I have always had an interest in different types of food. I liked everything from my mom’s Cuban-style dishes growing up, to new and unusual foods like cow tongue at the buffet with my childhood best friend’s grandparents.
When veganism, which is the lifestyle of people who eat plant-based foods, started to become more socially available at my school in the last few years, I was curious about it. What is it that makes vegan cuisine so different from the food the average American eats in their day to day life?
Merriam-Webster defines vegans as, “strict vegetarians who consume no food (such as meat, eggs, or dairy products) that comes from animals.” Vegans also “abstain from using animal products (such as leather).”
I am not a vegan; I would like to make that clear. I am extremely open-minded when it comes to what I eat though, and for me, veganism houses one of my favorite kinds of food.
Over the past few years, I have frequented some of the vegan spots in St. Petersburg, FL, and have found that vegan food really doesn’t taste that much different from what I refer to as “regular” food. Yes, it is different due to the lack of animal products and it gives the food a foreign texture from time to time, but it still tastes delicious to me.
One of my favorite vegan-style Tampa Bay-based eateries is SOHO Juice Co. The SPot started out in Tampa on South Howard and opened a location on 4th Street North in St. Petersburg soon after. They primarily serve organic and mostly vegan foods (if you take out the bee pollen or honey from varied products).
SOHO Juice Co.’s offered product base contains health foods like acai bowls (delicious!), natural juices (for cleanses and general enjoyment), probiotic shots (for energy and calm, etc.) and even vegan cookie dough!
Prices range between $9 and $12 for acai bowls, depending on the size one may want. While superfoods like acai are a bit pricey and hard to come by, in general, a specialty spot like SOHO Juice Co. has valid reason to charge $12 for a 16-ounce bowl.
Another SPot that has delicious plant-based and raw options is Cider Press Cafe. Cider Press has made a home to the corner of the 600-block of Central Avenue in St. Petersburg since 2015. Their website boasts that the restaurant is “vegan for all,” and their cooking equipment is described as “unusual.”
The first time I went to Cider Press, I was told by a waitstaff that they only served room temperature foods, meaning raw and vegan. While the idea was interesting to think about, I wasn’t sure how to feel; I tried it for the first time that day and fell in love. This was back in 2015, shortly after the St. Petersburg location opened. The menu was a bit smaller back then, but the expanse of options available on the menu currently makes me visually hungry.
From personal experience, the pad Thai offered by Cider Press is delicious.
Pad Thai from Cider Press Cafe.
The Cider Press Cafe Pad Thai dish seen above is 100 percent raw and plant-based. It has both zucchini and kelp noodles, as well as pineapple, tamari almonds and a wealthy variety of mixed vegetables drenched in spicy tamarind sauce. At $15, it is healthy, delicious and filling!
Karma Juice Bar on 1st Street Northeast in St. Petersburg is another great vegan-friendly place to eat. Debuting back in 2015, it is a juice bar laden with rustic wooden decor and super foods intended to make their patrons feel like their best selves.
The main kitchen for Karma is located in Clearwater, FL, and while their St. Petersburg location uses only fresh ingredients daily, they do not have a kitchen. As far as demographic, Karma attracts people of all ages, from teenagers to 90-years-old, and everything in between.
Owner Josie Barber said she opened Karma Juice Bar because she was sick for a long time and food healed her body. Her daughter used to live in Hawaii, where acai is popular, and she recommended that Barber open a place with acai bowls.
Barber said, “It’s a combination of ideas from both mother and daughter, ” and thus Karma Juice Bar was born.
While these vegan eateries are some of my favorites, there are others in the St. Petersburg area that are worth a visit, Ray’s Vegan Soul Food being one of them. The mac-and-cheese from Ray’s was described to me by loyal Ray’s customer Diamond Cunningham as, “the best I have EVER tried.” Personally, I have not had the opportunity to visit Ray’s yet, but I plan to due to the raving reviews of it I have received from friends in the area.
According to Cunningham, a woman who is a full year into the vegan lifestyle, plant-based food is not at all difficult to find in the St. Petersburg area.
Being a person who loves plant-based cuisine and not involved in the lifestyle, one thing Cunningham told me about being vegan really stuck.
She said, “I have learned so much about myself through the process of living vegan. It started out as a two-week challenge, and I have not looked back. I see every day as an accomplishment. ”
So who knows? Maybe adult Marilyn will make her childhood counterpart proud and end up full-blown vegan one day without looking back just like Cunningham.
HCXOXO,
Marilyn