I promised another Local Vegan Eats post was on the way and here she is!

Black Bear Bakery has been on my list of places to check out for-ev-er. They actually ran a Groupon a while back and I super-enthusiastically bought it only to hang on to it until it was almost expired. That turned out to be a good thing though because it was the impetus for getting us there for brunch a few weeks ago.

Aside from the huge variety of vegan items on their (ever-changing, totally vegetarian) menu, the coolest thing about Black Bear is that they are 100% worker owned and operated. You can really feel that collective, community vibe there and it’s really nice. They also make a huge effort at being sustainable, supporting their neighborhood and using quality, local and organic ingredients in their goods. Love it!

As I said, we visited for brunch a few Saturday’s ago. We got there around 12:30 or so and though we each had plenty to eat, there was really nothing left to choose from but the brunch buffet. It seems the bakery shelves are picked bare pretty early so if you want to catch some of that action, get there early! Also unbeknownst to us, Sunday is the day for vegan brunch, as the buffet then is entirely vegan. There was still plenty of vegan grub to choose from in the Saturday morning lineup, but I’m interested to stop in and check out the Sunday offerings now too.

On my plate were vegan buckwheat pancakes (which were SO yum), home fries and a follow-up serving of homemade guacamole and chips. Good stuff.

Fun tibdit: there was a really great violin and guitar duo there playing some sweet acoustic music. They did a kick-a$$ rendition of Sweet Child O Mine while we were there. It made for a pretty cool breakfast soundtrack.

Anywho, the brunch buffet at Black Bear is $10, all-you-can-eat. Though there was nothing left to sample from the bakery, prices on those items look to be pretty reasonable too. You can also place custom orders for a variety of items including cakes (take note stl veggie brides!).

The atmosphere at Black Bear Bakery equals the quality of the food. I definitely recommend it as a place for a nice, casual brunch and/or a sweet vegan treat. I will be back for a vegan lemon bar. Oh yes, I will.

Black Bear Bakery
2639 Cherokee St.
St. Louis, MO 63118
(314) 771-2236

Hours:
Tuesday – Saturday, 8am-5pm

Neighborhood Brunch
Saturdays and Sundays, 10am-2pm

Unfortunately, this series hasn’t gotten much love. That’s about to change though! In addition to this post, I’ve got another Local Vegan Eats feature in the can and plans to kick things into high-gear as we ease into summer. So stay tuned!

We actually happened into Duff’s by accident. Last Friday evening we were in the mood for something fast and light for dinner and had planned to finally stop in at Audi K’s in the Central West End to test out some veggie dogs. Despite having walked by it on a Saturday evening a few weeks prior and noticing that it was not open, I somehow failed to see on their website that they close every day at 4:00 pm. On Friday and Saturday they re-open from 11:00 pm to 2:00 am but that didn’t do us much good at 6:30.

As we wandered around the CWE looking for other options, we passed by Duff’s and gave the menu a look. Much to my delight, I spotted several items available with Match™ substitutes. Score!

As an appetizer we decided to try the Vegetarian Albondigas.  Although we had no idea what the name implied, the description read black bean and Match meatballs with avocado pico and chipotle cream. The base of the chipotle cream was actual sour cream, but with that on the side you’ve got a perfectly delicious (and different!) vegan appetizer. We obviously forgot to take a picture, but I promise it was yum-o.

For my entree I ordered the Jerk Chicken sandwich with Match. The spice on this was slap-yo-mama good. Since I cannot resist the opportunity for french fries, I partook in an order of those as well.

Both of the dishes I had at Duff’s were very, very good. As I said, several of their regular menu items are available with Match substitutes or tofu, which gives vegan diners several great options here. As an added bonus, the outdoor patio is beautiful (though we sat inside-which has an equally cool vibe) and the service was really friendly.

This ended up being a little less fast and simple (and cheap!)  than we’d planned on, but I’m still glad we stumbled upon Duff’s and we’ll definitely be back!