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Discount Profile: Valiant’s Modern Plant-Based Eatery

If you are ever in the Barrie area, or even relatively close by, a great place to stop by for a wonderful meal and some special treats is Valiant’s Modern Plant-Based Eatery. My partner and I were on our way back to Toronto from Muskoka one afternoon and had been looking forward to this stopover for quite some time. Valiant’s certainly did not disappoint! Being in the downtown area, near the waterfront and Heritage Park, makes it the perfect location for an after-meal stroll. The interior space is relaxing, casual, and inviting. They had some great music playing in the background which really created a genuine ambience of friendliness and community. The menu itself was very large and in fact a bit overwhelming! Of course, this is a good thing, since there are so many awesome options to choose from. It all sounded and looked so good, gluten-free and non-gluten free alike! Although the pizza was tempting, we decided to go for the burgers including the bacun cheeze burger…. doubled! This, as it sounds, included 2 patties, 2 bacun strips and 2 cheeze slices. As you can imagine it was extremely filling and tasted… Read More

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Discount Profile: Veggie Planet

The GTA is fortunate to have an abundance of vegan-friendly authentic Indian restaurants. But Veggie Planet stands apart for its unique fusion dishes. Now with two locations (Mississauga and Vaughan), this place has landed a spot on my top favourite restaurant list, surprising me even more every time with how delicious and flavourful everything is. It’s not every day you find pizza on the menu at an Indian restaurant, but imagine having a whole section of the menu full of pizzas! It was almost too much to bear to try and narrow it down to just one to order, but eventually my partner and I settled on the chaat Pizza, which had a sauce flavoured with Indian spices, vegan cheese, and plenty of crunchy pieces of sev. It was a close competition with the Indian masala pizza, we’ll have to try that next time! But first, we started with “appetizers”. I say that in quotations because the portions were very generous, even for someone like me, who has a huge appetite! This was our third time eating at Veggie Planet, and at first I resisted my partner’s suggestion we get the poutine for the third time, arguing that we… Read More

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Discount Profile: Saigon Lotus

Saigon Lotus is an all-vegetarian (non-vegan options are clearly marked) restaurant in Kensington Market, just west of Spadina. The restaurant is cozy with nice booths, tables, and even a little waterfall. When you are seated, you get a sheet of paper to write your order on, as well as the menu.  The day we visited was cold and windy; perfect soup weather! We received a (complimentary) hot pot of tea to drink while we contemplated our orders, which were written down and collected promptly.  I ordered spring rolls to start, which were crispy and delicious, served with plum sauce. Barbi–my dining companion for the evening–ordered the cold rolls, which were also delicious. There are four different types of cold rolls, and they all come with peanut sauce.  Then the soups arrived! They were giant. Saigon Lotus offers a regular size soup, and a large for $1 more. We both got the large Spicy Hue soup, and they were served with a plate of bean sprouts, cabbage, lime, and mint to garnish them with.  What can I say? They were hot, spicy (but not TOO spicy), and… Read More

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Discount Profile: Virtuous Pie

Virtuous Pie has recently added some new items to their menu, along with special deals on certain nights of the week, so we couldn’t resist going back! My partner and I arrived on a cold winter night, so we were very happy when the garlic knots arrived super warm and soft. These were beyond any garlic knots I’ve had in the past! Not simply dusted in a garlic spread, they were so full of fresh herbs and chili flakes that they were actually colourful. We also enjoyed the skillet mac and cheese, which once again was generously topped with extras including veggie bacon, extra parm, and parsley. It was so difficult to decide which pizzas to order. Thank goodness there were two of us so we could pick two and share! We contemplated the Superfunghi, which comes not only with mushrooms but also a potato cream and truffle almond ricotta, and the Stranger Wings, which is topped with spicy buffalo cauliflower, scallions, crispy shallots, and more! But we ultimately settled on two different options. The Street Corn was such a unique twist on pizza. Rather than layered with tomato sauce, it’s crust was topped with a garlic butter sauce and cilantro lime… Read More

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Discount Profile: bloomer’s

With so many new restaurants to try every month in Toronto, sometimes I can forget to go back to the old favourites. It had been a while since I’d sat down for a meal at bloomer’s and as soon as I did, I instantly regretted not coming by every week! I’m glad I was there with three others (two of them not veg!) so we could share a couple of appetizers, because the selection was too much to bare. I knew from the past how good the kimchi fries were, but we settled on the tempeh wings which were so perfectly battered and fried, crispy but not overly greasy, and the avocado wedges which were crunchy while also being bright and fresh, thanks to the lime juice in the pico de gallo it came with. For my main I had the biscuits and gravy, which were perfect and hearty for the day of Toronto’s first major snowstorm. But the real treat was the end of the meal: my partner and I shared two donuts that I afterward claimed were the best vegan donuts in the city. They’re huge! They’re fluffy! And there were so many unique flavours… Read More

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Discount Profile: Flower Lantern Vegetarian Restaurant

For those who still think all the good veg options are only in the downtown core, you obviously have not yet been to Flower Lantern Vegetarian Restaurant at Finch and Islington! I recently visited for the first time and was blown away by how flavourful and delicious everything was, not to mention the generous portions at a very affordable price! We started with two appetizers. The fried wontons came with a delicious, soft filling to contrast with the crispy, fried shell. We also delighted in the shredded mock meat rolls. The shredded mock meat was wrapped in a soft, rice paper roll and stuffed with plenty of lettuce too, which meant that even though it was a “meaty” dish, it tasted fresh and light. My partner and I almost laughed when the two main dishes we ordered came to the table because they were so huge! How were we going to finish so much food? Well, it turns out it was just so tasty we couldn’t stop ourselves and finished every last bite. The Huey-Style Vermicelli Bowl is actually a spicy soup with a wide assortment of veggie meats, vegetables and noodles too. It had a nice,… Read More

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Discount Profile: Copper Branch Thornhill and Brooklin Locations

Copper Branch seems to be taking over the world! Originally from Montreal (with several locations there), they started with one location in downtown Toronto and are now invading all the suburbs throughout the GTA so you can get your plant-based fix wherever you are! I had tried their burgers before at various veg fests but when I went for my first sit down meal at their Thornhill location, my jaw dropped. My mom and I started by splitting the spicy buffalo wings. They had a delicious, slightly crispy skin and the aioli to dip them in was so creamy and flavourful. Even the little side of purple coleslaw was a refreshing, crunchy treat (spiced with sriracha! Yes please!). It was too difficult to choose just one entree so we also split two bowls: The General Copper and the Aztec. Both blew our minds when they arrived at the table. The portions were so generous, and the bowls were so colourful with so many different components. In addition to their famous ooey, gooey general tao chicken (made from shitake mushrooms), the General Copper had a bright purple coleslaw, fresh and bright green broccoli, and cubes of creamy avocado. The Aztec was… Read More

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Discount Profile: Veggie Planet

Veggie Planet takes the idea of fusion cuisine to a whole new level. I knew they put an Indian twist on the American pizza and burger, but I was absolutely blown away by the number of options to choose from on their enormous, unique menu. First we had to choose a pizza, which was no easy task. Would it be the Indian Masala Pizza, the Kawa Topped Pizza, or the Chaat Pizza? We decided to go with the Pav Bhaji, which featured spicy vegetables, chilis, garlic, and vegan cheese, all atop a perfectly thin yet crispy crust. Next we chose a burger, of which we narrowed down to choices like the noodle burger, vada burger, or samosa burger. We decided on the Timi Burger, which had a vegan fish patty topped with more veggies and vegan cheese. But there were too many enticing dishes to stop there. We also ordered the Planet Special Poutine which was out of this world! Imagine warm fries topped with not just the usual vegan cheese and gravy but also masala flavours, crispy onions, olives, and kawa. They were not light on any of the toppings. This was a luscious, gooey mess. Everything we ate was incredibly… Read More

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Discount Profile: Cinnaholic

It’s no secret that I have a huge sweet tooth. So, of course, the opening of an all-vegan cinnamon bun shop almost right around the corner from home sent me running soon after Cinnaholic opened their first GTA location in the Promenade Mall in Thornhill. Yes, you heard that right. Vegans now have their own version of Cinnabon, but better. Why is it better you ask? Because Cinnaholic goes over the top with creative concoctions well beyond the classic cinnamon bun. The first time I went, my father and I split two flavours. One was The Cookie Monster, which is topped with, among other things, raw cookie dough! On my second trip (yes, there has already been a second trip…) I got the Hot Cocoa, which is topped with chocolate brownies and vegan marshmallows. Choosing just one or two flavours is a very difficult decision. There were flavours such as Blueberry Pie, Nuts About Maple, Strawberry Dream, and so many more. To make things more complicated, you can also choose from 17 flavours of frosting such as cake batter, banana cream, and hazelnut, and 20 toppings such as coconut, pretzels, various fruits, and caramel sauce, to create your… Read More

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Discount Profile: Boon Burger

Care of Danielle Kirshenbaum A day in downtown Barrie is always a must-do for my husband and I while staying at my in-laws nearby cottage over the summer. We love walking along the gorgeous waterfront, wandering along the famous Dunlop street where you’re always sure to see a variety of quaint coffee shops, casual and more upscale restaurants, juice bars, groups of people enjoying cold beers on patios – and now – my new favourite reason to venture to this bopping downtown mainstreet: Boon Burger Cafe is here! For those of you who have never been to this little piece of vegan heaven, the menu for this burger joint is entirely plant-based and most of the ingredients are prepared in-house. The atmosphere is quaint with picnic benches and adorable pics of animals adorning the walls. Gems from the menu include the Surf’n turf burger with bbq sauce, vegan cheese, bacon, veggies and sriracha, peach chutney & tartar sauce – surprisingly spicy but delightful; and of course my personal favourite, the Greek Almighty on the chick’n patty with Boon’s out-of-this world olive tapenade. The poutines are delicious too – as my non-vegan poutine-loving friends have… Read More

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