Dining Out on Cape Cod - Green Lotus Café

RAWCO - Green Lotus Café

I was so excited to learn that a new vegan-friendly restaurant was opening on Cape Cod. With very limited options for vegan dining, it was a smart move for the owner to open up shop. Nate grew up on the Cape and spent time in the Marines. Living in San Diego he learned of the health benefits with the vegan diet. He moved back to the Cape and opened Green Lotus Café in Hyannis in March 2013. You can read more on his background here.

RAWCO Sandwich

The menu is entirely vegetarian, with vegan, gluten-free, and raw options available. All sandwiches can be made vegan with Daiya cheese and non-dairy mayo substitutions. With so many options it's difficult to make a decision, but I asked the staff what the popular sandwiches were and settled on the RAWCO. Raw foods usually come at a premium since the ingredients are more expensive, but I felt pretty good about paying $9.49 for this all raw sandwich - it's seasoned ground walnuts (that resembles ground beef like a taco filling), raw cashew cheese sauce, avocado, tomato, lettuce, and red onion served on crispy organic corn tortilla bread. It was delicious and very filling. If you've never had raw bread before, it's thin like a cracker and chewy, but it does its job at holding a sandwich together. The sandwich was a little too salty, but overall the taste and texture were pleasing, and I would be quick to order it again. My non-vegan boyfriend got the Roast Seitan, which comes with real cheese, but can be substituted to make it vegan. He admitted that it was really good. Soups and smoothies are also on the menu, along with a vegan-friendly breakfast menu. They also offer vegan desserts, which vary by day. There were two types of cookies when I was there.

I have a lot of sandwiches to get through to try them all, but I'm happy to report that my first visit was a success and I will be back for sure!

Sandwich Menu - Green Lotus Café

Sandwich Menu Continued! - Green Lotus Café

Visit their very active Facebook page for updates on daily specials and what's cooking (or not, if it's raw!) in the kitchen. 

  

Green Lotus Café

349 Main Street

Hyannis, MA 02601

Green Lotus Café Website

Dining Out on Cape Cod - Earthly Delights

Fakin' Bacon Tempeh Sandwich - Earthly Delights

Tofu Scramble - Earthly Delights

I've been summering on the Cape my whole life. It's got a special place in my heart for it's natural beauty and fond memories of many fun summers. I'm lucky to still have a place to visit to escape the city on weekends and spend time at the beach. 

When I became vegan last year I "rediscovered" a great little natural foods eatery right next to my house called Earthly Delights. I knew it existed years ago, but never visited until last year because it seemed a little too healthy and too hippie (think sprouts and granola). I now go multiple times in the course of a weekend! It's very small and usually very busy during the summer, but it's worth the wait. You'll be entertained looking around at the enormous collection of quirky, humorous magnets, signs, and cards covering every inch. The owners, Tom and Mary are awesome! They work their butts off running that place all by themselves and I give them credit. You can tell that many people are fond of them by the Yelp reviews. I even ran into Tom at Trader Joe's stocking up after a long day and he recognized me right away, very good memory!

Menu at Earthly Delights

In addition to breakfast and lunch items they also sell some packaged natural foods. Though not 100% vegan, it is very vegan-friendly and many items on the menu can be made vegan in addition to the handful that already are (for instance, they only use non-dairy mayo). A couple of my favorites: Fakin' Bacon Tempeh, best when served in a wrap in my opinion, comes with tempeh lightly brushed with olive oil and cooked to golden brown, served with lettuce, tomato, and dairy-free mayo. Another is the Tofu Scramble, which isn't actually on the menu! My boyfriend went out and picked up breakfast early one morning while I was busy sleeping and came back with a delicious breakfast wrap filled with marinated tofu, tempeh bacon, tomatoes, spinach, and Daiya cheese in a whole wheat wrap. I ordered it again just a day later :) He also brought me back a yummy vegan Oatmeal Raisin cookie. It fell apart right away, but it didn't stop me from wolfing it down. I've also tried their smoothies, which are quite popular. The mango smoothie is so refreshing on a hot summer day! They also offer fresh juices and shots of wheatgrass, if you're into that sort of a thing. 

Oatmeal Raisin Cookie - Earthly Delights

It's very difficult to find vegan-friendly restaurants on Cape Cod, so I'm thankful to be right next to this gem! I recommend you give it a try and get to know Osterville a little bit better.

Earthly Delights

15 West Bay Road

Osterville, MA 02655

Earthly Delights Website