Dining

Nile Vegan Ethiopian Restaurant just opened in October 2019 on OSU campus on Worthington and 8th (so bring coins for the meters if you aren’t in walking distance or prone to public transit). Their owners are transplants from Toronto Canada and have brought a completely new 100% vegan ethnic restaurant to Columbus open 10am-10pm, seven days per week.

If you have never had Ethiopian food before, savor the delicious new distinctive flavors and textures, where eating with your hands is the norm. The flavors are authentic, the food was filling and delightful. The establishment is quite pleasant, conscionable about all things sustainable, and has a very minimalist and anti-plastic approach to their business processes and supplies. Treat yourself to an exotic new experience and discover this fabulous vegan flair on Ethiopian fare.      

VeganShift and the Columbus Vegan Meetup will be having a lovely holiday Vegan Wine and Vegan Cheeze tasting at 6:30pm on Thursday, December 19 at Savor Pint, 4440 Indianola Avenue.

Woodhouse Vegan Cafe and Space just launched in Italian Village on the corner of 4th and 1st off the 670 4th Street off-ramp in October. Their presence has transformed the vegan community restaurant footprint in Columbus with a level rivaling Los Angeles or New York City in a mid-century modern style with industrial flair, fresh-smelling immaculate restrooms, and sparkling dining ware.

The entire non-vegan neighborhood has embraced Woodhouse Vegan Cafe regardless of being a vegan establishment, due to the wide appeal of this socially conscious (nonviolent) sustainable, healthier take on traditional comfort food. The food is so delicious it doesn’t matter to the 30-40% of the nonvegan customers that it is 100% plant-based.

If you are craving a grilled cheeze sandwich, loaded nachos, an amazing South African peanut stew, caesar salad, mac and cheeze, pretzel bites, and or have a sweet tooth for some decadent rotating desserts such as brownies, pies, cupcakes and fudge – you can be satisfied! As the name indicates, they also offer private space rental in the upper level, for events.

Saraga International Grocery is an expanding local trove of the exotic foods of other global cultures. As an American, even one who has served overseas for three years, I admit how ignorantly sheltered I’ve been from many palatal possibilities and abundant produce varieties in the standard flavors and diverse nutritional food profiles around the planet (in spite of unprecedented marketplace access available today). For those who do not concern themselves with organic certifications, the pricing here makes many of our more familiar fresh produce items affordably accessible.

Freely Vegan is a local, vegan, top-8 allergen-free company that sells their products online at www.freelyvegan.com and at various events such as the Columbus Vegan Festival and It’s All Natural’s seasonal pop-up markets.

Freely Vegan offers delicious vegan alternative products such as a shelf-stable vegan eggs, gluten free flour and cheeze sauce. They just launched two new ice-cream mixes (vanilla base and a chocolate base) that can be customized into any flavor you want. At the recent Vegan Festival, Freely Vegan featured chocolate, chocolate fudge brownie, mint chocolate chip, cookies-and-cream, strawberry and a coffee ice cream. They often do brownies, and they added brownies into their new ice cream mix that knocked our socks off with an old-time favorite. Chocolate ice cream with brownies – Oh, my! You must try it, and they have many more surprises coming soon.     

SŌW Plated just opened three weeks ago in Upper Arlington strip on West Lane Avenue strip. They are a full-service, organic, made-from-scratch, locally-sourced vegan-friendly fine dining establishment with vegan and gluten-free options from appetizer to dessert. Their delicious Pesto Pasta was filled with abundant fresh microgreens and asparagus with an almond ricotta. Their indulgent Gogi Cobbler was decadently topped with a coconut-based vanilla ice cream. Whether it is fresh juice, a robust salad loaded with diverse phytonutrients, a hearty bowl of ancient grains and roasted vegetables or tofu and noodles with Asian flair, you will find fabulous vegan offerings to suit your palate and mood. Enjoy!      

The Whole Thing is a budding fully-cooked, vegan catering company by Jessica Kapusta, that provides delicious vegan, gluten-free and other avoidant alternative foods for those with allergies, sensitivities and ethics of nonviolence, all in one. Hence, “The Whole Thing!”

Vegan, Gluten-Free, Soy-Free, Paleo? (yes, people do exist who are vegan-paleo-keto-adkins-eatrightforyourtype-with other allergies). No problem for The Whole Thing catering!

I met with Jessica last month, and I got to try her fresh bagel assortment (cinnamon, plain and everything) and vegan cream cheezes (plain and cinnamon) and what a delightful treat that was! So, when you are ordering for your next office luncheon, and you know you have people on your team who often left out because their dietary requirements are not accommodated – stop the discrimination and remember to add “The Whole Thing” to your catering list.

Seitans Realm (100% vegan food truck) just rocked the Columbus food truck scene with their righteous salute to a seitan filled menu! (think ACDC) SR’s BBQ “beaf and chedduh” sandwich and curly fries combo gives they-who-shall-not-be-named-flagrantly-anti-vegan-franchise, the finger AND a devil’s horn, with a comprehensively superior option for people, planet and animals.

Seitans Realm’s modern menu for a consciously consistent peaceful society, determined to stop the hemorrhaging, human-caused 6th mass global extinction, includes: two American styles of “beaf” sandwich  -- classic w/horseradish on toasted sesame seed bun, and BBQ on toasted onion roll; a Jewish style reuben on rye with sauerkraut, provolone, house thousand island dressing; a Greek style gyro with house tzatziki, tomatoes and lettuce on warm pita; and a Philly style gooey-cheezy steak sammy with caramelized onions, garlic-mushrooms, lettuce, house made aioli on a hoagie roll.

Can’t Believe It’s Vegan just joined the Columbus catering scene with their tasty 100% plant-based options! I finally got to try their Jackfruit Slider I had heard so much about at the Vegan Spring Pop-up Market last weekend, and I understand why peeps are raving about owner Clayton Freeman’s healthier vegan alternatives to traditionally animal-based favorites. Other options available were the Vegan BLT and the Vegan Sausage Sliders. All came with a side of vegan coleslaw and chips and salsa. If you want some great sliders at your next party, remember there is a new, healthier option in town by Can’t Believe It’s Vegan!       

VeganShift and the Columbus Vegan Meetup are doing their monthly vegan book club featuring author Sherry F. Colb’s book “Mind if I Order the Cheeseburger,” hosted by Joy Lawrence of Pure Joy Massage and Yoga on May 13 in Westerville. You can also attend our “Second Saturday Ask a Vegan” lunchtime dine-in event on May 11 at Ye’s Asian Vegan Kitchen in Hilliard.

Portia Yiamouyiannis knocked down a wall in Porta’s Cafe and opened the expanded new coffee shop and deli concept “Portia’s Next Door” on Indianola in Clintonville on Feb 11, 2019. I’m already delighted with the “eggless salad” and the many prepared deli-style salads one can discover there. Portia has also teamed up with Eric “Tofu Louie” Ma creating a dynamic duo for delectable vegan sushi pop-ups featuring “vegan carrot lox, cucumbers and cream cheeze” rolls; “scallops” (mushrooms); and a “sashimi with avocado roll.” Spare the fishes and get your sushi on with sustainable, socially-just, healthier consuming plants. That amazing breakfast sandwich is the cholesterol-free, low-on-the-tropic-level-biomagnification, healthier option bomb, too.     

Vegans in Columbus are familiar with Portia's, the vegan restaurant in Clintonville. Now there's a coffee shop "Portia's Next Door" that had its grand opening in February - a new coffee shop and deli with pastries, snacks, juices, smoothies and light breakfasts. Free Press Dining Editor and resident vegan wrote: "So cool, got to have a vegan hot chocolate topped with vegan whipped creme on this cold, rainy day! Also, OMG the egg salad is absolutely awesome."

Portia's Next Door: Coffee-Deli-Snacks
Address: 4426 Indianola Ave, Columbus, OH 43214
Hours: Mon-Sat: 8AM-9PM Sun: 8AM-3PM
Phone: (614) 928-3252