Viva Vegan Store in Montreal, QC

Whenever there is a long weekend, John and I try to escape Ottawa and go on a mini vacation. We did just that a few weeks ago when we hopped on a Greyhound bus and headed to Montreal for a few days. Since my last visit, which I think was almost two years ago, a few new vegan spots have popped up. My favourite new addition is the Viva Vegan Store. This place is a little slice of Canadian vegan heaven. They’re well stocked with all kinds of rare goodies (rare to us deprived Canadians), like Field Roast products and Eli’s Earth Bars.

Raw Coconut Ice Cream

The Viva Vegan Store's Dessert Counter

In addition to a bunch of sweet imports, the Viva Vegan Store also has their own selection of locally made pastries and coconut ice creams.

Chocolate Pastry from Viva Vegan Store

We picked up a chocolate filled pastry. I know it kinda just looks like a bun, but it’s what’s on the inside that counts, right? It was especially tasty after we took it home and warmed it up in the toaster oven. Yum!

Chocolate Bars from the Viva Vegan Store

We also picked up two chocolate bars: a rice milk pistachio bar and an Eli’s Dream Big Bar. I have to say, I think we showed some serious restraint on this shopping trip!

Boutique Viva Vegan Store
http://vivaveganstore.ca/
4148 St-Laurent Montreal, QC
H2W 1Y8, Canada
(514) 903-8426

Aux Vivres

Aux Vivres

It’s pretty much a given that any vegan visiting Montreal is going to eat at Aux Vivres or at least be recommended to eat there a thousand times. We went for Saturday brunch, which is by far my favourite meal of the week.

Our Aux Vivres Brunch Picks

John, his brother Steve, and I ordered a plate each. I chose the Mekong wrap, which was stuffed with grilled tempeh (an upgrade from tofu), pickled daikon radish and carrots, mint, Thai peanut sauce and lettuce. So amazing! John had the waffles, which he didn’t really like due to their soggy, pancake like texture. This boy doesn’t like soggy! Steve had the “Le Complete” brunch plate with scrambled tofu, potatoes, salad, tempeh bacon and corn bread. And don’t let me forget the best part! The side of sweet potato fires. These are my fave!

Don’t miss Aux Vivres if you’re visiting Montreal!

Aux Vivres
http://auxvivres.com
4631 boul. St-Laurent
Montreal, QC
H2T 1R2, Canada
(514) 842-3479

Crudessence

Crudessence

There’s a small chain of raw vegan restaurants in Montreal called Crudessence. We ate at their location by Mont-Royal and were really impressed with the menu. Every dish sounded like a winner, but John and I decided to split a quinoa wrap (cooked, not raw). This creative wrap was made with a layer of greens, nori sheet and rice paper. I love the idea of a multi-layered wrap and totally want to recreate it at home.

We also enjoyed a bottle of blueberry maple komboucha and a chocolate shake. And then there was the blissful blueberry cheesecake that disappeared about two minutes after being set down on the table. We did our best to savour every bite, but kinda got into a competition to see who could snag the most bites. It was that good!

Nirvana Trio

Before leaving Crudessence we picked up a package of macaroons – apricot goji, chocolate cacao and green tea spirulina. They were appropriately named the nirvana trio. I’d highly recommend visiting Montreal and checking out Crudessence.

Crudessence
http://crudessence.com
105 Rue Rachel Ouest
Montreal, QC
(514) 510-9299

We hope to make it to Montreal again in the fall. We’ll be sure to share an update when we do :)