Dining Out in New York City - Vegan Divas

Carrot Cake - Vegan Divas

I think I hit the jackpot. Walking around the Upper East Side I stumbled upon a little shop that may be the answer to my prayers. A healthy, low-calorie, all vegan bakery. How did I not know about this sooner? It's called Vegan Divas. From the looks of it, it seems to be a direct competitor to BabyCakes. Both focus on using healthier ingredients like spelt flour, maple sugar, and coconut oil to create cruelty-free baked goods. Yes, these come at a premium, but when you can have your low-calorie, wholesome, vegan cake and eat it too, it's worth it.

Mini Toasted Coconut Doughnut - Vegan Divas

It was a tough decision when making my first purchase since I was overwhelmed by my options, but I went with the Mini Toasted Coconut Doughnut and a slice of Carrot Cake. I really liked the small serving sizes for some of the desserts like the doughnuts and mousse, because it satisfies the sweet tooth without overdoing it on portions. As noted, prices can be steep, particularly on the full servings - a whole cake is $60, so the slice was plenty. Some customers complained about the taste and texture of the baked goods on Yelp, but my guess is that they are expecting it to be like what you'd find at a nearby Crumbs or Magnolia Bakery and that just isn't the case. You do have to sacrifice some taste when you reduce the fat. I still really enjoyed the treats here and would gladly return (I've got my eyes on a slice of chocolate cake). I like that they also offer gluten-free versions and share the ingredients of items online.

If someone wants to make my day, feel free to send me any of the amazing gift sets available for purchase on their website. :)

Pre-Packaged Vegan Baked Goods

Vegan Divas

1437 1st Avenue (between 74th & 75th Streets)

New York, NY 10021

Vegan Divas Website

Vegan Divas - Upper East Side

Dining Out in Portland - Voodoo Doughnuts

Vegan Toasted Coconut Cake Doughnut - Voodoo Doughnuts

Voodoo Doughnuts was recently named one of the "20 Most Iconic Food Destinations Across America" by Smithsonian Magazine. Pretty cool!

My first trip here was quite an adventure. It was late at night (yes, it's open 24/7!) after a full day of flying and driving into town for a business trip. I was lost trying to find the downtown Portland location and the friendly police politely notified me that while on my quest for doughnuts I had broken multiple traffic laws. As soon as they knew I was a tourist they took pity on me and pointed me in the right direction. We arrived to no line and an overwhelmingly large number of doughnuts to choose from, both vegan and non. You can see the list on their website, try not to drool on your keyboard. With playful and even naughty names, the flavors get very creative and nostalgic, like Captain My Captain, a yeast doughnut with vanilla frosting and Captain Crunch cereal. For vegan options they have a lot to choose from, both cake and yeast doughnuts like Oreo, maple, coconut, sprinkles, peanut, or triple chocolate penetration. 

 

Rotating Carousel of Delicious, Heavenly and Colorful Doughnuts!

We ordered a Voodoo dozen to bring to our coworkers and I ordered myself the appropriately named Cock-N-Balls doughnut, chocolate glazed, complete with cream filling in the balls. There are endless jokes to make with this one... The taste was exactly like a traditional yeast doughnut, though it had been many years since I tasted one, I bet that a non-vegan could not tell the difference. It's a large portion so I didn't eat it all at once and it was still just as good the next day.

Vegan Cock-N-Balls Doughnut - Voodoo Doughnuts

Vegan Apple Fritter - Voodoo Doughnuts

Of course, you can't visit only once when staying in Portland, so the morning we were flying back home we stopped by again. I changed it up a bit and went with the Apple Fritter doughnut - it was AMAZING, capitalization of text is required on this one. It was huge, but I felt the need to finish this over the course of a few hours while traveling. It's what you might expect - fried dough with chunks of apple and cinnamon with a sweet sugary glaze. I also tried a toasted coconut cake doughnut. The doughnut itself was perfectly spiced and the frosting plus coconut topping was sweet and decadent without being too heavy. 


I'm going to be dreaming about these doughnuts for a while. Luckily I have my Cinnamon Snail Crème Brûlée donut to turn to in NYC, but you can't beat the prices of Voodoo. I love that despite their fame, they are still so affordable! Tip: Cash Only.

Voodoo Doughnuts

22 SW 3rd Avenue

Portland, OR 97205

Voodoo Doughnuts Website

Other Locations:

1501 NE Davis Street

Portland, OR 97232

20 East Broadway

Eugene, OR 97401

Voodoo is also expanding to Denver, CO!