Vegan Traverse City

Being vegan is difficult in Michigan. Especially outside of Ann Arbor. Especially in the Northern part of the state. I spend a lot of my spare time in Traverse City, and have compiled a list of vegan-friendly places to eat.

1. Oryana Food Co-Op (260 East 10th Street) has "Lake Street Cafe" that has several vegan sandwiches-- my favorite is the Chipotle Tempeh wrap. Oryana also has it's own homemade tofu brand (Soyworks) and a delightful bulk-bin section.

2. The Dish Cafe (108 S. Union St) has convenient location as it's main draw. The "wasabi wrap" is good because it has wasabi peas in it, and the "grumpy" greek wrap is vegan if you order it without feta. Some of their other sides/salads/whatever are also vegan.

3. The Boathouse (14039 Peninsula Dr) is a pretty fancy restaurant that I wouldn't recommend unless someone else is paying or you are trying to impress a group of snobby nonvegans. There is nothing actually vegan on the menu, but on the bottom of the menu it says something like "dietary restrictions? we love a challenge". I was a little pissy when my parents brought me here because I was like "I'm vegan, what can you make me?" and the waitress was like "I'll go check". She never came back and about 20 minutes later (right before our food was going to be served) she came out and was like "do you like surprises?". Truth be told, I hate surprises, but you can't tell a stranger that you hate surprises when she is about to surprise you or else you sound like a complete wet sandwich. So I was like, "yea...". And she brought me out an enormous tray with all these little partitions and multiple different vegetable things all over. For instance. Some fingerling potatoes with truffle oil and morel mushrooms (dried morels, but still). Some marinaded artichokes. Some roasted red peppers with peanut shoots or something that looks like a clover (I love eating anything that looks like clovers because I feel like a bunny when I do). Strawberries, etc, etc, etc. It was very good.

Aaaand.... that's about it. If you're vegan and vacationing in Traverse City, you'd best stay somewhere with a kitchen. Or come over to my house-- my mom will cook you something vegan.