Find a Happy Place

Today I want to talk about some of the vegan options in Kentucky.  Believe it or not, there are some! 

I live in a small town, but the Kroger in nearby Harrodsburg (five miles away) has a decent selection of faux meats, Earth Balance, soy/almond milk, vital wheat gluten, tofu and the like.  So shopping to cook at home is not hard.  If I want an even bigger selection that is still relatively close to home, I can go a little farther away (ten miles) to Danville and hit the Kroger there.  Eating out in Harrodsburg or Danville is mostly a wash – you can hit up the usual suspects like Taco Bell or Subway, or there’s a Chinese place in Danville called Wok-n-Go that has a yummy version of Sesame Tofu.

Luckily, I commute to Lexington for work, and there are plenty of options there!  We just got a Trader Joe’s last year, and we’ve got Whole Foods and the local Good Foods Co-op.  The Good Foods Co-op has a restaurant as well, with an awesome hot bar, salad bar, and some vegan selections in the bakery section.

There are plenty of Asian restaurants in Lexington that can accommodate your vegan needs:  my personal favorite is Asian Wind, which has the most awesome soy/gluten product called kwachik on the menu.  The Kung Pao Kwachik and Sesame Kwachik are delish!  Planet Thai is also a fave:  great Pad Thai, Planet Thai Noodles, curries, and more.  Try the spring rolls!  Omigod!  (You know the drill:  ask for no egg or fish sauce ...Side note:  I also once saw Steve Zahn eating dinner there. Woot!)

The local Mexican restaurants also have some pretty good vegetarian selections that can easily be made vegan.  Jalapeno’s and El Toro are two of my favorites.  Potato burrito!  Yee-ha!

We’ve also got some Cajun joints that are worth checking out:  head to Bourbon n’ Toulouse for the vegan black beans and rice!

The old vegetarian hippie standby and local favorite is Alfalfa’s.  I find them to be hit or miss sometimes (and a little pricey), but they’ve usually got at least one vegan dish on the nightly specials, and options on the regular menu as well.  Hit them up for weekend brunch and you won’t be disappointed.  Get the cinnamon coffee!  Another local restaurant with good veggie options is Ramsey’s.  They tend to be heavy on the cheesy-side of things, but you can get vegan if you try!

We’ve also got lots of newcomers on the scene – Limestone Blue is a cute little sandwich place downtown (I think they lean more vegetarian than vegan, but I’m sure they will accommodate!)

And there’s always Mellow Mushroom for pizza!

I don’t get to Louisville much, but I did want to throw in a mention for Heart & Soy on Bardstown Road.  This place is really cool.  You can watch them making homemade tofu through a big glass wall.  It doesn’t get any more vegan than that, does it?  We hit them up last year when we saw the Mythbusters on tour.   Here's what we ate:

Pad Thai

Rice Cake with Veggies

BBQ Tofu over brown rice

And thanks to Kittee’s epic month of Ethiopian food, we’ll be hitting up Addis Grill or Queen of Sheba next time we go.  

So, next time you're heading to Kentucky, or just passing through, do not despair!  We've got you covered!

Finally, here's that whoopie pie I owe you all from yesterday:

See you tomorrow, MoFoers!