Land of Beer, Cheese and Brats…. Appleton, WI.
BUT, before I made it to Appleton I stopped off for lunch in Youngstown, OH and ran into some swell folks at Ely’s To-Go. This place is the epitome of efficiency. Lunch items crafted daily and ready for the vegan on the go , I was inspired by there hospitality and menu.
Every day has a theme, as luck would have it, it was Cheesy Mondays! Meghan and I grabbed a salad, some mac and cheese, potato kale soup and what I can honestly say is the best Vegan Grilled Cheese sandwich I have had to date. The people were just lovely and had a very helpful knowledge of the items on their menu. I hope I get to eat there again some day!
And then I got to Appleton. Oy. The best advice I can give a traveling vegan is to prepare, prepare, prepare and when you get where you are going ask questions. Often when I find a town that has one vegan restaurant, when I am dining there, I ask what else their beautiful town has to offer for vegan cuisine. More often than not they are elated to fill me in on the plant-fueled lay of the land. For example, the folks at Ely’s To-Go were able to suggest The Flaming Ice Cube. However, Appleton is a bit amiss when it comes to vegan options. I spent most of my week with a green smoothie, and I am ok with that.
There is a wonderful Market called The Free Market, I stocked up on green smooothie ingredients and found this Kombucha infused with Cold Brew by Tapuat Brewing Company, I was in Love.
First stop was Basil Cafe. I had a delicious vegetable dish and took some vegan pho to go, they actually had vegan options labeled on the menu and the staff was very helpful.
The next day I found Happy Bellies Bake Shop. They are nailing it here with Vegan and Gluten Free options, I stopped back later in the week for more. On my first visit I inquired about other vegan options, that’s when I knew it would be a tough week. The only places they were able to muster up were Basil Cafe and Ginger Rootz Grille, both Asian inspired cuisine, which I have nothing against, but I’m always hopeful for more than vegetables and rice. I was grateful for there suggestions and headed to Ginger Rootz.
At Ginger Rootz the staff was extremely helpful in guiding me along their menu, vegan options were not marked on the menu and our server took extra special care in my order maintaining my dietary desires. She even stopped me at one point to let me know something I wanted to order was fried in the same oil meat was fried in, that was very contentious on her end and I was appreciative. In the end, I ended up with vegetables and rice, lol, but it was very tasty.
GingerRootz Grille (not a typo)
I also found a great coffee shop that served Soy Chocolate Chip Ice Cream made by Chocolate Shoppe Ice Cream of Madison,WI, score! And offered soy milk. Acoca Coffee was a delight, any coffee house with a roaster in the front window is definitely worth looking into!
The most exciting part of my week was gearing up for a day full of demonstrations at 4imprint in OshKosh, WI, about 20 miles away from Appleton. This company made all of the merchandise that we distributed for my Kickstarter Campaign for the web series The Vegan Roadie. I had a wonderful time getting to know these folks! We made my Vegan Caesar Salad and Chloe Coscarelli’s Garlic Cream sauce with Bowtie Pasta, Sundried Tomatoes and Field Roast Sausage. I’m happy to say both recipes went over like gangbusters! Stay tuned for a Vegan Roadie SHORT on my visit!
And that was Appleton. What I was thrilled about though was everyone’s enthusiastic curiosity at 4mprint, and their open minds about the food I was making… and of course, that they cleaned their plates! Lastly, that at both the places suggested to me for vegan dining, the staff was attentive, helpful and sincere in making sure I had a wonderful experience.
Special thanks to Meghan and Amy for making sure the demonstrations went off without a hitch!
I’m giving 1.5 Kales to Appleton. Maybe I can come through in five years and bump that up to a 3! Here’s hoping, keep it comin’ Appleton…
Off to Minneapolis!