Samvid Beauty
You can view my updated post about Vegan Food Options in Salem, Oregon here.
Eating vegan has become very normal to me, but evidently it’s not normal to a good portion of…anyone else in Salem, Oregon. I know other vegans are out there, so I wanted to share my favorite vegan spots in Salem. I will preface this by stating that I can be pretty picky about my food, I look for quality and good ingredients.
Food Options
Chipotle: Huge burritos here! If you have never been, you can choose your burritos or salad items on Lancaster Drive in North Salem. If you get the vegetarian one guacamole is included for no extra charge.
Marco Polo:This restaurant has an enormous menu. The average price of an entree is about $12 or $13. I haven’t ate at this restaurant too much, but they do have good “global selections.”
Muchas Gracias on Capitol Street: At Muchas there is one thing on the menu I get, although I am sure there are other options. I love their vegetarian burrito, but you have to go to the one on Capitol Street for this one! They fill it with beans, rice, pico de gallo, and guacamole instead of cheese. Don’t worry I also looked up their tortilla ingredients, they use the local Don Pedro kind and they are vegan. I love it for breakfast or a quick dinner. Oh, and it is only $3.65.
Pita Pit: Here you can get a veggie pita, falafel or black bean pita, all delicious and filling. You can even make it a salad if your prefer. On State Street they even have vegan sauces listed on the board!
Venti’s: This is a funky restaurant located in downtown Salem and on Commercial Street. While they don’t have a huge selection of vegan options the choices they do have are extremely flavorful and just plain amazing. I highly recommend their yellow curry or a vegan black bean burger.
Venti’s is also known for carrying tons of local beers. Their location on Commercial Street is actually a tap house, which makes it extra fun.
Willamette University: During the school year I highly recommend Goudy Commons (Rachael Ray from the Food Network actually went here on her $40 a day show). Goudy is affordable, but is also very high quality. They aim for healthy and local foods with a variety of different options such as pizza, burritos, quinoa salads, hemp burgers, soups, and more. Vegan, gluten free, soy free and vegetarian options are clearly marked here. Even if Goudy doesn’t show it on their menu there is always something vegan to eat. They also do a dinner that is buffet style, yum!
The Cat Cavern at Willamette is also an option, it is the same Goudy food, but less variety.
Desserts and Drinks
Ike Box: Many coffee shops offer soy alternatives, but this downtown cafe takes it a step further and offers hemp milk too (try vanilla hemp in your coffee, you won’t regret it). If you have a sweet tooth they also carry vegan and gluten free cookies.
Lucky Cat Bakery: Kelsey Quinn is the girl to call if you need some delicious homemade vegan cupcakes, cakes, scones or pretty much anything that is sweet and yummy. She does special orders, and she comes highly recommended by me.
Any vegan food places you know of?
If I missed any places feel free to add to my list. I would love to try out some new spots!
when I go to Christo’s pizzeria in Salem with others, I order a plain rosso pizza and have them add items such as mushrooms, olives, spinach, etc… their pizza dough is vegan.
Thanks Michel! I have actually been on the hunt for a quality pizza shop that make vegan pizzas.
Had lunch at Happy Curry, the newish Indian restaurant located on the corner of Ferry and Church. The food is fresh and delicious: you go down the line and choose grains, veggies, topping (I had tofu), sauces, etc. Very good, very healthy, and very reasonable … plus good-sized portions and friendly service.
Yum! I will have to check them out. Thanks Laura.
About Muchas Gracias: they use lard in their beans, so not vegan, unfortunately. (I asked them.)
Muchas Gracias now has black beans that are cooked in soybean oil!
Don’t forget Chipotle! Note from the website: Vegan Options: You should avoid our pinto beans (they are cooked with a small amount of bacon), meats (obviously), cheese, sour cream, and chipotle-honey vinaigrette. Burritos, tacos, salads, and burrito bowls. They are also adding Gardein “garden blend” vegan imitation meat at select locations
Also, according to the phone app VeganXpress, Taco Del Mar has a “Vegan Burrito” and lists their black, pinto, and refried beans, rice, chips, salsa, guacamole, salad and taco shell, tortillas, green sauce, red sauce, and habanero sauce as vegan.
In a pinch, there are a few Subway breads that are vegan, just waiting to be filled with veggies and topped with mustard (just make sure your server changes their gloves!). Also in a pinch, Red Robin has a few buns that are vegan. Pop a Boca patty on there, mustard, tomato, lettuce, onion, pickle, add avocado, side of steamed broccoli… not bad
Thank you for compiling this list!
Thanks for putting these in one place!
I go to LifeSource on south Commercial for lunch quite a bit these days. They always have yummy vegetarian and vegan options beyond salad and tofu, with a different menu every day, it seems. It is what you would think a buffet at a health food store would offer. It’s a mix and match deal for $8.49 a pound, and I usually spend about $8. There are the options of sitting outside when the weather is nice or taking it to go.
[...] received a lot of feedback from my first vegan food list for Salem, so I decided it was time to update it and include all of your great suggestions too. Here [...]