picking favorites (and they're alll favorites) in Door County

So this past week it might’ve been a little quiet on my side! Spent a little weekend with the fam up in Door County (plus food stops in Milwaukee and Green Bay). 

WISCONSIN DISCOVERIES!

Green Bay- 3 vegan friendly restaurants. 1. Vita Rawstaurant- a raw vegan restaurant that is (sadly) closed on Sundays and Mondays, or else I would have gone!! Yelp! page here. (you know how much I adore yelp!) 2. Kavarna- a vegetarian coffeehouse, the adorable kind! But not many breakfast foods so… we decided on our way from Ann Arbor to Door County, to stop here: 3. the Urban Frog- a co-op with a vegan breakfast wrap and some great fresh juices (I enjoyed the body cleanse- apple, beet, cucumber… so fresh & so clean clean!) It’s super cute in here, and I guess the whole city has city-wide Wi-fi? This came in handy at our time-traveling stop next door…

the Somewhere in Time Antique Shop (in Green Bay)! Let alone being named after one of my all time favorite movies (I remember my dad watching the park scene when I was 5, for my wedding my brother in law transcribed the score for 5 violins for my entrance…. yes yes I really like that movie a LOT), At 159 N Broadway, this puts most resale/antique shops I’ve been to to SHAME with original Betty Grable movie posters, an old working glass bottle soda pop vending machine, and my favorite- a whole corner of vintage cameras!!! (enter excited face here!) I haven’t taken a class (yet) but I do adore photography. And as I can’t afford a fancy camera just yet, I’ve become quite enthralled with how old cameras sometimes allow you to see the world in a different way. That they have their own perspective, their own glasses for you to wear as you see the beauty that was there  20, 50, 100 years ago… Anyway blah-di bah blah you don’t want to hear me blab on but hey! I brought the laptop in and used that town-wide wi-fi to find out which cameras they had that film was still available for, and as it narrowed out the super cool 1950’s expandable and super heavy metal Polaroids (sold for over $100 at the time- how much is that today? a gazillion? ok, a lot. so although no one makes the film for it, you can convert it to take handmade film if you are- um- a camera genius? yeah, not me. hehe.), and decided on a beige and black all metal Revere Eye-matic EE127, from the 1950’s, for $32. Can’t wait to try it. 

whheeee! twirling in the wisconsin state park

DOOR COUNTY (DELIGHT!) So, the final destination (mwa-hahaha) for our trip, let me just say as a vegan girl/guy, you would not come here for the food. ever (fish boil city!). But, suffice to say there are options if you are here for say- the Cherry picking, wine-tasting, lush and never-ending state park, and lovely lovely plays (worth the sunset at intermission alone- come early with sandwiches!). Or if, perhaps, the smell of the town reminded you of your grandma’s house mixed with band camp, yes two of my favorite memories, and those might bring you here alone… TO EAT to survive- Greens & Grains (grocery store and cafe): had a vegan sandwich/wrap or two. Julie’s Cafe: is impressively accommodating for a town of 250 (!!) and will put a veggie chicken patty on pretty much anything on the menu, also has veggie breakfast sausage and an oatmeal breakfast that looked pretty yum. the Village Cafe- has a vegan burger, as well as garden & black bean (vegetarian)- veggie fajita, and a veggie bagel (minus the cream cheese) is “the local favorite.” 

Destroyed by Design- available at Brilliant Stranger in Door County or Online ($18-24)

Wisconsin Shopping Find! ::BRILLIANT STRANGER:: Not tucked away, but hanging out in the midst of all the rest of the cute, mom-and-garden focused Door County shopping is the Brilliant Stranger, a handmade renegade style shop of adorable fashion, jewelry, and resale. I felt right at home as I spotted Christy Robinson “not a nugget” necklaces and copies of How it All Vegan in the literary corner… and bought a Destroyed by Design cupcake bunny necklace for myself. (I haven’t taken it off yet- um, would you? check out the fawn to the left, to the left— the cutest necklaces come in a box to the left!)

Oooo and on the way back I discovered the BEST BEST BEST Pit Stop for vegans heading back to Chicago. The National in Milwaukee. Vegan breakfast burrito and french toast to die for- less than five minutes off the expressway. 

City-mouse has left the country. Over and out.

warmest,

Love in the Domes.

So every May, Nate and I take a week long road trip as far as we can drive in the span of daylight, and sometimes some night light too. This year- eh- work has me a bit wrapped up and we took a 2 day trip instead :/ Where can we head for only two days? Where could we find some new yummy vegan food? You’d be surprised- MILWAUKEE! With help from a certain incredible oh so fantastic blonde I know, we enjoyed quite the vegan tour. Check out our stops!

1. Beans & Barley. 1901 E North Ave. 414.278.7878 Vegan friendly restaurant with a little attached grocery store… man, if only I had a freezer in my car, there was so much yummy food I would’ve taken home with me. Fortunately one purchase did not need to stay chilled- my new vegan+ eco solid perfume by Pacifica (my favorite? Lotus Garden.)  Oh yeah, back to the food. We had the Reuben and sweet potato black bean burrito (both tasted pretty healthy but yum) but best was the Red Velvet Cake. They don’t mark what’s vegan so be sure to ask- and safe to say it’s omnis-can’t-taste-the- difference- delicious!

Riverwest Co-op

2. Riverwest Co-op & Cafe. 733 E Clarke Street. 414.264.7933 This one’s like the reverse- a grocery store with a little itty bitty attached veg kitchen, all run by volunteers. Milwaukee’s veg community is hippie to Chicago’s hipster, and I kinda liked this new flavor. We got the french toast (with bananas and chocolate chips- our idea) and biscuits and gravy ($5.75!) Both amazing, huge, and yes, took quite a bit on this busy Saturday morning. Well worth the wait! Next time I’ll order the breakfast muffins- I think I skimmed over it thinking it was something sweet, but it’s really like a vegan egg mc’muffin, which I never had pregan and am up for trying a guilt free version. yum.

3. Classic Slice. 2797 S. KK (at California) 414-238-2406. Vegan cheese, vegan sausage, and nutritional yeast with almost any darn thing you want! The slices have a bit of real cheese pre-sprinkled in, but you can get your own mini pie or a calzone like we did. This place is ADORABLE and their popularity is a no-brainer. I was told it’s the best vegan slice in the city. 

Palomino. Vegan Buffalo Wings, Ranch, AND Pool? Awesomeness.

4. Palomino. 2491 S Superior St. (414) 747-1007. This is. wait for it…. a BAR in…. wait again… MILWAUKEE. that has…hold your breath… vegan buffalo wings that by default come with…. hold on a second… tater tots with vegan ranch. INCREDIBLE. You can get the wings tossed in any sauce you want if you’re a baby about hot like me (I did the BBQ and it was fantastic.) The wings are like a mix of seitan, tofu, and vegan sausage- like a masterpiece of deliciousness.  We didn’t have a fridge at the hotel so we ate the leftovers in bed at 2am or so. I was not even hungry but yeah. I ate them. And yeah. they were still awesome.

5. Comet Cafe.  1947 N Farwell Ave. 414.273.7677. Another veg friendly fest with lots of vegan options, known for it’s pre-lunch food. We had the pancakes and  Comet Benedict. Both delicious- the latter was a lot like biscuits and gravy from Riverwest but still amazing, hearty, and a great huge plate.

BETWEEN EATS: Ok, you can’t just go from eats to eats (or maybe you can- we tried!) But there’s lots more to do in Milwaukee- check out Yahoo Travel Milwaukee’s page for the big ones, but there is also fabulous shopping in the Arts district of the Third Ward (be sure to stop in Hot Pop), and great vintage shops on KK before/after you get a slice at Classic.  

Hope you’ll visit our neighbor up North!

warmest,