Saturday 13 August 2016

Welcome to Sunny Florida!!

So I am now officially moved to Jacksonville, Florida so I hope to find many South Eastern vegan places to blog about! My friend was visiting from Australia and we did a couple of road trips so I was able to sample some great vegan delights!

JACKSONVILLE

Murray Hillbilly
What started as a food truck is now an awesome restaurant...yay!!! All vegan AND gluten free southern fare, mostly in the form of sandwiches, you won't be disappointed. Also serving brunch now! Currently located in Murray Hill, near Riverside there are rumors of a beach location in the wings!








The Bubba


OMG the fried pickles!!!!!!



From the food truck...





Just up the road from Murray Hillbilly you'll find a very cool haunt, The Walrus with all vegan food, amazing juices and a licensed venue with events. There's even arcade games and a pool table.



This traditional Vietnamese restaurant on Kernan/Beach is staple in out house! They do the most amazing vegan PHỞ, and also have other vegan items on their menu.




This restaurant location in St John's town center offers quite a lot of vegan GF options and the best part...it's always changing! I miss the Brussels sprouts but I'm glad they still have the Charred Cauliflower!!

This was a Butternut Squash pizza - they make their own vegan ricotta.


Charred Cauliflower (my fave!)


I think this was the pomegranate limeade


The mushroom pizza they don't have on the menu right now :)




Has a great selection now of vegan and gluten free items. GF buns are still not vegan though.
I had the loaded cheese fries, vegan meatballs and coleslaw. Vegan thick shakes y'all!!! Yes you can buy the cheezy sauce to take home ;)




The vegan pho is soooooo good 



4 Rivers Smokehouse
Sounds like somewhere a vegan would never want to go when in fact you'll thank me later. They make their own GF Vegan "burnt ends" using Beyond Meat and they make a Vegan GF BBq sauce too. It's simple amazing. How amazing you ask? Well let's just say that the second time we ordered these my meat-eating, vegan food hating husband asked for the vegan option of the real BBQ (and this place is known for it's amazing BBQ and my husband is a southern man and a huge BBQ fan). That's how amazing their vegan option is! They have locations all over Florida (two here in Jax). Unfortunately their own vegan sides are fries and tater tots so opt for take out and make your own sides like Vegan KFC Coleslaw! :)




Everyone I know got so excited by the fact that this place had "vegan" items on the menu that they failed to tell me it is a SANDWICH place. I mean they have a large variety of sandwiches but that's all. They have a lot of vegan items but not all are GF. Ask for the separate GF menu and it will have vegan items listed. They have a fairly good selection of beers though!
I had the Athena's Gift sandwich, a living gluten-free, raw vegan sausage made from assorted nuts
spiced perfectly and topped with cashew cheeze spread, spring mix,
olive salad and tomatoes and a side of chips (crisps, they don't do fries - I know in a European themed eatery...WTF??) and I ordered a separate side of dill sauerkraut.



The Green Papaya Thai has numerous vegan options, including all their curries and a vegan Pad Thai. Beach Blvd, River City, Orange Park and St Augustine locations.

This chain pizza store not only does GF Vegan crusts but also has a vegan cheese options! Seriously good! Just go to the 11" Choose Your own option!




GangNam Korean Restaurant on Beach Blvd is amazing and I love the vegetarian Jap Chae. Most of the sides they give you are vegan too. I love Kimchee and the eggplant side dish mmmmmm.



May Day Ice-Cream

All their dairy free ice-cream choices are vegan (confirmed in an email except the Oreo one). Their sprinkles are not vegan though. We had the chocolate, coconut and chai. So good! Coconut was my fave but on the St Augustine location has it now :( All their sorbets are vegan, the Strawberry Mint and Marilla's Raspberry are my faves!



Cooper's Hawk

Cooper's Hawk is a winery restaurant (all over the USA) and they have some vegan side dishes but the most important part is all of their wines are VEGAN!!! They have wine tasting ($8 for 8 wines) and a bar food area as well as a sit down restaurant. You can just walk in and buy the wine too, or you can get a membership where you get two free bottles of wine and two free taste tests a month!



They do a vegan GF risotto which is really good.





**Closed its doors June 2017 :( **
Spices still available on their website along with some great recipes!
This fresh juice bar and yoga studio serves a number of signature juices and small treats. Everything is vegan. They don't have any meals but they have a lot of original pantry items such as "beer mustard" and tea cocktail mixes. They also sell a bunch of spices and different types of crackers.





***Unfortunaetly closed it's doors in Dec 2022 but I'm hoping they find a new location or do catering because I miss them :(

Protein Bowl


"Blisscuit"


Daily Savory Special with Hibiscus tea


Had this GF vegan  Bagel #2 "smoked salmon" style for brunch one morning at the new Atlantic Beach location...




Sweet Theory

This cute bakery in trendy Riverside is 100% vegan has a small selection of gluten free items. Not a huge bakery and sweets only.



Salted Caramel Cupcake, Berry Cupcake, slices

Fudge cupcake, cinnamon slice, hummingbird cake & brownie


My gorgeous BFF found these vegan GF chocolates at Sweet Pete's Candy, Jacksonville FL. SO GOOD!!!!!





Mellow Mushroom

This chain restaurant offers gluten free crust (vegan) and a signature vegan dish using Daiya cheese.



Moe's Southwest Grill

This chain casual dining restaurant has a build as you go type of meal and there are a ton of vegan options, including tofu. Almost all the toppings are vegan except the obvious ones like cheese, meat and sour cream. Vegan guac...whoop whoop!



This beer garden by Jacksonville Beach has a couple of vegan options. Making them GF leaves then a bit sparse and $8 (not including the fries) it's a bit overpriced. The vegan bratwurst tastes like Lightlife Smart Dogs, so wasn't anything particularly great but the fries were good and it's nice to have another option when in need!



Lanna Thai Sushi 
...at The Jacksonville Landing will do you up vegetarian sushi - my go to is always avocado ;)



Jax Spice Indian Restaurant
New to Jax this Indian restaurant down on the beach has vegan options on their menu and can make many of their dishes vegan! I had the "Palak Paneer" but with vegetables instead of the cheese. SO GOOD!


Buddha's Thai Bistro

Down at Jax Beaches you'll find a Thai place with great atmosphere and lot's of vegan options!!





This Mexican fusion restaurant down near the beach has a few vegan options including these bad boys...Mushroom Tacos and Tempeh Tacos with the same sauce they use for the spicy shrimp tacos.




Has vegan options, including their guac!



Menchies

I got a lovely helpful email back from the people at Menchie's Frozen Yogurt. They confirmed that all their non-dairy varieties use non-char bone sugar and so are considered vegan (sorbets, coconut milk varieties). The Pina Colada was AMAZEBALLS!
There is a caveat though...the almond milk based varieties often have egg so ask the server.
Also any non-dairy varieties that have added ingredients (such as Oreo cookies) would then be considered not vegan by the ingredient.



Riverside Art Markets

These markets not only have local produce but also some vegan fare.
Garden Truck Food Co. is there for delicious food served fresh...


Pulled BBQ Jackfruit with Baked Beans and Potato Salad


I got their Xmas Dinner package too...

Artichoke dip


Kale & Potato Soup


Stuffing stuffed acorn squash and cheezy broccoli. I added the potatoes.


Peach, Pear & Apple crumble...I added the vegan ice-cream



The Zen Butcher has vegan meat (unfortunately not GF) and cheese sauces - the nacho one is awesome!






Olive my Pickle's selection of olives and pickles are all vegan plus they do vegan kimchi!


Provision has a selection of vegan cream cheese and pesto. YUM!


Jax Veg Fest!!!

Every year around the beginning of Spring (in 2018 it was March 3rd)





Poe's Tavern 
With a couple of locations in Jax Poe's isn't super vegan friendly but if you catch yourself there the guacamole, salsa, chips & fries are vegan and gluten free :)





Sushiko

Sushiko in Riverside has it's own vegan menu is awesome but what was a bit disappointing was that there weren't many GF options. What I did have was delicious though!







FERNANDINA BEACH


Just an hour outside Jax situated in Amelia Island is the lovely Fernandina Beach. On the other side of the peninsula is the Amelia River and a lovely street called Center Street full of quaint shops and Florida's oldest pub. At the end with a gorgeous view of the river is Brett's Waterway Cafe...surprisingly cheap and very accommodating to dietary restrictions. I had the marinated vegetable salad with a side of fries (that my two year old demolished). Wicked Bao (Asian street food), Timoti's (offers tofu as a protein for all their menu items), The Patio Place (crepes!) and Sabbia (Mediterranean street food) are also very veg friendly!



This is the black bean hummus which they just gave me...so nice!!!


Gazpacho soup - one of my all time faves!


This was Brett's surprise special for me, lot's of delicious grilled vegetables!


 







Also in Fernandina Beach is Florida's oldest bar, The Palace...run by the Mayor of Fernandina Beach. How cool is that?







ST AUGUSTINE

The Present Moment Cafe


The Present Moment Cafe is a must if visiting St Augustine. It's 100% vegan and almost all gluten free. I felt like a kid in a candy store, a candy store where I actually have choices lol
I had the mango samosa to go so when I got home it was in no state to have its picture taken but it was delicious!! In the restaurant I had the Un-Tuna Melt and a chocolate milkshake (because well why not!).













There are a couple of vegan options in St Augustine. The Floridian is right in the heart of the tourist are and has a few vegan options each part of the menu. Plus their wines are vegan. The restaurant itself is adorable with an upstairs and outside area but it is a bit pricey so I just went with the Southern Chop Chop bowl with tempeh.



FLORIDA KEYS

The Cafe in Key West had a few vegan options. These two salads were great and we also had sweet potato fries. Other options in Key West are Date & Thyme (which looked amazing but unfortunately didn't have indoor seating during a big storm) or Sugar Apple Organic Restaurant.


Watermelon, cucumber and lime juice




Spinach and Tahini salad


Quinoa and avocado salad

We found this cute Mindful Mermaid Cafe in Key Largo while looking for the Hobo Cafe which apparently also had vegan options. The Mindful Mermaid had a lot of vegan options. I loved my kale wrap and juice!








MIAMI

We ended up just eating Amy's vegan meals for dinner in the hotel and vegan protein bars on the go in Miami in the interest of saving money and time but the vegan restaurants are Choices Cafe & Choices Kitchen, Della Bowls Food Truck, Manna Life Food and Plant Food & Wine.


A selection of the vegan bars I had for breakfast - LOVED the Pure Foods one.

We stopped in at Palm Beach Gardens on the way home and ate at very fancy restaurant open for lunch and dinner called Christopher's Kitchen. They are plant based but a few of their items do contain honey - just as them. You can also buy Miyoko's Kitchen cheeses!!!!


MAUI JUICE - celery, cucumber, parsley, kale, lemon, apple, ginger


Raw Tiramisu



Thai Wrap


Guac BBQ Wrap




Fort Lauderdale 

Gelato & Co on E Las Olas Blvd, Fort Lauderdale has quite a few vegan options! I think I had dark chocolate and banana :)



SoBe Vegan (also in Miami) just off the strip at Fort Lauderdale Beach has everything! You can have breakfast or lunch any time of the day, they open super early (which I appreciate) and the atmosphere is so happy.  Lot's of GF options!









On a recent trip to Fort Lauderdale I discovered this gem...
I was expecting a little take out cafe but Panta Queen is a classy vegan restaurant - it's been a hot minute since I've seen one of those so it was very exciting! Lot's of GF options as well. Not the cheapest place but lovely for a special meal!




Of course on my next trip to Ft Lauderdale I took my BFF and we definitely did the place justice - just heavenly!











SAVANNAH

Obviously not in Florida but close to Jacksonville and one of the day trips we did.
Beetnix is a vegan juice bar and yoga studio and had a bunch of gorgeous homemade juices in lovely glass jars and a selection of salads.





Saw this on our Florida trip - so proud :)


Sweet by Holly has vegan/GF cupcakes (YES, both in the same cupcake!) Was in Jax now only in Orlando...