Enjoying the Sights & Bites in Stockholm!

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While I'd already had a sizable amount of adventure & certainly more than enough food, I made one final stop on my European trip. Grabbing my friend Marijke & hitting the road, we headed to Stockholm, Sweden to check out the sights, shopping, & sweets! After a nightmarish journey to our destination, we arrived at the home our awesome hosts Lauren & Tomas. All was well again, as were welcomed by a lovely basket of goodies, letting us know we were in for a great trip!

After a night of rest, we headed towards Gamla Stan to check out Hermans, the well known buffet with an amazing view. Everything at Hermans is vegetarian & the theme of the buffet changes daily. We arrived on an Indian themed day & besides some yogurt & cheese, about 90% of the selections were vegan & a staff member was happy to show us what we could eat. For around $11, I filled up my plate with a hearty selection of grain salads, potatoes, & curries, then sat at a table overlooking the water to take in the gorgeous view. While I don't think Hermans will knock your socks off, you will find a good, filling, nutritious meal there. Despite being stuffed, we grabbed a piece of the "Belgisk Choklad Kaka", which was more like a mousse than a cake with it's deep, melt in your mouth, fudgy flavor. We enjoyed the firm top with a sweet glaze & the mini nuts within this super rich confection.

Hermans is located at Fjällgatan 23B,116 28.

In the trendy Södermalm area, there's more to do than spend all your money shopping at WEEKDAY, there's also a plethora of veg options! One place you'll find is Chutney, an all vegetarian restaurant with organic & vegan options. Although they have a full menu with clearly marked vegan options, we just popped in for a piece of Apple Pie. With a thick crust, large, gooey cinnamon apples for filling, glazed top, & a side of vanilla pudding, we were in sweet sugary heaven!

Chutney is located at Katarina Bangata 19, 116 39.

More than once on our trip, we headed to Goodstore, an all vegan grocery mart! I'm always surprised we don't have something like this in San Francisco. We spent hours checking out everything from Simpsons pasta & Cheezly Feta-style to the wall of candy options & coolers full of frozen treats. In addition to the convenience of shopping without the label reading, we found a friendly staff who were cheerful & helpful every time we popped in!

Goodstore is located at Skånegatan 92, 116 37.

It's no surprise, I love bakeries & luckily organic bakeries in Europe have not yet disappointed me! Naturbageriet Sattva is yet another place to get your vegan sweets fix! Marijke & I consumed an alarming amount of Kanelsnurra, a flakier cousin to the American cinnamon roll, & we were surprised at all the other vegan options like savory olive & tofu pastries. Not everything is vegan, & some things are a bit too "70's health vegan" for my taste buds, but you'll still find some delicious treats here!

Naturbageriet Sattva is located at Krukmakargatan 27, 118 51.

While I tend to shy away from Asian restaurants heavy in mock meat, I didn't feel like I was in for something over sauced or slimy at Lao Wai. Hidden away on a side street, we had to wait for a table at this popular vegan restaurant, which luckily proved to be worth the time spent outside in the cold. The Jia Chang Dou Fu was made with smoked tofu, shiitake mushrooms, chilies, baby corn, garlic shoots, snowpeas, & black beans & the Kong Xin Cai, was a lovely dish of stir fried Water Spinach. Everything tasted fresh & nicely spiced, a great vegetable heavy meal I very much enjoyed!

Lao Wai is located at Luntmakargatan 74, 113 51.

On our final day in beautiful Stockholm, we visited another veg spot, Cafe Sodervegg. Sodervegg touts a rotating menu & an entire case of vegan sweets from cupcakes to cheesecakes to their famous princess cakes. Marijke loved her "Sojakottbullar" which was soy meat balls & beet salad on dark cracker bread. I opted for a quinoa salad with grilled vegetables, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, roasted beets, soy chicken, & a creamy dressing. After our savory items, we split a few desserts! The Berry Cheesecake had a thick, soft crust & a tangy filling, likely made from tofu, topped with glazed fruit. The "Kladd Kaka" was a dense slice of dark chocolatey "cake", topped in a hard chocolate shell & served up with vanilla ice cream. For Marijke, the highlight of the sweets was the "Bulle", a cardamom spiced roll with pearl sugar she remembers from her childhood. It was lovely to see her light up as she took a bite of the confection & declared it to be just like the ones her neighbor used to make!

Cafe Sodervegg is located at Katarina Bangata 27, 116 39.

Europe continues to amaze me with it's vegan options & Stockholm was no different! Maybe it was the good friends or the sweet treats that made me love this place, but no matter, I adore Stockholm!