Life doesn’t get much better for vegans than living in Portland, Oregon. But drive a few hours east to the high desert and you’ll find that Bend, Oregon is no slouch, either, when it comes to feeding vegans. Here are some of my favorite places to eat in Bend.
Plenty of nature, plenty of vegan food.
Next Level Burger
This is where Next Level Burger began, a visit to the mothership of the organic vegan burger chain is a must while in Bend. Next Level makes a plethora of burger patties, involving different blends of quinoa, white beans, black chia seeds, black beans and mushrooms. Fries come in regular or sweet potato, and you can get vegan milkshakes. Not a fry person (Are there such creatures?)? Order your burger with a side of kale salad instead.
Bethlyn’s Global Fusion
Named for Chef Bethlyn Rider, this cute world fusion café has a wide-ranging menu. She mixes American with African, French with Indian, whatever it takes to make an interesting dish. Bethlyn’s Global Fusion is a good place to get a few appetizers or bigger dishes to share. Good vegan choices include roasted India chick peas, Thai coconut curry bowl, or a Mahn Mi lettuce wrap. Lots of menu items can be made vegan on request.
International vegan dishes at Bethlyn’s
Joolz
A different type of global fusion happens at Joolz, whose tagline is, “Where the Middle East meets the Wild West.” Chef Ramsay Hamdan was born in Beirut to a Lebanese father and an American cowgirl mom. Joolz is a bit more upscale than other places on this list, and its pretty Middle Eastern décor lends itself to a romantic date night. They do a nice job with standard veg Middle East choices, like falafel, grape leaves and baba ganouj.
Taj Palace
This warm, colorful Indian restaurant features South Indian food such as dosas (veg-filled lentil crepes), idli (steamed rice cakes) and vadas (fried lentil cakes) as well as the standard curries found most Indian restaurants in the US. The friendly staff can help you sort the vegetarian from the vegan. We’ve been to Taj Palace both for the lunch buffet and have ordered dinner off the menu.
Chow
As someone who favors old houses, I love old house restaurants and felt very at home here.
Chow!
While breakfast is easy for vegetarians, I often find it the hardest meal for vegans. But Chow offers more than the default oatmeal made with water. They made me a lovely tofu rancheros, and also had a vegan Benedict. I ate there the day before Thanksgiving and they even had vegan pumpkin pancakes.
Vegan rancheros at Chow
Bonta Natural Artisan Gelato
This gelato place is packed even on November nights—and we know, because we went two nights in a row. Gelato joints usually offer sorbets, too, which I’m sure many people find delicious. I’m not one of those people. Sorbet usually tastes like fruit concentrate to me, making me envy my husband’s gelato and throwing what he calls “a vegan tantrum.”
Frozen treats at Bonta
But Bonta provides for people like me. In addition to their sorbets, they make some richer, coconut-based vegan ice creams, including chocolate coconut. Next time I visit, I hope to try their spiced latte vegan ice cream.
Teresa Bergen owns the Veg Travel & Fitness site. Vegetarian since childhood, she’s an expert in traveling while vegetarian or vegan. Teresa’s the author of Vegetarian Asia Travel Guide, is the vegetarian editor for Real Food Traveler, and regularly contributes to Chic Vegan.
