Vegan Drinks at Trolley Stop Market!

Tonight was our monthly Vegan Drinks meetup! We typically stick to places that have a full bar because a few of our regulars prefer cocktails and wine over beer. But every once in awhile, we pick a place that only serves beer because it has great vegan options. Such was the case tonight at Trolley Stop Market.

Of course, Pam complained that she had to drink "apple juice" (that's what she calls hard cider) rather than her usual red wine. But she lived. And she got a delicious vegan burger out of the deal. Here's our group!

Trolley Stop has a fine selection of local craft beers on tap. I went with a High Cotton Red Ale.

Since they knew vegans were coming (I called ahead), the chef whipped up a vegan special — Fried Thai Chili Tempeh over Mixed Greens with Blueberries. I opt for tempeh any time I see it on a menu, and this sounded perfect. And it was! The tempeh was coated in sweet 'n' tangy chili sauce, and it paired wonderfully with the bitter greens and fresh, sweet berries. Melissa, Shay, and I all ordered this, and we were all very pleased with our choice!

Trolley Stop has a decent number of vegan options on the regular menu though. And they'll sub out Daiya cheese in any dish. Don and Kenzie ordered some Cheese Bread (with Daiya!) to share. This is my usual at Trolley Stop. I just LOVE cheesy bread! They also make great vegan personal and large-sized pizzas, but no one ordered one tonight. 

Cassi and Pam both went with the Garden Burger — a homemade, vegan black bean & veggie patty. Cassi had hers topped with mushrooms. It's been awhile since I've had the burger, but I snagged a bite of Pam's, and it was quite delicious. 

Jennifer went with the Garden Wrap, which was stuffed with spinach, mushrooms, sundried tomatoes, rice, beans, avocado, and Daiya. She got their Sauteed Swiss Chard on the side. The restaurant's owners, Jill and Keith, are also farmers, and they serve locally grown produce in the restaurant.

Nathan ordered the TSM Nachos vegetarian-style with black beans instead of chicken or beef. He eats cheese though, so he ordered his with cheese. I told him I'd photograph it and include it in the post to show how inclusive our group is! We're a vegan meetup group, but we don't force anyone to order any certain way. Just the fact that non-vegans want to hang out with a bunch of vegans is pretty awesome! I've never tried, but I bet Trolley Stop could make this with Daiya if you ask nicely. They use locally made Las Delicias tortilla chips, which are basically the best chips ever, so I bet a vegan version of this would be pretty good.

Bert went with the Slammin' Veggie Hoagie, which has grilled tomatoes, mushrooms, spinach, zucchini, avocado, and onions. And you can add Daiya cheese if you want!