One of the first trips Chris and I took as a couple was to northern California, though it was not intended to be a romantic endeavor. I was on a business trip of sorts to procure new cheeses for the cheese shop I worked at. We stayed at my parents' house and Chris tagged along with me while I shopped for cheese in San Francisco and then in Berkeley. We took BART to both cities and had a blast walking around each city, especially Berkeley. We managed to turn that business trip into a very fun and romantic adventure and though we're vegan now and don't eat cheese anymore, Berkley has always been remembered fondly. When Chris and I decided to do a quick getaway to San Francisco for our anniversary weekend, we knew we had to go up and spend a little bit of time in Berkeley.
On Saturday around 1pm, we took BART up to Berkeley (the BART strike ended just as we were flying to town so we were extremely grateful to have this super easy, fast, inexpensive, and convenient way to travel). We got off in downtown Berkeley and spent a good hour or so just walking around University and Shattuck avenues. We'd had a late, albeit very light breakfast, but felt we needed to get a solid meal in our bellies so we walked up Shattuck to Herbivore.
Herbivore
2451 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, CA 94704
Herbovire is an all-vegan restaurant with three locations (two in San Francisco and one in Berkeley). We were both happy to see that the restaurant was packed inside- we love seeing vegan businesses thriving. Since it was so packed and because it was a nice day, we chose to eat outside. This proved to be a great seat for people-watching too.
I really wanted to order the Grilled "Chicken" Shwarma because I've heard it's the best thing on the menu, but I was not terribly hungry. Knowing that I would be indulging a little later, I decided to keep it healthy and just order the large Garden Salad with "chicken" chunks. I was expecting something pretty measly (and a little boring, to be honest) so I was caught off-guard when a huge, beautiful bowl of salad was presented to me. It was piled high with cucumbers, carrots, beets, tomatoes, bean sprouts, red cabbage, mixed greens and chunks of gardein chicken (Herbivore uses gardein products as well as daiya cheese and they serve Coconut Bliss ice cream). I had asked for thousand island dressing, a childhood favorite of mine that I haven't had in many years, and was absolutely thrilled with how well it mixed with this salad. They even put just the right amount of dressing- I could taste it, but my salad wasn't drowning in it. I loved this simple salad and definitely didn't leave feeling like I had a boring, skimpy lunch.
Chris was ecstatic that it was the afternoon and they were still serving breakfast. I've mentioned before how much we love going out for a big breakfast (and hardly ever get to do in Los Angeles due to lack of restaurants offering a good vegan breakfast), so it was only natural that Chris would decide to jump at the chance and order the Basil Pesto Vegetable Tofu Scramble. It was packed with vegetables and tossed in a wonderfully creamy basil pesto- it was delightful (Chris gave me a little bite). It also came with house potatoes (which I had more than one bite of- these were incredible!) and toast with butter and fruit spread. Chris wasn't crazy about the toast, but loved the rest of the meal.
We liked Herbivore so much that we decided that we had to visit one of the San Francisco locations before we went home.
We left and walked down Shattuck a little more before cutting over to historic Telegraph Ave. This street really is a melting pot of people from different walks of life. It's amazing to just walk down a street filled with so much diversity. It's a beautiful street and like always, we had fun just walking around and exploring. Once we arrived at the university, we decided to go to our next destination.
Cinnaholic
2132 Oxford Street, Berkeley, CA 94704
I have been wanting to go to Cinnaholic ever since I became vegan. I learned about this legendary vegan cinnamon roll shop shortly after going vegan and have dreamed about their incredible creations ever since.
As soon as we walked in the door we were struck by the huge wafts of sweet cinnamon dough hitting our noses. It's the sort of smell that makes your eyes roll back in your head for a moment while you take it all in. It's just that good. The owner, Shannon Michelle Radke, was manning the counter and she took our orders. Cinnaholic offers a wide variety of icing flavors and toppings as well as soft-serve ice cream, all of them vegan, so there are an insane number of cinnamon roll creations you can make or you can order one of their standard flavors. Chris ordered the ol' fashioned classic. I asked what their most popular flavor was and was told that it was the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough cinnamon roll. So I went with that one.
I had every intention of just eating half of one and saving the rest for later but once I started, I couldn't stop. These cinnamon rolls were the best cinnamon rolls I've ever had in my life, vegan or not. The warm, doughy rolls melt in your mouth while the sweet icing just makes your heart sing! On the cookie dough cinnamon roll, the cookie dough actually gets kind of melty and mixes with the icing and I cannot express to you in words how delicious it was. Just imagine the most delicious dessert you've ever eaten and then multiply that by 900. That's how good this cinnamon roll was.
As we left, I noticed that Saturn Cafe was just a couple doors down from Cinnaholic. Saturn Cafe is a vegetarian restaurant with plenty of vegan and gluten-free options (all of them clearly marked on the menu). I used to eat at their Santa Cruz location all the time and always really liked the food. If you find yourself in Berkley (or Santa Cruz) keep Saturn Cafe in mind as a dining option.
After we stuffed our faces with the best vegan cinnamon rolls ever to exist, we hopped back on BART to head back to San Francisco. There's plenty more to do and see in Berkeley, should you visit, but Chris and I have always been taken with the simple beauty of the city. We enjoy just walking around and enjoying the atmosphere of this city and now, with such great dining options, we have even more of a reason to return.
Stay tuned next week for more about our vegan travels in San Francisco!
Cadry
I'm glad you had such good luck at Herbivore! I've eaten there a couple of times and have found it underwhelming. Not bad, just.... Well, as we say, no postcards were sent.
As for the cinnamon rolls... Holy crap. Get me a plane ticket now. I am a huge cinnamon roll fan any day of the week, but your cookie dough cinnamon roll is off the charts insane! Now I really can't wait to return to the Bay area!
FoodandLoathing.com
I agree, Herbivore is just OK. Every so often I get something I think is really good, but not amazing. Usually I'm a bit let down.
Next time you come to the East Bay, go to Oakland! Encuentro is totally gourmet and amazing. Shangri-La Vegan is also a really cool place with simple but delicious soul-feeding food. There is a vegan bar called Olde Depot and it's right next to Souley Vegan (get their sampler platter).
keepinitkind
We would've gone to Oakland if we'd had time. I visit family in San Jose & Tracy at least 2 times a year so one of these times, I'll make an outing to Oakland. I want to visit their vegan coffee shop too. 🙂
keepinitkind
I would go all the way to Berkeley again just for those cinnamon rolls. They are that friggin' good. You can imagine the amount of profanities coming from our table. 😉
As for Herbivore, I'm surprised to hear that so many people are not so fond of it. We also visited the Mission District location and I remember eating dinner there a long time ago and I remember not being impressed by it. Maybe it's the breakfast food that's good?
Suzanne @ hello, veggy!
Sounds like a fun packed-cinnamonny day. The weather looks as though it was stellar as well!
keepinitkind
It most definitely was! 🙂
Kelly @ Vegan Iowan
Vegan cinnamon rolls with chocolate?! I love businesses that do one thing and do it very well. Herbivore looks like a ton of fun, too. Sounds like a fun (and delicious) trip!
keepinitkind
Thank you, Kelly! 🙂
Chef Amber Shea
Cinnaholic is heaven on earth. That CCC-dough one is my FAVE. Shannon is a doll, too. YUM!
keepinitkind
It really is. And I think the CCC dough is my fave too. I can see why it's the most popular flavor!
Sol
We were in San Francisco 3 weeks ago and your post brought back so many awesome memories. It was our first time in Berkeley and we loved it. We also ate at Herbivore and Cinnaholic and weirdly enough my boyfriend and I chose the exact same cinnamon roll flavours as you did. Great minds! Did you get a chance to eat at Café Gratitude? It was by far our favourite place to eat, yes even after we ate at Millenium and Greens. Looking forward to reading the rest of your San Francisco adventure
keepinitkind
How funny is it that we went to the same places?! And chose the same cinnamon roll flavors! I love that!
When I lived up north, I went to Cafe Gratitude several times and now there's one just ten minutes from where I live down in Venice so we go pretty often (I'm completely spoiled). I absolutely love the place but we didn't go when we were up there this time. How did you like Greens? We didn't make it there either, thoughI vaguely remember attending a wedding that was catered by them years ago. I could be wrong but I remember it being pretty tasty. 🙂
Sol
Greens was amazing and we loved the location. The waitress was also very helpful with what they could veganize and what would actually taste good as a vegan option (for example she said that they could veganize the pasta dish but it wouldn't be as great as they used lemon butter in the vegetarian version). I ended up having the spring rolls, mushroom risotto and the trio of sorbets. When we went, one of the sorbets was dark chocolate and was the best sorbet I had ever tasted. We would definitely go back! 🙂
Emma
Berkeley is on my hit-list- I have dreams of travelling down the West Coast of the States...
The food looks amazing. Love that you managed to get a great salad out, it's so rare that I find a decent meal-size restaurant salad. That cinnamon roll, wowza!!
keepinitkind
Thanks, Emma! I hope to some day do a west coast trip too- San Francisco (again), Portland (again), Seattle, Vancouver, and Victoria. That's my dream road trip right now. 🙂
Andrea
We ate at the San Francisco Herbivore and it was OK, but didn't make us want to go back. When we were in Berkeley, we ate at Cafe Gratitude and had superb food. Maybe it all depends on what you order. Another highlight for us in Berkeley was the UC-Berkeley Botanical Gardens. I'd really like to return there.
keepinitkind
Huh. It seems that a lot of people aren't that fond of Herbivore. Maybe it's just good breakfast? I don't know.
The next time we go to Berkeley, we'll have to check out the gardens. And get more cinnamon rolls. 🙂
Hannah
I think I just collapsed in my soul. I've never even had a normal cinnamon roll. That cookie dough. And I bet they have peanut butter. My soul.
keepinitkind
Oh, Hannah! No cinnamon roll ever? Like, never ever? You need to change that and stat. If you can find your way to Berkeley amongst your travels, you will be in heaven. HEAVEN!
Tami@NutmegNotebook
Oh my goodness, such good eats! I wish we had more vegan options where I live. Do you have a favorite vegan restaurant in San Francisco? I will be there for a few days next month.
keepinitkind
You're going to have a blast in SF! I'm going to be doing a few more posts on San Francisco but I would say that you absolutely must try Millennium. It's even better than everyone says that it is. 🙂
Tami @Nutmeg Notebook
I read about Millennium and it's on my list of places to eat! Thank you.
Annie
I need to get back to that area and concentration solely on EATING! How wonderful to have so many options. And the scenery ain't bad either...
keepinitkind
It is such a nice area with so many great options for vegan food. 🙂
Michelle
Everyone says that about herbivore we liked it. . Got the chicken swarma... Nothing like Cinnaholoc.... Love it there. Can't wait to hear about San fran
keepinitkind
Oh good! I was starting to feel like I was the only one who liked Herbivore! But I agree- nothing compares to Cinnaholic. 🙂
Bobbie {the vegan crew}
Sounds like such a fun trip! I was just thinking about much I'd love to have that beautiful salad...but then I kept scrolling...and what I'd *really* like is one of those cinnamon rolls. Holy cow!
keepinitkind
I'd really like one of those cinnamon rolls right now too...
felicia
Go Bears!
Too bad that when I was there (for four friggin years), I wasn't as interested in vegan cuisine as I am now, so we only tried one Mexican-vegan place called Flacos in South Berkeley. However, they are quite AMAZING.
keepinitkind
Well, now that you are into vegan food, its\'s definitely worth the trip to go back and visit! 🙂
Heather
I Love your traveling posts- you always make me want to go and experience them for myself! Your LA and Surrounding Dinning in LA Guides / posts came in Super handy for a Vegan Friend of mine who flew out for a visit a few weeks ago- she loved how detailed your posts were and found them super helpful!
keepinitkind
That's so good to hear! I'm so glad to have been able to help! 🙂