By Sarah Valek
Oh Cleveland, how you’ve evolved. Ten years ago one would be hard-pressed to find vegan food in Cleveland, but now it’s hard not to. Sure, Cleveland isn’t yet a hotbed of vegan restaurants but we have plenty of entrepreneurial souls offering up quality vegan eats without (as of yet having) a brick-and-mortar location. Take a stroll through a farmers market or festival and you’ll come across some vegan-friendly vendors that offer the good stuff. We spotlight a few of our favorite vegan market finds:
If you still hold on to the picture of vegan bakery being dry and bland, you haven’t tasted Poison Berry Bakery. This small but mighty family-run bakery creates cupcakes, cookies and hard-to-find items like vegan mallow cups, cookie dough balls (chocolate chip cookie dough dipped in chocolate), cannoli, donuts, cake balls, whoopie pies and a cupcake that tastes like a Twinkie.
New items are added all the time and Poison Berry tries to use as many organic ingredients as possible. Gluten-free? They’ve got that, too. As for the name? It’s a spin on how some people view vegan food as “poison.” Poison Berry Bakery exists to prove all vegan bakery haters wrong.
Find them at: Burning River Fest Fri 7/25 and Sat 7/26.
Try a little of everything at Mo Bite Products. Operating mainly as a catering business, Mo Bite also hits the markets with their vegan entrees and desserts. Try their famous nachos, topped with a homemade “cheese” sauce that’s downright sublime. Or go for one of their oversized muffins. Or purchase trays of food for a party and choose from a mouthwatering selection of vegan roasts, gyros, black-eyed peas, Polish boys and more.
The chef at Mo Bite received her training from the long-closed (and much missed) Soul Food Vegetarian Restaurant and is passionate about the health benefits of a vegan lifestyle.
Find them at: Gordon Square Farmers Market on Wednesdays from 4 – 7pm
Though not a strictly vegan business, Parma-based Metro Croissants offers a variety of hard-to-find vegan croissants and pastries. Find vegan lemon-cream cheese croissants, traditional croissants, chocolate croissants and more — and yes, they retain their characteristic flaky crust. Enjoy a veganized taste of Paris.
Find them at: Tremont Farmers Market on Tuesdays from 4 – 7pm & West Point Market in Akron.
Looking for a dairy alternative? Look to Red Lotus Foods. They create delicious dairy-free goods made with raw, organic cashews. Try their creamy cashew spread offered in four flavors: sun-dried tomato and black garlic, roasted garlic and herb, and spirulina bleu. Or try their Cashew Sour Cream or Sweet Cashew Creme. Healthy and sustainable.
Find them at: Tremont Farmers Market (Tuesdays), Gordon Square Market (Wednesdays), LEAF Community Farmers Market (Thursdays 5:30 – 8pm) & Lakewood Farmers Market (Saturdays 10am – 1pm).
This is Cleveland — you’ve got to have good pierogies to eat. For too long vegan pierogies didn’t exist… but they do now, and in droves. The Pierogi Lady offers up all sorts of vegan pierogies — potato, cabbage, sauerkraut, spinach and mushroom, potato habanero and even “exotic” ones like blueberry and apricot. The business was created in the quest for the “perfect pierogi,” so expect nothing but deliciousness.
Find them at: Burning River Fest Fri 7/25 and Sat 7/26, Hartville MarketPlace, Hudson Farmers Market on Saturdays from 9am – noon.
What did we miss? Feel free to drop us a comment.
Also, for a comprehensive list of vegan and vegetarian-friendly restaurants in the Cleveland area, click here. On the go? View these listings in the Vegetarian/Vegan category in our app.
Cool Cleveland editor Sarah Valek studied art and writing at Ithaca College. After graduation, she came back to Cle and served two years as an AmeriCorps*VISTA with the Northeast Ohio Coalition for the Homeless. She can be found on all sides of the city in pursuit of homeschooling activities for her son and the perfect soy latte. Contact her at CoolEditorATCoolCleveland.com or via Twitter.
One Response to “Five #Vegan Cleveland Market Finds”
Adam Rosen
Mo Bite is awesome! I would die for a Soul Food vegan restaurant in Northeast Ohio. I always hit up those spots in DC, NYC, LA, CHI when I go. That is the absolute best kind of vegan food!