Berkeley Bites

Just a quick trip over the San Francisco Bay Bridge, you’ll find the cute college town known as Berkeley. Most likely known as crunchy and progressive, Berkeley is a microcosm of students, artists and all sorts of Northern California laid back folk. This making it the perfect place to find healthy, vegan and gluten free eats!

You are not allowed to leave the bay area without making a stop at Cinnaholic. A 100% vegan gourmet cinnamon bun bakery, Cinnaholic is an indulgence beyond all indulgences. With buns the size of your face along with toppings and sauces to blow your mind, vegans and non-vegans alike will absolutely be addicted to the confections they peddle. It’s hard to choose just one but if you must, I love the special cookie dough topped and vanilla glazed bun. Yummmm! You may want to invest in a Dexcom glucose meter when eating here (http://www.dexcom.com/)!

Literally steps away from the aforementioned bakery you will find the Saturn Cafe, a vegetarian diner. Way cute and 50’s space agey, the cafe has a giant menu fit for a hungry, cram studying student as well as a rambling vegan like me. Feel like you just rolled into the set of Grease while stuffing your veg loving face with stuff like the vegan sampler which consists of taquitos, sweet potato fries, onion rings and dipping sauces. Or perhaps some comfort food faves like mac & cheese, a hearty burger or an ginormo salad. And don’t forget to wash it all down with a vegan milkshake or root beer float. Saturn also offers gluten free and soy free options so everyone can join in the retro vegan fun!

If you’re in the mood for some Mexican street food, then Flaco’s is the place to go. Another 100% vegan joint, Flaco’s is all about vegan, non-gmo goodness all the time. And they don’t mess around as they have a fully authentic menu with everything from traditional tacos to pozole, tamales and huarache. The salsas are all delicious and the desserts rock too as they have veganized some Mexican faves like pan dulce and polvorones! Wash your taco feast down with some horchata and you’re ready to roll!

Going with some good eats in the vegan and ethnic realm, Cha-ya is a fully vegan Japanese eatery sure to please. They’ve got some great veggie sushi but they outdo themselves with dishes like taku-sui, a gyoza and veggie pot (so delish) and cha-ya nabe, vegan sukiyaki. Additionally they offer buffet for a great price. It is delicious, healthy and some of the best Japanese food I’ve ever had!

Ah the bay area, so forward thinking and health conscious ; ) I’ll be passing through there quite a bit so as things progress, I’ll be reporting back to you!