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What To Do And Eat – Vegan Style – In Kansas City

What To Do And Eat – Vegan Style – In Kansas City

Ready to get your gourmet feasting on in all the major cities.. sans animal flesh and emissions ? Eat Pure…A Monthly Taste hooks you up with Sarah-Mai Miller’s adventures. Sarah is the foodie behind Eat Pure, a veg food + travel blog. She shares her culinary adventures with us monthly, and this Month is Kansas City, Missouri.

Over the past six months, I had the pleasure of visiting Kansas City, Missouri twice. I stumbled upon an amazing lavender flavored snowcone, a three course vegan brunch, and the best vegan pizza I’ve ever encountered.

My first stop was Cafe Europa. While shopping at George, one of my favorite boutiques in Kansas City, I noticed a cute cafe next door. Cafe Europa has the most beautiful bakery case…none of it vegan…but beautiful nonetheless!

They do have a vegan Tomato Basil Soup that was so flavorful and perfectly spiced. A lovely afternoon pick-me-up. They have Wood Fired Pizzas that can be ordered without cheese and a Roasted Vegetable Panini. Even just an iced tea would be enjoyable at this spot. It’s so quaint and charming…and did I mention George is right next door?

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Photo courtesy of Heath Miller (my husband)

The Filling Station is an irresistible coffee garage that used to be an old gas station.

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They serve breakfast and lunch, along with fresh juices and coffee.

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I had the Hawaiian Trio juice made from pineapple, orange and apple juices and the Strawberry Pecan Salad. All very fresh and light, a great lunch while sight seeing around the city.

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For Sunday brunch, we ate a neighborhood spot called Room 39. It’s cozy and quaint and they customized their prix fixe menu to be completely vegan for me.

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First, a field green salad with strawberries and a very light olive oil dressing.

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Followed by a tofu scramble with potatoes and swiss chard on the side.

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And to top it off, fresh berries, simple and perfect for brunch.

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d’Bronx Authentic Deli and Pizzeria is a well known eatery in KC that just happens to have several veg options.

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Their entire restaurant is a canvas for their customers’ heart felt sentiments.

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d’Bronx was a last minute stop on our way back home, so we took our sandwiches to go. When traveling, I always bring a healthy option with me, just in case!

Their Healthy Veggie sandwich has hummus, leaf lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes and sprouts on a wheat roll. I ordered mine with balsamic vinaigrette, simply because it makes everything taste better.

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Next time, I’d love to try their pizza sans cheese. I love a good New York style pizza.

While researching places to eat, I stumbled upon Fresher than Fresh Snowcones. The minute I saw a picture of their food trailer, I had to seek them out. When the weather permits (May – Sept), they show up in various outdoor locations around the city (check their website for schedules).

Their snowcones are made from all natural, real ingredients. And if you’re not into snowcones, I dare you not to love Fresher than Fresh. With flavors like Lime Mint, Pineapple Serrano and Blood Orange, you will completely change the way you feel about snowcones.

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I chose Blackberry Lavender…very complex, not overly sweet, and so lovely on a hot day.

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Waldo Pizza is by far my favorite vegan pizza yet. They have a separate vegan section on their menu, including vegan cupcakes.

I ordered a pineapple pizza with Follow Your Heart mozzarella. When it arrived, I had to remind the waitress that I ordered vegan cheese. She said, yep it’s vegan cheese. I was in complete disbelief. When you see most vegan cheeses, you know it’s vegan. It looks…different than regular cheese. Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate all vegan cheeses. However, some of them have a certain unmistakable flavor. This pizza had none of that flavor. I was amazed! The taste was incredible. The trick is to bake the vegan pizzas for 2-3 times longer than traditional pizzas. They come out looking exactly like the original.

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Nara is a great choice for dinner downtown. The Vegetarian Roll is filled with Avocado, Cucumbers, Carrots and Seaweed Salad.

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They have lots of great tofu dishes, including Grilled Smoked Central Soy Tofu (locally made tofu) with Kirin Onion Marmalade, Shitake Mushrooms and a Cold Soba Noodle Salad with Crispy Vegetables. This dish was really unique and flavorful with lots of great textures.

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If you have some time before or after dinner, stop by nearby Hammerpress, a letterpress studio with awesome stationery and a really cool hair salon. A strange combination worth seeing for yourself.

Kansas City was much cooler than I imagined. Great boutiques, stellar restaurants and that lovely Midwest charm. There’s a great guide to the city by eat.shop, which is where I started my research. They have guides all over the country and they’re a great way to learn a new city. Happy exploring…And stay tuned for next month when I hit Seattle!