Stumbling upon stellar eats can be a delightful addition to any road trip. However, sometimes the appeal of a destination is the culinary scene. This is certainly true of Minnesota’s Twin Cities region. It is a mecca for Midwest foodies looking to sample top-notch cuisine—sans having to book a flight or pay coastal prices. So a jaunt across Wisconsin’s northern border should include pit stops at the following Minneapolis restaurants.
French Meadow Bakery & Café
Minneapolis and St. Paul
It’s challenging to find an affordable restaurant that can truly serve up a satisfying meal all day to almost any customer. But French Meadow’s menu is large, plus quite inclusive in terms of dietary preferences. The breakfast, lunch, dinner and bakery offerings are extensive, plus each item is clearly identified as vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and/or organic. The bars, muffins, scones and cookies displayed in the bakery cases at the front of the house at both locations are equally allergen-friendly. Plan to arrive at this dining experience famished, since having the Earth Wings as an appetizer is an absolute must. For a second course, the wild mushroom tostada is thankfully available as a lunch or dinner entree because the flavor combo is delectable while the aesthetic of the plating pretty much demands an Instagram photo. For more information, visit www.frenchmeadowcafe.com.
Soul Bowl
Minneapolis and Richfield
Don’t think soul food can be primarily plant-based? Then you need to peruse, plus taste, many of the dishes at this Black-owned business. Soul Bowl has multiple locations—Richfield, the North loop and inside the Target Field baseball stadium. Portion sizes are generous at this Minneapolis restaurant, so no one leaves hungry no matter which sides accompany the bowls and sandwiches. The Southern Hospitality bowl can easily feed two thanks to generous helpings of collard greens and candied yams paired with traditional fried chicken or thick “cuts” of meatless chik’n. But if it all sounds good, opt to build your own bowl or order a la carte. The coconut rice and peas, the lemon-garlic green beans and the Riri sweet plantain in particular are scrumptious enough to eat solo or as a combo with any of the main fare. For more information, visit soulbowlmn.com.
Vegan East
Minneapolis
Stellar sweet treats that are allergen-friendly can take a while to sleuth out in an unfamiliar city. Luckily, Vegan East Cafe, an Uptown Minneapolis restaurant, is open seven days a week. It has an assortment of light breakfast and lunch nibbles that can be made to order before devouring one of the decadent dairy-free desserts like fresh cinnamon rolls or specialty cupcakes such as Cosmic Brownie or pina colada cupcakes. When only craving a sugar fix, then pop by the Vegan East Bakery—a smaller storefront located in the Nokomis Neighborhood stocked with goodies like chocolate chip cookies and its signature multi-layer cakes that can also be prepared gluten-free. For more information, visit www.veganeast.com.
Photo credit (restaurants): Rachel Werner