Iowa

unicornsandrainbows · **Posted:** Sun Mar 06, 2011 9:29 pm

Catalina wrote:

Bandit Burrito (Johnston) - haven't been personally, but the owners worked at Flying Burrito in Ames which has great vegan stuff, and Bandit is very similar.

You can get soyrizo here, too. BB also has a ton of different hot sauces to choose from. It's a little out of the way for me, though, so if I want a burrito I usually go to Qdoba where they not only have a vegan tortilla soup, but they have sauteed squash as a burrito filling option in addition to the standard fajita vegetables. There's also a few Pancheros around town (they have the best tortillas around their burritos since they make them on-the-spot when you order), and a Chipotle in Valley West Mall. Also, when I was in Cedar Rapids once, I ate at Hot Harry's by a mall and it was pretty good.

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HyVee (All over Iowa) - pretty good for vegan stuff, especially the ones with Healthmarkets.

The Hy-Vee on Fleur has Sweet and Sara peanut butter s'mores, which makes this my favorite Hy-Vee.

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Gateway Market (Des Moines) - specialty shop with lots of interesting stuff. Vegan food in cold case

I love the salad bar here, even though if you load up on sesame noodles like me, it can get a smidge pricey. They also sell We Can't Say It's Cheese in their weird "vegan alternatives and prepared shellfish products section" and their whole wheat pizza crust is my favorite to use. And their cafe sells a tofu bahn mi that is spicy and quite good. Especially with a side of their fresh-cut fries.

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Oneota Co-op (Decorah) - health food store with a lot of vegan staples, might have vegan sandwiches.

I've only been here once, about a year ago. I got some sort of hummus sandwich which was only ok (I wouldn't order it again), but I think I remember liking the grain salad I got on the side much better.

Jess B. · **Posted:** Sun Mar 13, 2011 2:30 am

unicornsandrainbows wrote:

Dudes. I went to Centro last night and had their "tofu gnocchi." I'm pretty certain it's the only thing labeled as vegan on the menu, but it is so good! It comes with sauteed mushrooms, tomatoes, and red onions, and is in a slightly tangy olive oil and herb sauce. So if anyone needs to go to a nice-ish restaurant, at least there's some place that has a surefire option, rather than having to ask for cheese to be left off of something vegetarian. Plus they have the free garlic focaccia on the table.

This sounds delicious.

Catalina · **Posted:** Tue Mar 29, 2011 11:29 am

Just found out that David's in Iowa City closed. This makes me super sad, it was my favorite place in Iowa City. No more Ethiopian food in Iowa means I just have to figure out how to make injera.

Jess B. · **Posted:** Sun Apr 03, 2011 4:46 am

There's good Ethiopian food in Omaha, which is about the same distance away.

cadryskitchen · **Joined:** Tue Nov 30, 2010 11:47 pm **Posts:** 36

Yay! Iowans represent! I agree about Hy-Vee locations that have Health Markets. Using their website, you can request items, and they've been great about getting everything that I've requested. Now at the Hy-Vee in Coralville and on Euclid in Des Moines you can get We Can't Say It's Cheese and Coconut Bliss ice cream in cherry amaretto and vanilla, in addition to lots of other specialty products.

Revelations in Fairfield has a delicious wilted spinach pizza that's very unique. It's kind of an Asian spin on pizza, very good. My favorite things at Fairgrounds in Iowa City are the Super Veggie Grilled Hummus wrap, breakfast burrito, and nachos. My two favorite Iowa restaurants are definitely Masala and Red Avocado in Iowa City.

lindsayh · **Joined:** Fri Oct 22, 2010 1:47 pm **Posts:** 286

there's a groupon today for vesuvius.

$10 for $20 of food.

i bought one even though the last time i tried to order they didnt have daiya :(

*disclaimer*: this is my referral link: http://gr.pn/dS0sTN

Catalina · **Posted:** Mon Apr 04, 2011 4:19 pm

Thanks. I bought one. We love Vesuvius and even without daiya it's pretty great pizza.

unicornsandrainbows · **Posted:** Mon Apr 04, 2011 11:13 pm

Oh man, I've never eaten there, but based on your recs, I'm totally going to regret not buying one, but I never go to Ames. Maybe I should, though...

lindsayh · **Joined:** Fri Oct 22, 2010 1:47 pm **Posts:** 286

if you havent heard about it already, paul watson is speaking at the memorial union at isu this thursday, april 7th, at 7:00 pm. in the great hall.

"Paul Watson founded the world's leading direct action ocean conservation organization, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Since 2002, Watson and his crew have attempted to stop Japanese ships from hunting whales in Antarctica documented in Animal Planet's series Whale Wars, now in its fourth season. Part of the Live Green! Sustainability Series."

http://www.event.iastate.edu/event/2425 ... ured=1&s=d

Jess B. · **Posted:** Wed Apr 06, 2011 2:14 am

That's so cool, Lindsay! Thanks for sharing. Now I really want to go, but unfortunately I have class on Thursday nights :(

lindsayh · **Joined:** Fri Oct 22, 2010 1:47 pm **Posts:** 286

i went and im glad i did. he's a very dynamic person and his talk was really interesting. i could tell several people around me got uncomfortable when he blamed our appetites for the oceans' destruction. as usual, a few people asked dumb forking questions, but he seemed to take it in stride. he stuck around afterwards but i needed to get home to let my dog out so i left.

lindsayh · **Joined:** Fri Oct 22, 2010 1:47 pm **Posts:** 286

i just met a dude from vegan outreach at dmacc.
except in my social awkwardness i didnt get his name.

lindsayh · **Joined:** Fri Oct 22, 2010 1:47 pm **Posts:** 286

there's a new facebook group, des veg life. https://www.facebook.com/#!/home.php?sk=group_223477124331746

she's organizing a potluck in july at greenwood park.

Catalina · **Posted:** Mon Jun 06, 2011 10:17 am

Thanks for the link. I requested to join the group. We really want to host another potluck, it's just hard to find a date when schedules don't match the usual m-f.

Bootsieisacat · **Posted:** Mon Jun 06, 2011 11:24 am

The Wedge in Iowa City has vegan cheese for pizzas :) They put the vegan cow cheese made by Fairgrounds and Daiya.

Unfortunately, when I tried the pizza I didn't like it, because I don't like Daiya :(

lindsayh · **Joined:** Fri Oct 22, 2010 1:47 pm **Posts:** 286

there is a guy in des moines who does this taco thing on tuesdays at the cumming tap (which is too far from ames). he usually has three kinds of tacos including one vegan. this is the website: http://tacopocalypse.com/ and facebook:http://www.facebook.com/Tacopocalypse. he's now also selling them at the des moines farmers market. i went there today (and had to get one of course) and it was funny to hear all the people in line saying "vay-gun." the tacos are yummy, they have a hand-pressed tortilla that is super soft and come with a spicy cabbage slaw on top.

Catalina · **Posted:** Sun Jul 03, 2011 6:36 pm

I was just lamenting the lack of vegan meal things at the farmer's market. Maybe next weekend I'll check it out.

Also, the filter for the Cu.mming Tap made my night.

Tika · **Joined:** Mon Jul 04, 2011 9:19 pm **Posts:** 3

Des Moines

Gusto Pizza on Ingersoll I hear has vegan cheese as an option.

Also in Des Moines. Wang's on 100th has tons of stuff. Today I found agar agar flakes, miso...i also saw some intriguing things like "vegetarian imitation abalone". Who knew? Maybe something to try in a sushi roll?

Catalina · **Posted:** Mon Jul 11, 2011 4:05 pm

I had one of the tacopacolypse vegan chorizo tacos on Saturday and it was pretty darn tasty. I was so happy to have something to eat at the farmer's market. I would usually just have coffee and some fruit.

Jess B. · **Posted:** Sun Jul 17, 2011 4:01 pm

Des Moines is getting an all vegetarian/vegan restaurant finally!!!

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Vegetair ... 22?sk=info

Catalina · **Posted:** Sun Jul 17, 2011 7:40 pm

Awesome! I don't know if I'll ever make it there since it's lunch downtown, but it's great that the option exists.

In other news, I just went to Open Sesame Saturday night. They have a vegetarian plate that's vegan and has hummus, salad, dolmas, falafel, pita, and tabbouli. It was tasty but rather overpriced in my opinion (it was for dinner). They also had an eggplant dish that could be made vegan by leaving out the yogurt.

And if anyone makes it to Ames, Wheatsfield Co-op sells vegan breakfast burritos at the farmer's market and they're my favorite breakfast food now.

lindsayh · **Joined:** Fri Oct 22, 2010 1:47 pm **Posts:** 286

so it looks like vegetaire is the same guy who does tacopacalypse (sam auen), which is cool. hopefully they will be a raging success and can at least expand the hours.

Adena · **Posted:** Tue Jul 19, 2011 4:25 pm

Well, I haven't been on the forum so long I had to re-register. I'm happy to see this list! I'm definitely more familiar with the Des Moines restaurants, but it's good to see all the options in Ames and Fairfield I've never tried.....Mini-road-trip, perhaps?

lindsayh · **Joined:** Fri Oct 22, 2010 1:47 pm **Posts:** 286

$15 of Tacopocalypse for $7.50 today on DSM Daily.
http://deals.dsmdaily.com/deals/Tacopocalypse

Adena · **Posted:** Wed Jul 20, 2011 10:13 am

Thanks for the tip, Lindsay. I've been meaning to try Tacopocalypse.

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