Photo by Kensie Wallner

Vegan Eats in Fargo-Moorhead

By Kensie Wallner
Contributing Writer

I have lived in Fargo all 25 years of my life. In 2005 I adopted a vegan diet which consisted mostly of Boca burgers, various pasta dishes, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Over the years and much trial and error, I slowly learned how to cook and where to find special vegan food items. After plenty of internet research and restaurant hopping I have discovered which local restaurants and chains have vegan options.

As Fargo-Moorhead expands, so do our food choices. There is a growing number of health conscious individuals sprouting up every year. Multiple local businesses have started catering to this demographic. There are businesses that have been here for many years, like Tochi’s and Swanson’s, both in Fargo. Sydney’s, a relatively new business which started in Fargo is now located in south Moorhead on eighth street right off I94. Every grocery store in the area has continuously been expanding their natural food sections; Hornbacher’s in Osgood is amazing, same with both Fargo and Moorhead Cashwise stores. Recently Target added groceries to their Fargo store, including a variety of ‘fake meat’ products. Although I do not shop at Walmart, I have heard they carry a few vegan items as well.

If you are not vegan yourself, more than likely you know a vegan or will know one in the future. Maybe you have thought about veganism but don’t know where to start, or maybe you are a vegan that just moved here for school and have no idea which restaurants are vegan friendly. In this first article I want to just do a run down on what I have gathered over the past six years; in later articles I will go more in depth with food reviews, recipes, restaurant reviews, FAQs and more. If you have a favorite vegan place to eat which has been overlooked, please send me an email and let me know! If you are a business that is interested in catering to vegans, there are a lot of us that would love to visit your restaurant!

Mexican: Vegan Mexican options usually include some sort of bean burrito, unless, of course, you are cooking at home. Taco John’s and Taco Bell both have a bean burrito that is vegan. If you are looking for fast food that is a little more… appetizing, Qdoba, Juano’s, and Moe’s all offer very large and fresh burritos. If you are looking to go to a sit-down restaurant, be careful. Mexican Village and Paridiso both use chicken broth in their rice and red sauce. Juano’s downtown, however, offers a delicious vegetable burrito, and their rice and sauce are also vegan. I have not been to Jalapeno’s, Acculpoco or El Mezcal, so I am unaware of their options. If you plan on going, make sure to ask about not only chicken broth, but also lard and cheese.

Asian: The majority of vegan options happen to be Asian foods. Leela Thai Cuisine, Drunken Noodle, Wasabi and Thai Orchad all offer vegan dishes on their menus. They offer fried or fresh tofu in place of meat products in almost all of their menu items. Make sure to ask for it vegan when you order, otherwise you might be ingesting fish sauce or eggs. Jade Dragon on Main in Fargo offers tofu or mock duck in their dishes. Some other Asian restaurants to try are HuHot, Giant Panda, and Lucy’s. Pretty much all Chinese restaurants will have some sort of tofu vegetable dish!

American: American food seems to be a difficult option for vegans, probably because most American meals consist of meat and cheese with a piece of lettuce if you are lucky. If you want a burger, fries and a ‘milk’ shake, your best bet is to make dinner at home. Almost everyone is familiar with a Boca burgers, which have been around forever, but faux meats have come a long way. My favorite vegan burger is by a company called Gardein. They have a wide selection of fake meat products like ‘Homestyle Beef Tips’, ‘Chipotle Lime Crispy Fingers’ ‘Sweet and Tangy Barbecue Wings’ and their newest addition, ‘The Ultimate Beefless Burger’. You can find Gardein products at Sydney’s and the Fargo Target.

Italian: I love pizza. My guess is you also love pizza. Vegan pizza is super easy to make from scratch, can be bought frozen and can even be ordered for delivery in town! Pizza Nico in Moorhead offers a pizza made with a vegan cheese called Daiya. Vegan cheese is pretty hit or miss. It is either God awful or absolutely amazing. Daiya is hands down the best vegan cheese out there. You can purchase it in bags at Sydney’s, Hornbachers in Osgood and both Cashwise locations. There are three flavors available: mozzarella, pepperjack, and cheddar. Pizza Nico and Xtreme Pizza Kitchen both use the mozzarella on their pizzas and they both have a large selection of vegetables to add. My current favorite is sundried tomato and spinach with extra pizza sauce from Pizza Nico. Tofurkey makes a frozen pizza that uses Daiya which can be purchased at either Cashwise locations. There are three varieties: cheese, pepperoni, and Italian sausage.

If you are looking for some pasta, you have a few options. First, stay away from the Olive Garden. They use egg noodles and put parmesan cheese on/in everything. I have had a few meals from Carino’s that are pretty good. They have a “build your own pasta” option which is usually what I lean towards. If you are feeling fancy, or just got paid, Taste of Italy and Toscana will alter pasta dishes to make them vegan if you ask.

Indian, Middle Eastern and others: I must admit, I have never been a huge fan of Indian food, which is a shame because there are a few vegan options in town. Passage to India has a few choices in their buffet and on their menu; just ask which ones are vegan.
If you are looking for some middle eastern cuisine, Aladin’s offers a falafell with humus. Extreme Pita and Pita Pit also offer a falafell. In my opinion, don’t bother. This summer Pita Pit introduced a black bean patty (think black bean burger) to their menu. It’s a pretty tasty addition if you are used to vegetable pitas.

The Green Market offers many vegan options daily, which range from soup to sorbet. You can visit their website to see their menu which is constantly changing.

Treats: Mmmm. I have a major sweet tooth so I am always looking for sweet vegan treats. Atomic Coffee now carries a few baked vegan goodies, like carrot cake and brownies. You can also find Alternative Baking Company cookies at Atomic Coffee, Red Raven and Swanson’s. They have many flavors including my favorites, ‘Phenomenal Pumpkin Spice’, ‘Luscious Lemon Poppy Seed’, and ‘Explosive Espresso Chocolate Chip’. If you are looking for a chocolate fix, check out the natural food section at any grocery store for delicious candy bars. I recommend Chocolove and Endangered Species chocolate bars.

I love ice cream almost as much as I love pizza. Luckily, vegan ice cream can be found everywhere. If you are willing to wait in line forever, Tutti Fruitti offers one sorbet flavor every day, orange, strawberry, mango, watermelon, raspberry, or tropical; you then load it up with fresh fruits and enjoy. Cold Stone Creamery has a few different sorbet choices. You can add fruit to be mixed in to make a delicious treat. If you are on the run, Star Kisses from DQ are also vegan. Every grocery store carries a couple of brands of vegan ice cream. With flavors like “Chocolate Peanut Butter Swirl”, “Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough”, “Carrot Cake”, “Chocolate Obsession” and “Cherry Nirvana” there is a flavor for everyone. Well, maybe not everyone, in that case you can pick up the cookbook Vegan Scoop and make whatever ice cream you want at home! OH! There are even vegan ice cream bars at many grocery stores!

Info: There are a bazillion vegan cookbooks out there. I am pretty sure I own about 75% of them (my boyfriend says it’s more like 90%), but I have only been able to make about 10% of the recipes. There are just so many I want to try! Barnes and Noble has their own vegan cookbook section. (If you see a girl with short black hair sitting on the ground in this aisle with a stack of eight vegan cookbooks carefully examining the beautiful photographs of the food, that’s more than likely me.) There are also a few vegan magazines out there. My favorite is VegNews, which comes out every other month. Barnes and Noble and Target both carry the latest issue. It’s full of recipes, product reviews, events, tips, interviews, and news. VegNews has a sister website called VegWeb that is dedicated to vegan recipes, millions of them. If you would like to get more involved locally with fellow vegans there is a group called FM Veg, which you can find on facebook. I would also love to answer any questions, or hear of any more vegan options in the FM area!

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