This past June, PETA came out with a list of the top ten vegan friendliest cities in the United States. I was surprised to find that Austin, Texas was number one. I’ve never been there, but I’ve got to say, it made me want to take a visit! I live near the second most vegan friendly city in the US: Portland, Oregon. Naturally, it took the top honor on Peaceful Dumpling’s own list of 10 Most Vegan Friendly Cities. Every once in a while we take a vegan vacation to the City of Roses. One place we visit often on our veg-ation is the Vegan Mini Mall on SE Stark Street.
First we like to visit the clothing, book, and trinket store called Herbivore. It’s hard not to love this place with all of the animal friendly messages and soft, soft, oh-so-soft clothes. (Did I mention how soft the clothes are here?)
Next up, Food Fight Vegan grocery, where every item is vegan. They carry items from cactus jerky to vegan dog food to cruelty free lip balm. It’s great to be able to shop and not have to check the label obsessively.
Then, after all the vegan shopping, we get a little parched, so we stop by the SweetPea Baking Co. for a vegan latte and a snack:
Or we head down the block to the worker-managed collective Black and Red Cafe for a tasty tempeh tuna sandwich.
Someday I’ll go to to the vegan Scapegoat Tattoo at the far end of the Vegan Mall to get a little permanent decoration…but for now I’ll stick with snacks and shirts. Happy veg-ationing!
More Photo Essays: A Day of Vegan Food Hopping in Brooklyn
Dispatch: Vegan in Guatemala, the Kaleidoscope of Central America
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Photo: Susana Romatz
