Come discover just a few of the "Vegan Eats" in Gainesville, Florida, with me! I drove over to the swamp for a day to try out some phenomenal vegan food and discover the unique corners of Gainesville I had yet to explore. Let's take a road trip together!
Gainesville is just a hop, skip, and a jump away from the city I live in, so I thought it would be a fun little day trip! I knew that just an hour and a half away from me, there was a world of great vegan treats undiscovered! Since I grew up in Florida, I had quite a few good friends who went to the University of Florida that I would visit on occasion. But even so, I had never went on a hunt for vegan restaurants, until now. I only went for the day, so I managed to visit two vegan cafés, a food truck, and a vintage shop! Let's dive in!
Curia On The Drag
Curia On The Drag is actually situated on a 2.5 acre piece of land with a variety of shops surrounding it. It is described as an "urban oasis" that serves coffee, tea, beer, wine, and a bunch of baked goods, as well as a fridge with grab-and-go items. Curia On The Drag is accompanied by the Curia Food Truck and patio. The coffee shop was the first stop where I ordered a cold brew with soy milk and my boyfriend, Trey, ordered an iced earl grey with oat milk. We also ordered one of their signature bagel bombs that was filled with chorizo and cheddar cheese, as well as a berry muffin.
The coffee and tea were both amazing and the baked goods were incredible! I had never had a bagel bomb before and it was insanely tasty! There was also tomato sauce on the inside and it tasted like a Michelin Star pizza pocket! The muffin was super fluffy on the inside, which is how I prefer mine, and full of flavor.
We then took our coffees over to the patio where we ordered some vegan eats from the Curia Food Truck and enjoyed a nice meal!
It was a Sunday, so the truck was serving up good ole brunch! Trey ordered the tempeh reuben and I ordered the biscuit sandwhich with a black bean empanada for us to share.
The tempeh rueben was fantastic! They didn't skimp on the sauerkraut (which is the best part) thank goodness! It was served on yummy pumpernickel swirl bread which was nice and toasted on the outside. The empanada was very good. The dough was authentic to a true Colombian empanada and it was stuffed with black beans and cheese. The biscuit sandwich had sausage, onion, tomato, and melted cheddar cheese. And when I say melted cheese, I mean melted cheese! My mom makes something very similar at home, so it was nice having something so "homey." The biscuits were AMAZING! They were dense and moist yet super fluffy at the same time. Although I pride myself on my baked goods, biscuits are one thing I have not gotten down yet. Curia, show me your ways!
The staff at Curia are extremely sweet as well! Both in the coffee shop and at the food truck, they were so kind and accommodating. Overall good people and a great tribe to be around!
The Auk Market
Although I'm not going to be talking about food, I really wanted to dedicate a portion of this post to The Auk Market. It is situated on the same plot of land as Curia On The Drag. This market sells vintage and handmade goods that were either found around the Gainesville area or made by local artisans in the area. So why am I mentioning this in my post? Because, I strongly believe in not only shopping second hand but also shopping local. This creates a source of income for those small artists that firmly believe in sharing their creations with the world. It also creates a demand for secondhand goods which is a more sustainable way of shopping. It decreases your carbon footprint and brings peices into your life that have a story, which I find both to be beautiful reasons to shop vintage.
This shop is absolutely a sight to behold! The way it is designed is adorable and the goods they sell are truly one-of-a-kind pieces. I just so happened to find these beautiful brass fans for my office wall. They are pure brass (so super heavy and well made) and are embossed with a dragon and florals. You can tell they have been loved in the past because they are worn down a little, which I adore! I also purchased a bundle of dried lavender! This I will be able to use for my photography or to use in recipes. It is also beautiful to display in vases around the house while providing an enticing smell that calms the body.
The staff at The Auk Market was incredibly sweet as well! The woman who ran the register at the front was very informative and was also just really great to talk to! My experience here was spectacular and I had to tell you guys about it! If you head over to Gainesville, make sure you stop in and support The Auk Market! (They also have an online shop, just fyi, *wink wink*)
Karma Cream
Let's talk ice cream! I am someone who is very picky with their ice cream. I LOVE coffee ice cream because I grew up on it, and thus far I had not found a coffee ice cream that lived up to my childhood dreams. That was, until Karma Cream! I walked into this café completely unaware of the magical sweets I was about to be served. I got their cold brew ice cream with pistachio cardamom granola on top while Trey got the pistachio ice cream with bananas on top. Oh my goodness gracious! The ice cream was creamy, super flavorful, and finally lived up to my childhood coffee ice cream obsession. I would pay to relocate this café to my city.
Along with the ice cream, we got some baked goods and I got a double dirty chai. We ordered their earl grey vanilla blueberry macaron and their dragon fruit doughnut.
The chai tea they served was super unique! It had a ton of cardamom in it which I absolutely loved! The macaron was delicious and very unexpected considering I had never seen an earl grey flavored macaron. The inside frosting was a tad bit different than a traditional macaron, but nonetheless, the entire cookie was spectacular (I went in afterwards to buy more)! The doughnut was pretty insane too. It tasted like a traditional glazed doughnut but the dragon fruit frosting tasted citrusy, and tangy which cut the sweetness a little bit. Overall scrumptious desserts!
When we got to Karma Cream and looked at the menu, I didn't realize that they also served sandwiches! Although I did not order their food, I know that it is probably spectacular! All of the baristas their were incredibly nice and the one who made my chai even passed me an extra shot of espresso for free! How cool is that?! I will definitely make it back here soon!
Conclusion
Overall, I know that Gainesville has so many Vegan Eats that I didn't have the pleasure of finding on this trip. But, mark my words, I'll be back soon enough to poke my nose in every corner of the city to discover more! This trip was beyond amazing, and the memories of the people and food will stick with me forever. Thank you Gainesville for the superb experience and delicious "Vegan Eats"!
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