Being Vegan in South Bend, IN

It can be difficult to find good resources for vegetarians and vegans, particularly if you've just moved into an area, or just become veggie. Now that we've been here for a few years, maybe I can share some of our experiences to help make it easier for others. I know that I've been very disappointed when I've done a web search for "vegetarian South Bend Indiana" or "vegan Michiana" or whatever. Maybe this will find its way into Google's cache.

Shopping

There are a number of nice stores in the area that carry products of interest to vegetarians and vegans.

• The Garden Patch Market was the first one we found when we moved here (actually, I think I had been there once when I lived in Goshen years ago). It's a small store with the feel of a co-op. They carry a lot of meat and dairy alternatives, bulk spices and other bulk items, and a lot of vitamins (we all take multivitamins). The Garden Patch is on Edison in Mishawaka, just east of Grape Rd.
• Harmony Market opened up a few years ago, and has recently expanded. It is a very nice store with a wide selection of meat and dairy alternatives. They also carry a limited selection of various ethnic food ingredients (i.e., a number of ethnicities, but not a lot of any one, for space reasons, it would seem). This is becoming our favorite. Harmony Market is located on Grape Road in Mishawaka. They carry Tofurkey beer brats, which are really good.
• There's a newer health food store on SR 23 in Granger. Its name escapes me right now (Down to Earth, maybe?), but it's a nice store, although it seems to focus on vitamins and supplements more than the other stores. We don't go there often, but only because it's a longer drive and we usually find what we need closer.
• One reader of this page reminded me of Apple Valley, which is a mostly vegetarian grocery store in Berrien Springs, MI. That's about a half hour from my home. We go there very seldom, only because there are closer places that carry what we need. It's a nice store with a lot of items we don't see around here, so we do drive up occasionally.
• There are a couple of other health food places around, but we don't frequent them, so I'm not qualified to say anything about them.
• There are a number of nice Asian markets in town. Our favorite is the Saigon Market. It carries a wealth of ingredients for Chinese, Thai, etc. cooking. Also, a great selection of excellent ramen, a few of which are vegan! The Saigon is located on Colfax in downtown South Bend. There's also an Asian food store on LaSalle (or maybe Lincolnway) west of downtown South Bend, one on SR 23 near Notre Dame, and one on Grape just south of Edison. The one on Grape seems to have more Korean than the other places.
• Recently, an Indian food market opened in Mishawaka. It's awesome! They have all of the ingredients we could not find for our Indian recipes. Friends of ours have made trips to Chicago to obtain such ingredients, but it's no longer necessary. The Indian market is located on Edison in Mishawaka, west of Grape Rd. (I believe this is the relevant info: India Market, 620 W Edison Rd, Mishawaka, (574) 254-9925). Also, we recently found out that there's been an Indian foods store in Mishawaka for a while. It's on SR 23, just across from the mall in the University Commons shopping plaza with Kroger and Baskin Robbins. It's nice, and there are more than Indian foods there.
• I'm not sure whether this qualifies as a store or a restaurant or both, but it was recently pointed out to me that Breadsmith Bakery in South Bend on SR 23 is a kosher bakery, which means no meat or dairy. We have really enjoyed some of their breads, and they are willing (and able!) to talk about which items to avoid if you're vegan. I guess eggs and honey are the only things you'd need to ask about.
• We also do a lot of our shopping at Meijer. The one on Portage seems to have more interesting things than the one on Grape, which surprises me. It's really interesting to see how the selection has grown at the "traditional" grocery store. Meijer carries Gardenburger Flame-Grilled, Chik'n Patties, Riblets, and Buffalo Chik'n Wings, all of which we enjoy a lot. We also like their vegetables better than Wal-Mart's.

Restaurants

When we first moved here, the restaurant selection (at least that we knew of) was abysmal. For the most part, a good restaurant for a vegan is an Asian restaurant. Western restaurants (European, American, Mexican, etc.) are not really great options, because even when they can manage to get the meat out of a dish, it's still covered in cheese of some form. So this is mostly a list of Asian restaurants in the area that have good vegan food. Since we moved here we've discovered one or two places, and another couple have opened, so the restaurant scene is now quite nice!

Remember to ask about ingredients; many of the suggestions below need to be modified to be suitable for vegans.

• Sunny's Korean Patio was the first great restaurant we found here. It had been there for a while, but we hadn't come across it before. The food is great, and they are happy to modify it to match your diet. We often order bi bim bab with tofu and no egg. The kim bab is also excellent. Sunny's is on Spring in downtown Mishawaka, a couple of blocks south of Lincolnway.
• Elia's is a nice little Lebanese restaurant on 933 in Roseland north of downtown South Bend. They have a few vegetarian entrees, but we normally end up ordering a selection of appetizers (e.g., hummus, baba ganoush, foule moudamas, etc.). They expanded recently, so it seems like they must be doing well!
• New Saigon is a Vietnamese restaurant that's located in the Town & Country shopping center on McKinley in Mishawaka. A great menu and a willingness to modify dishes make this a good choice. Curry tofu is excellent, as is everything else we've had there. Try the spring rolls! Update: Sadly, New Saigon closed. They were never as busy at the new location as the old one, and Khun Daeng appears to be doing fine at the old location, so it would seem that moving was not the greatest idea. It's too bad, this was our favorite restaurant in the area.
• There's a new Thai restaurant in Mishawaka called Khun Daeng Thai Kitchen. It's located on Russ Street, a block south of McKinley (it's the former location of New Saigon!). Again, a great menu, and a willingness to modify menu items. They made Alice a hot Thai coffee with coconut milk instead of cow's milk, and she claims it was excellent! The pad thai is good, and the curry we had was very good. Ask for "Thai Hot Plus Plus!" It's awesome! There's another Thai place in downtown South Bend (the Siam), but it's not on a par with this newly opened restaurant; their menu is limited, and they are not interested in making changes.
• There are now a couple of good Indian restaurants in the area. When we moved here, the only one was the Malibar, which was expensive and not all that good. Now, the Star of India (on Edison in Mishawaka, next to the Indian food market) and Taste of India (on McKinley in Mishawaka, just west of Grape) have opened. The Star is very good; it's my first choice. The Taste also has been good, but it seems it has changed management at least once in the past couple of years, and at least once was closed when we tried to go there. Give it a try, though, if you find it open. We recently tried the Grand Indian Buffet on S.R. 933 on the north side of South Bend (I think the shopping center it's located in is called North Village Mall). They have a buffet, but the food on it was very bland (appealing to the lowest common denominator, I guess). They said we could order off the menu, but it would take a half hour. We may try them for takeout sometime, to see how they do making less bland food. There are also a couple of newer Indian places that we have not gotten a chance to try yet.
• We have yet to find a good Chinese restaurant here. Partly, I suppose it's because we're vegan; a good Chinese restaurant for omnivores may not translate well to a good one for vegans. However, when I ask Chinese graduate students in my department, they agree with me: there is no good Chinese restaurant in the area. We occasionally go to the Great Wall on 933 in South Bend. The food is decent, but not as good as what we make at home. I've heard that it's a very good restaurant for meat-eaters, though, so it may be a good compromise when out with friends who don't want to test the more exotic waters of the restaurants described above.
• If somebody would please open up an Ethiopian restaurant in South Bend, I'd be indebted!
• There are a number of Italian restaurants in the area. It's mostly marinara on spaghetti at these places. Sunny Italy has a great atmosphere. Olive Garden seems reasonably willing to make modifications, but in general, vegan Italian food made at our house is better than what we can get at a restaurant.
• There are also a number of Mexican restaurants. Hacienda is a regional chain, and there are also national chains, such as Carlos O'Kelly's. Again, I don't think much of these places, because the food I make at home is better. Your mileage may vary!

So, there are some tips for vegans in the South Bend area. There are no vegetarian or vegan groups in the area that I know of. There's an animal rights-type group here at Notre Dame, but I haven't met with them (and they don't answer emails!), so I don't know what they focus on. If you have some other tips for vegans in the area, please let me know. I'm always looking for a good place to eat!

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