My wife and I spent a week in Cincinnati, Ohio recently and were pleasantly surprised at the vegan options available. Balancing eating at all-vegan restaurants, with bringing food from a nearby Whole Foods back to the hotel, made for a completely vegan vacation. We expected to have to eat meat at least once during the trip, but that didn't happen.
The Whole Bowl had a fantastic vegan option that I ate twice while there. They serve out of a store front and have no seating, but we liked it enough to park, order, grab and bring back to the hotel.
At Harmony Plant Fare in Findlay Market, I had a fantastic seitan gyro and an equally memorable vegan cookie sandwich. They call themselves a "NYC inspired vegan deli" and absolutely everything on the menu was plant-based. Interestingly, the Findlay market contains mostly meat-based businesses, so it felt a little strange ordering an all-vegan meal directly across the corridor from a storefront full of animal parts packed to the hilt. One just had to turn around 180 degrees to go from all-vegan to all meat in an instant. Still, one can easily look away and the great vegan food made it all worth it in the end.
The Cincinnati Museum Center cafe had a a great vegan burger option. Their ice cream shop also served mango sorbet.
Thankfully, a food truck in the fantastic Cincinnati Zoo served great vegan wraps. Though I have mixed feelings about zoos in general, I still love seeing the animals. Zoos typically have next to nothing for vegan or vegetarian options, but that seems to be changing. Even the state capitol in Columbus, which we made a day trip to, had a great "make your own" taco bar that fully allowed for vegan options. Luck just kept on in our favor throughout the week. If no readily available vegan options presented themselves, we went back to the hotel and ate there instead.
Probably the most surprising vegan meal occurred in the Moerlein Lager House right next to the Cincinnati Reds stadium on the river. We didn't plan to go there. They had a great vegan Impossible Burger on the menu, so once again "providence" saved me. My wife had their vegetarian Squash Wellington, which she spoke very highly of. I had a bite and it was pretty amazing. We're not sports bar fans, and we don't drink a lot of alcohol, but we would probably return there if we venture to the Ohio River again in the future.
Overall, despite the humidity, Cincinnati proved a great destination. We had plenty to do and found ourselves blown away by some lesser known things, such as the American Sign Museum, the Cincinnati Observatory, and the Lucky Cat Museum. The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center gives a fantastic overview of the city's involvement in the Underground Railroad as well as a general history of slavery and abolitionism in the US. Definitely a must-visit. After spending a few hours at that museum and then going to the riverfront, I was shocked at just how close Kentucky sat from Cincinnati. I thought of all of the people who had probably escaped, some successfully, some not, across the river that I looked at. Along those lines, we also visited the Harriet Beecher Stowe House, which was currently under renovation. I'm leaving some other things out due to space, but the vegan friendly food, along with the fascinating sites and the area's important history, made for a pretty unforgettable week.
The Whole Bowl had a fantastic vegan option that I ate twice while there. They serve out of a store front and have no seating, but we liked it enough to park, order, grab and bring back to the hotel.
At Harmony Plant Fare in Findlay Market, I had a fantastic seitan gyro and an equally memorable vegan cookie sandwich. They call themselves a "NYC inspired vegan deli" and absolutely everything on the menu was plant-based. Interestingly, the Findlay market contains mostly meat-based businesses, so it felt a little strange ordering an all-vegan meal directly across the corridor from a storefront full of animal parts packed to the hilt. One just had to turn around 180 degrees to go from all-vegan to all meat in an instant. Still, one can easily look away and the great vegan food made it all worth it in the end.
The Cincinnati Museum Center cafe had a a great vegan burger option. Their ice cream shop also served mango sorbet.
Thankfully, a food truck in the fantastic Cincinnati Zoo served great vegan wraps. Though I have mixed feelings about zoos in general, I still love seeing the animals. Zoos typically have next to nothing for vegan or vegetarian options, but that seems to be changing. Even the state capitol in Columbus, which we made a day trip to, had a great "make your own" taco bar that fully allowed for vegan options. Luck just kept on in our favor throughout the week. If no readily available vegan options presented themselves, we went back to the hotel and ate there instead.
Probably the most surprising vegan meal occurred in the Moerlein Lager House right next to the Cincinnati Reds stadium on the river. We didn't plan to go there. They had a great vegan Impossible Burger on the menu, so once again "providence" saved me. My wife had their vegetarian Squash Wellington, which she spoke very highly of. I had a bite and it was pretty amazing. We're not sports bar fans, and we don't drink a lot of alcohol, but we would probably return there if we venture to the Ohio River again in the future.
Overall, despite the humidity, Cincinnati proved a great destination. We had plenty to do and found ourselves blown away by some lesser known things, such as the American Sign Museum, the Cincinnati Observatory, and the Lucky Cat Museum. The National Underground Railroad Freedom Center gives a fantastic overview of the city's involvement in the Underground Railroad as well as a general history of slavery and abolitionism in the US. Definitely a must-visit. After spending a few hours at that museum and then going to the riverfront, I was shocked at just how close Kentucky sat from Cincinnati. I thought of all of the people who had probably escaped, some successfully, some not, across the river that I looked at. Along those lines, we also visited the Harriet Beecher Stowe House, which was currently under renovation. I'm leaving some other things out due to space, but the vegan friendly food, along with the fascinating sites and the area's important history, made for a pretty unforgettable week.
Last edited:
