Post Punk Kitchen Forum

simplybecause81--just a note to say that downtown St. Paul is a bit isolated, and none of the great vegan haunts are near there. There's a terrific farmer's market, and Tampopo noodle shop has some tasty vegan-friendly things, but Pizza Lucé, Seward, French Meadow, the co-ops, and all of the great TC offerings are a bit hard to get to from downtown St. Paul. If at all possible, I'd strongly suggest renting a car. The TC are not great with public transit, especially on weekends. I'd highly recommend the Donut Cooperative, the Seward, French Meadow, Galactic Pizza, Pizza Lucé, and soft serve at the Wedge.

I'm sad that the Birchwood, which used to be one of my favourite places in town, has moved almost entirely away from vegan options. Last time I was there not one thing on the menu was vegan. They seem to be more into local meat now. Sad.

Darn. I was hoping to avoid the whole car rental thing. The only perk about the hotel, is that it is 5 min from the actual wedding reception. I'm super excited for the trip. I haven't hit up legit thrift/vintage places where I'd actually buy something in a while. Oh, and the neat/different food options.

For vintage stores, I love Lula on Selby in St. Paul: http://lulavintagemn.com/.

Have fun!

The mock muffuletta is amazing at Pizza Luce, but if you can get there for brunch Sat or Sun, the tomato florentine is my favorite!

Pizza Luce also has really good vegan garlic cheese bread. And these peanut butter rice crispy bars with chocolate on top.

MJ mentioned this, but the soft serve (coconut-based) ice cream at the Wedge in Minneapolis is definitely worth a stop if you're in the area. $1.99 kids' cones! And they're pretty big! And you can get it in "twist"!

The Seward Cafe is a great punky breakfasty place. Hard Times Cafe is also pretty punk and they only accept cash but they have really good (noochy) biscuits and gravy and a nice selection of baked goods.

The St Paul Pizza Luce is a straight shot from downtown St Paul on the 21. Google claims it's 20 minutes on the bus. Admittedly, the 21 ranks high on everyone's list of least favourite bus routes, but I suspect it's not so terribly slow in St Paul. (Just don't decide to ride it all the way to Uptown, you'll go insane.)

There's a French Meadow in terminal one of the airport. Even better is that they don't mark up the prices significantly for being in the airport. If you're flying out of terminal two, you need to bring food with you if you don't want to eat trail mix and possibly a bit of hummus or fruit salad, if you're lucky. (There's a slim chance the restaurant could be persuaded to do a vegan salad.)

The Seward Cafe started accepting credit cards sometime this summer, in case you're researching and find conflicting information. Hard Times seems to have been closed most of August for remodeling (I've been out of town). The sign on the door says they're aiming for September 1st. If you're coming this week, maybe phone them first. Both are actually theoretically accessible by bus from St Paul, but it's probably more pain than it's worth.

The Seward Co-op has a really good salad bar (and has a seating area). They have some hot food too, but I've never investigated. I don't think there's any way to argue it's worth a special trip to Minneapolis to eat in a grocery store, but I do go there with people to eat.

HAHAHA. I can attest to this. Terminal two is the size of a hallway. I was very lucky to score some hummus, pita chips, and some sort of Oskri bar...but it was very expensive and not really what I wanted.

Hey guys - I'm starting to cook out of Miyoko Schinner's new book "Artisan Vegan Cheese" and am looking for local sources of

1) powdered carageenan (though I think Northern Brewer might carry it) and
2) the least expensive/most competitively-priced raw cashew pieces.

Suggestions appreciated, as always!

OK, just in case anyone else is interested, here's what I've found so far...

- Kappa carageenan at Northern Brewer (Grand Av, St. Paul - sold as Irish moss) is pretty inexpensive, but not powdered - I got two 1 oz jars of flakes for about $4. They have some powdered Irish moss ("Super Irish Moss") but apparently it's a blend of different kinds of carageenan - kappa and lambda, which won't work. So, hopefully I'll be able to blend the flakes into a powder. Does anyone know if the Wedge carries carageenan in their bulk section...?

- Raw cashews - Trader Joes $6.99/pound (conventional; for both pieces and whole - boo); Whole Foods $12.99 (!! organic I guess); MS Market $8.99/pound (conventional as far as I could tell.)

Other tips...? Clearly, this is not really off the beaten path. There's also a HUGE homebrewing store in St. Louis Park that may have more options in regard to Irish moss.

Hey all - so this is probably old news to most of you, but I've been continually impressed by how many vegan cookbooks the St. Paul Public Library has in its eBook collection for download on your phone/tablet/Kindle. Many of Isa and Terry's books are there, but also Nava Atlas, Robin Asbell, Jennifer McCann, Tamasin Noyes and others. Go public library!

Indeed! Thanks so much for the tip. I just checked out the Mpls public library's catalog and there are a bunch of eBooks I want to check out. Whatever saves me a trip!

I'm here for work for the 3? 4?th time, and I absolutely love the twin cities. It has so much of what I like about NYC but seems so much more affordable and friendly. If I have another Elvis milkshake from the Wedge, I may just move here on the spot.

One of us, one of us... ; )

Holler to all my Mpls peeps. Whaaaaat

Who all is involved with CAA or ARC? Or the Minneapolis Vegan Meetup? Have I met any of you in person? I feel like I should have. I was the vegan donut baker for Donut Cooperative. Holler if you know me!

I volunteer with CAA on occasion! Used to be part of the vegan meetup several years ago. I don't think we've met though?? I worked at last year's VegFest at the U!

I have to say, I don't associate with either ARC or CAA. I don't feel particularly welcomed at either - like I'm not vegan enough. Especially get that vibe with ARC.

But Sarah, I loved the doughnut cooperative! Very cool that you worked there. Anything similar in the works?

Cool! Well we should all get together soon or something. Friend me on FB? sarahnorine@gmail.com :)

Unfortunately no. :( I now work for Canvas Health (I love it), as I am an MSW student now and looking to become a crisis counselor hopefully! But! I'd keep my ear to the ground...word is Glam Doll Donuts will be trying to conjure something up. And Mojo Monkey can always use the feedback on their vegan donuts!
Also also, get to the Birchwood for their "fauxnuts". Baked glutenfree/vegan donuts that are indeed amazing. :) But baked. But nonetheless awesome!

Mmmmmmm, thanks for the tips! Always looking for ways to cure that donut fix. I wonder if we can convince our Whole Foods here in the Cities to make a separate vegan donut section like I hear they have in LA...

They do! In the Venice part of LA. It's so magical.

Oh no! Did the donut cooperative close? What happened?
I love the baked xgfx donuts at Birchwood. I wish the rest of their menu was still as vegan-friendly as it used to be.

Yeah. Bummer road. :(

Hey Snorine!

Hey! Who's this? :)