Should you ever find yourself in the vast, flat lands of Grand Forks, North Dakota as a vegan, you may be wondering what there is to eat or where to shop. For a smaller town in the far north, there are actually some options (albeit not as much as you'd hope), but, I've had the experience of living here for the last 5 years, and I'd like to share with you all of your options if you end up lost and in this land of the far north!
So, Grand Forks has your typical fast food places as well as poplar chain restaurants; things like Taco Bell, or Burger King and Olive Garden or Applebee's. But, there are also quite a few locally owned restaurants that will get a special mention.
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Also, great news if you're a military member or spouse coming here to live for a while, I have the insider information for on-base vegan eating as well! Though don't get too excited, haha, but there's some things!
Let it be known, however, that Grand Forks is not great at catering to people with food allergies. Without further ado, let's get to the first place I want to mention and that is:
Chino Latino (Previously known as Steers)
A fusion of Latino, Middle Eastern, and Asian foods that literally everyone raves about! While they offer a decently sized menu, they only offer two vegan options that I know of:
- Vegan curry
- Vegan Tikka Masala
They also offer Naan and Garlic Naan bread, as well as a Veggie Samosa, but you may need to ask if those are vegan-friendly.
This restaurant also only offers drive-through as a way to order and pick up food.
| Physical Address: | 1113 S Washington St, Grand Forks, ND 58201 |
| Web Address: | https://www.facebook.com/chinolatinogfk/ |
| Phone Number: | +16192546639 |
| Google Rating: | 4.6 Stars |
Brick & Barley Bar and Restaurant
Another quaint downtown Forks restaurant and pub that offers mostly omnivore options, with a gem of a vegan black bean and sweet potato burger, boasting the following condiments:
- Vegan Pretzel Bun
- Arugula
- Tomato
- Avocado
- Vegan Chipotle Mayo
Definitely give this a try if you're in the area!
| Physical Address: | 9 N 3rd St, Grand Forks, ND 58203 |
| Web Address: | http://brickandbarleygf.com/ |
| Phone Number: | +17017574012 |
| Google Rating: | 4.3 Stars |
Ely's Ivy
One of Grand Forks more upscale restaurants that actually has some offerings! Located just off the river in downtown, you can expect to find something to eat here. Be warned, their menu does change pretty much daily so be sure to check online the day you go, or give them a call.
These are items that I have seen offered:
- Vegan Grilled Radicchio - grilled radicchio mushrooms, carrots, parnips, red potatoes, herbs, pumpkin seeds, cumin lime vinaigrette.
- Vegan Bowl - Wilted kale, roasted sweet potatoes, pearled barley, smoked almonds, cider vinegar.
- Vegan scallops dish
- Vegan risotto
If you happen to eat here and see anything new or different, please let me know either in the comments or by sending me an email!
| Physical Address: | 22 S 3rd St, Grand Forks, ND 58201 |
| Web Address: | http://www.elysivy.com/ |
| Phone Number: | +17017570243 |
| Google Rating: | 4.5 Stars |
Smiling Moose Deli
This is a chain sandwich shop, kind of like Subway, I guess? But better. They offer a lot of different subs, burgers, sandwiches and salads. Including the Beyond Burger.
There are two items that are order-able on the menu, one being their Beyond Mo! Which is a burger with many toppings. Just ask them to skip the mayo and you'll need to ask if the vinaigrette is vegan or not, I can't find any information on this.
The other item is the Hippie Chick P. in their Signature Sandwiches. Again, ask for no cheese and of course ask if the "avocado mash" has any dairy in it. I've been learning that a lot of establishments are putting cheese in their guacamole and I'm actually flabbergasted!
They also have salads that I'm sure you can ask to replace the animal-based proteins in and customize to your liking of course.
| Physical Address: | 623 S Washington St, Grand Forks, ND 58201 |
| Web Address: | http://smilingmoosedeli.com/ |
| Phone Number: | +17017573354 |
| Google Rating: | 4.3 Stars |
Half Brothers Brewing Company
It's a Brewing company with their own range of beers, as well as a pizza joint with a really cool, industrial atmosphere. They also offer board games to play! I've been here quite a few times, and in the beginning, they offered a vegan menu, separate from their main menu. But lately, they don't offer it anymore, however, they still have the vegan cheese option!
So if you're in the mood for a veggie pizza with vegan cheese (and good pizza I must say), definitely give this place a go! I also believe their pretzel bites and mustard sauce is also vegan. Always ask to confirm, though!
And of course, they also offer a hummus plate and chips & salsa, or guacamole.
| Physical Address: | 17 N 3rd St, Grand Forks, ND 58203 |
| Web Address: | https://www.halfbrothersbrewing.com/ |
| Phone Number: | +17017570805 |
| Google Rating: | 4.8 Stars |
Kaizen Sushi and Ramen
This is a brand new restaurant that I have not yet gotten to try, however, there have been many rave reviews about this place.
I wanted to highlight this because while there are other sushi/Japanese type places around Grand Forks, this is the only place that specifically has at least one thing that no others offer:
But first, they have a Crispy tofu appetizer (must confirm first).
As well as Miso soup. You can't go wrong with a miso soup.
Are you ready for this? I hope you're sitting down... they actually offer a roll, called the Fantasy Vegan roll, say whaaaaaat! Yep. Along with that, they also offer the typical veggie rolls as well.
There is also something called Tofu Teriyaki. Again, make sure to ask about ingredients.
Sadly, I'm not seeing any vegan ramen options at this time. But maybe down the road they'll add one.
| Physical Address: | 108 N 3rd St, Grand Forks, ND 58203 |
| Web Address: | https://www.talech.com/biz/ordering/674060/KAIZEN-SUSHI-AND-RAMEN-Grand-forks-North%20dakota |
| Phone Number: | +17017720515 |
| Google Rating: | 4.5 Stars |
Tea & Crepe
This is a quaint little bubble tea, Asian fusion type place that offers mostly bubble tea and crepes, BUT they have a few little gems we vegans can enjoy.
A range of flavored teas that you can get without milk. (They offer a "dairy-free" milk, but it still has the milk protein.
They also make a delicious and huge avocado rice ball (just tell them no mayo).
And yummy little fried dough balls called Sesame Balls which are a delight. (shared fryer if you have an issue with that).
| Physical Address: | 307 Demers Ave, Grand Forks, ND 58201 |
| Web Address: | http://www.teaandcrepe.com/?page_id=212 |
| Phone Number: | +17017571040 |
| Google Rating: | 4.7 Stars |
Others
Everything listed here will be from popular chains and fast food as options for eating in Grand Forks.
Papa Murphy's Take and Bake Pizzas - They offer vegan cheese so you can get just about any veggie. They also offer calzones with the dairy free option. (All of their crusts are suitable for vegans as well as the sauces (except the white sauce).
And of course your usual, Burger King you can order the Impossible Whopper without Mayo and cheese (ask to microwave). Personally, I've never had a good experience with them getting it correct so this is usually a "last resort" for me.
If I'm feeling raveonous and want something "quick" that no one can mess up, I'll stop at Chic -fil- A and get their waffle fries. But I've done that all of twice, because that place is always busy.
I thought about mentioning all of the usual options in places like Taco bell and what-not, but they almost never get an order correct or are constantly out of things that I'm not going to bother with it.
And of course there are a few Starbucks in town that one can order the usual vegan menu items from.
Shopping in the Area
Grand Forks has a good amount of grocery stores. There are two Walmarts, a Target (fair warning that they just got rid of ALL of their dairy free ice cream pints and no one can tell me why), a Sam's Club, an Aldi, some local stores called Hugo's (I'm not 100% sure if they're local to just this area), and there's a sweet little gem of a store called Natural Grocers that... while a bit on the pricey side, will have literally every vegan option you can think of.
It's like a smaller Whole Foods, really, but with better morals. I'd say the reason the prices are higher is because they actually pay the employees well and treat them well. (I worked there for a year, and I loved it).
And of course, you are always welcome to travel out of Grand Forks to the following areas within a 2 hour drive and find even more options, such as Fargo or Winnipeg, Canada (yes, you'll need a passport).
Options on the Air Force Base
If you're active duty or a spouse coming to Grand Forks and will be living on Base, you might struggle a bit if you're used to having options. Luckily, though, there are some.
There is a Burger King on base, it is only open from 11-2 through the week and recently started opening for breakfast. They do have the impossible whopper, and because it's such a small community, they never get my order wrong.
There is a coffee shop on base in J.R Rockers that serves Starbucks drinks and they have a good amount of options, including dairy-free. They are not a Starbucks, however, so they do not have the usual amount of items a Starbucks would, and their operating hours are all over the place, You don't really know if they're open or not most of the time so good luck!
The Dining Facility does have the Beyond Burger with a vegan sauce, but, the people who work there do not seem to understand what to do with it so they cook the absolute heck out of it and it's not great. But it's an option way out there!
The Commissary does carry some pretty decent things, plus they offer a suggestion sheet so you can always ask them to try getting things in. They carry the essentials, like produce obviously, and tofu as well as some vegan cheeses/shreds and slices. They also have vegan meats (impossible and beyond), though the stock is often iffy.
Oh, and there's a sushi station in there that has a veggie option!
Overall, they have a decent amount of items and I've gotten by just fine by shopping at just the commissary for a few weeks.
The BX is often bringing in new vegan treats (though they never stay), and it's nice to get some treats once in a while.
Along with that, there are also many spouses on base who offer food from their homes (for a price) and I've managed to make friends with some who make me vegan food sometimes so that's pretty great!
Overall, however, when events are thrown (like block parties or squadron events, or anything involving food) there will not be any options and you will be left out, sadly. Sorry to break that to you like that. The good news is that you can just throw your own little party at home with your own food. Woo!
Disclaimer: If you see any errors or find out something I've listed is, in fact, not vegan, or if something should be added to the list, please reach out to me either by making a comment, or sending me an email, so that I may correct it.
Furthermore, if you have any other interesting information that you think would add value to this article, definitely leave a comment! I would truly appreciate it. Thank you!
this post was published on July 7, 2023, and has been updated on September 7, 2023, to remove Rhombus Guys from the list as they no longer carry any suitable vegan options.
What's up! My name is Bree, and I run this kitchen! I love sharing my recipes with you and I hope you enjoy them. You can follow me on Facebook, Pinterest, or Tumblr. Get to know more about me and this site if you'd like. Thanks, bud!
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