Valentine’s Day for vegans — a plant-based path to your sweetie’s stomach (and heart)

Olivia Balcerzak
Tue, 13 Feb 2018 03:15:08 +0000
Arts & Life, News, clintonville, desserts, destination donuts, pattycake bakery, Portia’s Cafe, the angry baker, The North Market, university district, valentine's day, vegan, vegan desserts

A variety of vegan Valentine’s Day-themed desserts at Pattycake Bakery in Clintonville. Credit: Olivia Balcerzak | Senior Lantern Reporter

Valentine’s Day is coming up soon, but as raw and vegan diets become more common, the average box of chocolates might not cut it with your special someone. Luckily, if your valentine is following a special diet, there are several ways to still give the same sweet treats that are plant-based and convenient. Here are a few places to choose from:

The South Side: University District and Downtown

If you’re looking for a new scene this Valentine’s Day, head down to the Short North or stick close to campus. While this area offers several food and dessert options, among those are a couple of vegan options for you to choose from.

The Angry Baker:

247 King Ave

Located on King Avenue, the nearby coffee shop serves several espresso-based drink options, and also offers baked goods with vegan options including doughnuts, cookies and muffins. If you’re hungry for something more substantial than just desserts, attached to the cafe is the restaurant that offers plant-based options, with more than half of the menu labeled with a green leaf for vegan.

Since the bakery and restaurant are separated, the downside of The Angry Baker is that the open and closing times of each are fairly inconsistent with what is advertised. There have been some times that the bakery has said it was open and was not. For the King Avenue location, the cafe is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday and Monday.

The North Market:

59 Spruce St.

The go-to for any dietary-restricted or picky eater has to be the North Market. It offers a host of vendors, so just about anyone can find something that fits their diet or craving, including vegans.

Destination Donuts has several distinctly flavored doughnuts that are all locally sourced, such as triple berry cardamom, mojito and maple sausage. On top of that, it offers a vegan-glazed doughnut that tastes just like a dairy-based doughnut—maybe even better. If you’re looking for a great doughnut that’s good for the environment and supports a local business, go to Destination Donuts.

Another great place for vegan options in the North Market is Brezel, a Bulgarian pretzel shop. Both the original-flavored and everything-flavored pretzels are vegan, as are the marinara, mustard and peanut butter dipping sauces.

The North Side: Clintonville

Clintonville loves vegans, and seeing as it is just down High Street in walking distance from the University District, vegans can love Clintonville back. Here are just a couple of well-known vegan bakeries and restaurants.

Pattycake Bakery

3009 N. High St.

Pattycake is the king of all things vegan. This all-vegan bakery offers whoopie pies, muffins, cookies, cupcakes and full cakes, all of which are 100 percent organic and many that are also gluten-free. The minimal parking and small space make it hard to enjoy Pattycake in-store, but for a dessert that makes you question all the other dairy-based desserts you have ever had, this is a small price to pay. If you can’t make it into the shop, Pattycake also sells its cookies and muffins at several places across Columbus, including Roaming Goat Coffee and Stauf’s Coffee Roasters.

Portia’s Café

4427 Indianola Ave

Portia’s is known for being environmentally friendly and as one of the top vegan cafes with raw, organic and gluten-free options available. But if you just go for the desserts, you will not be disappointed.

From menu items like “cheezecake” offering a wide variety of fruit flavors that is 85 percent raw, to a chocolate mousse made from raw cocoa and avocado to simple cookies and parfaits all at a reasonable price, it is hard not to love Portia’s. The major downside is the parking, and available seating at Portia’s is very limited. However, if you do manage to get a seat, you can enjoy a meal that is all vegan.