too light and bread sogged. Toasts should be but thicker to withstand moisture levels. And they should be toasty!

Yadda, yadda, yadda, I was in a cemetery for a while. More on that later. But now, Root & Bloom, a vegan cafe of dreams. Quality eats with no packages, yes please. It is always so tough to decide at a place like this. You have to weigh the opportunity cost of each dish. If I get this then I can’t try this. The woes of the road for a vegan blogger!

In the end I got the Birdie—a thick and crispy fried hand-battered “chicken” patty (made of jackfruit) dipped in their house buffalo sauce topped with their bleu cheese, tomato and romaine served on a wet and delicious Mama Rosa’s Kitchen bun. Served with sweet potato fries and sides of sweet butter & maple mustard. just look at that thing!

It was a fantastic dish! I was so impressed with how crispy the exterior of the jackfruit patty was, though I don’t really love jackfruit. Mostly because it is often used to replace a protein but has very little protein itself.

But the crunch made me easily inhale this… and that bun was likely the best I’ve ever had. But it needed pickles. Or something to stop the sweetness in every directions–sweet potato, maple, sweet butter, bun was sweet, etc. Since I am within a Vegan Fried Chicken Battle, I am in the zone of offering constructive feedback.

Downtown Buffalo has very cute parts… and very run down parts. This post is for the cute and thriving development happening in this historical city. My next post, the abandoned former glory. I love both. Natural wonders, vegan food, old cemetery, abandoned places… these are a few of my favorite things, Buffalo! (Oh and Canada, which will be another post because I write this now in St. Catharines, Ontario procrastinating a shower that would get me in the day once again.)

Hope there are sexual connotations on the stairways you’re walking out there! Well, maybe not really.