Trying to Eat Vegan Food in Illinois and Indianapolis
July 2, 2020
I have only been to Indiana once before in 2014 and was looking forward to reporting on vegan eats. But my best food plans needed to be flexible considering the current pandemic and what it has done to supply and demand of vegan options. Here is what I wanted to eat and what I actually ate keeping in mind that I was only averaging about one true meal a day and assorted gas station-attained snacks.
The Chocolate Moose has housemade vegan ice cream options in Nashville, Indiana. But upon arrival and long wait at their drive through amid torrential summer downpours, they only had limited flavors available: Grasshopper and Coffee. I did not partake. Yuck!
10th Street Diner is an all-vegan diner in Indianapolis that was supposed to be opened but wasn’t. Changes to hours and services due to pandemic was most likely the reason, but it was still pretty frustrating. Dear vegan businesses, please consider that some wacky New Yorker might be traveling halfway around the country to try your food at any moment and update website, social media and/or phone messages with changes.
While in Indianapolis I ordered Thai food from Phaya Thai Street Food to my motel room via Door Dash and that was much better than I was expecting! Though I could have picked something up somewhere there was a bunch of loitering dudes outside my motel and I didn’t want to call attention to my loner myself. Indianapolis has some shady parts and my motel was in one. There were real life streetwalkers–addicts clearly–close to where I stayed. This I realized as I left… Like all cities, there are high poverty areas and fancy pants areas. The urban juxtaposition.
This one in Illinois killed me. The Dancing Dog Eatery in Urbana has vegan deep dish pizza made with cashew cheese. But their weird post-Covid hours were so brief and far in between that I never got to try. I know this is a situation no one wanted to be in, but boy I wished I coulda tried that pizza. But I have been meaning to explore Illinois more thoroughly having only really spent time near and within Chicago. This is an “I’ll be back!” situation.
Also in Urbana, the Common Ground Food Co-op gave me the prepared bento bowl I ate at the dark sky park, but I really visited for their cafe’s Vegan Rebuen with the local seitan. But upon arrival, the cafe was close though website made different claims. Ugh again. But I did get a 4-pack of lemon blueberry scones that helped my motel mornings (eating the third now) and I tried Amy’s Dreamy candy bar because I used to be obsessed with 3 Musketeers bars. I thought the taste was close though the nougat needed a softer airy texture.
It wasn’t until Savery Grill in Fort Wayne, Indiana that I got a proper meal. This all vegan cafe was open, had social-distanced inside seating and a yummy menu. So I stayed! It was just what I needed.
So glad this wasn’t a frozen chick’n patty!
Heavenly, every bite.
Then a mile away, some vegan ice cream that was not grasshopper or coffee flavored, but BUGGLE GUM flavored! Microcreamery makes its own coconut-based vegan ice cream and they do it right. Not just one or two uninteresting flavor options.
Tasted just like bubble gum! And like I had hoped, little pieces of gum inside. Such an interesting flavor option! Though I have actually had bubble gum vegan ice cream before in Upstate New York, but this was real-deal.
And now I am on my last day, heading back to Ohio for some more abandoned stuff before heading back to Newark. Because abandoned places are always “open” and socially distanced. 😉