Nestled within the evergreen forest, this quirky, colorful city called Bellingham offers a friendly respite and enough vegan options for a tasty field trip. It’s a two-hour drive north of Seattle, so it makes a great day trip for a couple of vegans looking for a delicious adventure. So, my friend Daren and I ventured to this town that we heard so much about.

Most cities have a personality based on what it has to offer and the livelihood of its residents. At first glance, this town emanates the vibes of a hippie at heart: you’ll find crystal shops and yoga studios throughout the downtown area, as well as vibrant art and organic cafes offering nourishing vegan food.

Downtown Bellingham is easy enough to get around. We wandered the city, the streets brought to life with colorful murals and hidden gems like this charming dumpster garden—as opposed to a dumpster fire.

Most importantly, we just had to try all of this food! As I mentioned in other blog posts (see Olympia and Portland), eating our way through a city is a great way to get to know it.

Wild Oat Bakery & Cafe

Our first stop of our Bellingham vegan field trip was getting lunch at Wild Oat Bakery & Cafe. This snug establishment has vegan versions of everyone’s favorite comfort food dishes. And I never turn down comfort food.

I got the Fysh Fillet Sandwich—a different choice since I rarely ate seafood before switching to a vegetarian lifestyle. The rich, melty layers of these vegan filets were quite energizing. The tangy tarter sauce between the fillet sandwich layers was absolutely required; it brought out the flavors of the whole sandwich.

Daren had the classic BLT: a sandwich made with shredded lettuce sliced tomatoes, and crispy coconut bacon. The whole menu has familiar dishes that everyone can enjoy—without harming animals.

V Go’s Vegan Grocery Store

Our next stop was the newly opened V Go’s vegan grocery store. This shop is owned by the same folks who run Sage Against The Machine food stand (more on this one later).

V Go’s does not mess around with the dairy-free mac & cheese offerings. There’s also a variety of plant-based meats and cheeses. The vegan food industry has come a long way, and seeing all of these options makes the vegan lifestyle even more attractive.

There is plenty of eclectic art on the walls from local artists. The artwork ranges from sunset oil paintings, to wood-burned portraits and foxes in space.

I bought some coconut oil and soy curls, plus a sticker and an iridescent pin for my vest. (The Dr. Bronner’s Magic Chocolate came from a co-op, and I’ll include it here anyway.)

Intermission: “Window-Adopting” outside Neko Cafe

We saw that Neko Cafe, a cat cafe, has a location in Bellingham! But when we stopped in to see the kitties, the time slots were booked for the whole day. It’s highly recommended to make a reservation a few days in advance. We could still adore the lovely cats through the windows, though. Fortunately, there’s another location in Seattle, so we could always make time there too.

Afternoon Scones at Scone Grown

It was time for scones in the afternoon. Daren and I walked over to Scone Grown, a little vegan bakery that is best known for their scones. I ordered a chocolate chip scone, since there was one left—except it was out. The next best flavor was vanilla. The person behind the counter felt bad for not having the chocolate chip one, so they gave me tea on the house to make up for it! The cardboard tray consisted of a vegan vegan scone dusted with powdered sugar, plus paper cups filled with jam and dairy-free whipped cream. It was so perfect: the added earl grey tea with my vegan pastry felt like I was a Brit having afternoon tea.

Sage Against the Machine

Our last stop in our Bellingham vegan field trip was at Sage Against The Machine, the renowned food stand that every vegan in town talks about. This roving eatery has different locations throughout the week. That Sunday, it was at Kulshan Brewing Co.

Earlier, I mentioned that their V Go’s shop carries several brands of vegan mac and cheese. Sage Against The Machine has an entire section of their menu dedicated to many “Mac No Cheese” dishes. Those dishes have ingredients such as succulent barbecue jackfruit, garlic dill sauerkraut, Field Roast vegan sausage, and more. The choices looked so overwhelmingly tasty, that I spent a good 15 minutes deciding which one might be the best. Eventually I settled on the Spicy Mac.

The Spicy Mac was a kick to the senses. It’s topped with tomatoes, spiraled carrots, pickled jalapeños, almond parmesan, chili-lime rolled tortilla chips—and not one, but two hot sauces: buffalo, and locally fermented sauce from HOSA. I’m never one to shy away from spicy food, and this macaroni dish truly delivered. It has a bed of greens underneath, so it at least provides a healthy dose of veggies. Whoever said that vegan mac and cheese isn’t the same would be pleasantly surprised if they tried this one.

Daren got the Buffalo Caesar Chickpea Wrap: a warm pita bread topped with shredded romaine lettuce, buffalo-seasoned chickpeas, spiraled carrots, chopped celery, and mushroom “bacon.” The vegan bacon pieces were actually dehydrated mushroom slices. Daren let me try one. It was crispy around the edges and boasted a smoky flavor.

Coming back one day…

By that time, the day slowly gave way to evening. After satiating ourselves with vegan food, Daren and I decided to head back to Seattle before it got dark.

Bellingham is a city that I’ve heard so much about over the past 10 years, and I’d like to get to know it better in the future. So far, the food in this vegan field trip has won us over. And there seems to be more than what meets the eye during our visit. While we found several wonderful places, this town hinted hidden gems that may reveal themselves the more familiar we become with it. It works like that sometimes.

For now, I’ve made a mental note to come back and see more someday. It’s more relaxed than Seattle, and the slower pace allows you to stop and notice the little things.