It’s called Yellow Bicycle Canteen and it was one of so many fun discoveries we made on foot in Philadelphia. We were immediately charmed by the curb appeal. The pops of yellow, sweet cafe tables and nifty signage were enough to pull us right through the door.
Guys, they specialize in vegetarian food! It was such a delightful, heart warming experience to walk into a restaurant and have an entire menu of food just for me!
Plus, every menu item can be made vegan with just a few swaps or omissions. This is the sort of thing you mostly find in cities. Given how many dietary needs have become mainstream, it’s shockingly difficult to eat in a restaurant in this country if you are gluten free or plant based.
Where I live, most restaurants cook green beans in pork and add beef to vegetable soup. Some restaurants offer a black bean burger or pizzas you can customize but I almost feel like many places don’t want my business.
But I digress. This place is incredible because you can get soups, wraps, and all kinds of fun sounding dishes. We were there for breakfast so I indulged in something called Y.B. Cheesy, a bagel with two eggs, American cheese and some kind of herb cream cheese spread.
We took our sandwiches across the street to sit in a quiet courtyard and enjoy our sandwiches and lemony Italian sodas.
They are not at all skimpy on the ingredients – it all was high quality and well worth the $7 price tag.
Small businesses are the backbone of our nation and our neighborhoods. These are the folks who are working to provide services and products and food that appeal to you and your sensibilities rather than the lowest common denominator that the chain stores and restaurants focus on.
If you’re walking down the street and spot a little cafe or cute store, do more than window shop if it can. Go in, see what they have and maybe spend a little cash with them. That’s how we get to keep these special places.
My only regret about this cafe is that we only got to go for one meal. Want to see their fabulous menu? Click here.
How can you not smile when you see the colour yellow!? Even better that they specilaize in vegetarian food. I’m a vegetarian too!! Restaurant options are a bit better in Canada. You’re totally right about how it can be a struggle to find something decent in the US sometimes.
I have been to Canada just a couple of times but never have trouble there like I do around here. Maybe we will come around someday!
As a fellow vegetarian, I love places like this, where I don’t have to wonder what’s in everything or make modifications and hope the cook pays attention.
And I hear you about “putting meat in everything, even when they shouldn’t.” On a bike tour in Wisconsin in 2005 I stopped in a small-town grocery store for lunch. Everything in the deli was meaty, but I saw something (potato salad, perhaps) that looked like it didn’t have meat in it, but the clerk wasn’t sure. The only way we could find out was if I ordered it, and the print-out label would have the ingredients. Sure enough, there was meat even in the “shouldn’t have meat” item. Sigh.
Greetings! It’s nice to be in good company!
I will never understand why this is such a common problem. You know, I once ordered a personal pizza with mushrooms only and they brought me pepperoni and mushroom. When I told them the problem, the waiter said to me “but no one eats just mushroom on pizza…”
Ahem, well I do, sir.
You would love this place! I felt like I mattered and that’s a shockingly rare restaurant experience.
I am thankful that getting vegetarian food here in Portland isn’t difficult, and I never had anyone add ingredients to a custom-order pizza due to ignorance. But I’ve definitely had my share of “You really want to remove the meat from this item?” when traveling.
Sigh. You’re lucky to live in a veg friendly place!