Central Florida Eats

I had the pleasure of spending the holidays in Florida with my fam and, as usual, I was pretty amazed at the good vegan eats available there.  In fact, there seem to be more options every time I visit.  The word is getting out people!   Even in places like Disney World, vegans can happily chow down with everyone else.  Check out the burger at Liberty Tree Tavern in the Magic Kingdom, for example:

This mouth-watering vegan patty is made up of potatoes and quinoa with a slight hint of spice and is served up with sweet potato fries and a deliciously tart pickle.  No better fuel for a day of characters, rides, and lots of walking, I say!  Unless, of course, you want a sweet treat.  In which case, make your way to the Downtown Disney location of Babycakes:

All gluten-free and vegan, their donuts, cupcakes, and other confections will keep your sweet tooth sated and prepare you to take on any theme park you choose.

And speaking of those parks, when you want to get away from all the madness and dislodge "It's a Small World After All" from your brain space, hit up Falafel in Lake Buena Vista.  Authentic Moroccan food, like that above, awaits you, along with a decent wine list and belly dancing (some nights).  You'll forget all about Mickey with a quickness.

After our trip to Disney, we spent the rest of the holidays around grandma's place in New Smyrna Beach, where we hit up Big Planet Pizza for cheeseless pies (above) and The Breakers for what is easily my favorite vegan burger on the planet:

This housemade patty is so full of flavor from the Mediterranean herbs and spices that everyone who tries it (omnis too!) loves it.   As a side note, I don't trust that the buns are vegan even though they say so, so I always bring my own.  I know that is a bit crazy, but I like Rudi's buns so much anyway, that it ain't no thang to me to bring 'em along.

I've saved the best for last, folks!  New to the New Smyrna scene, and BY FAR, the most vegan friendly restaurant for miles, Cafe Verde is my new fave place near grandma's house.  Any place I can get a kale salad (above) with quinoa and avocado is a winner in my book, Cafe Verde has a ton of other vegan options, like these crazy good vegan tacos:

As super impressed as I was with FL this time around, I'm psyched to be back in SF now and ready to tackle some new eats in my hometown.  Happy New Year... and stay tuned!