What I Ate in Asheville, NC (Sweets)

Asheville, NC has received a fair amount of press for how vegan-friendly the city is, and I’m happy to say I wasn’t disappointed. I mean, check out that cake! Laughing Seed Cafe provided both a delicious lunch and brunch, but I haven’t stopped thinking about this Peanut Butter Chocolate decadence. 

I have enough memories of what I ate and drank in Asheville that I thought a few different posts might be nice. Next up in the sweets edition is Vortex Doughnuts. Vortex came up when I searched on Happy Cow, and my friend Cadry ate there when she visited. They offer a few different marked vegan doughnut options daily, and they change from day-to-day. How do I know this? Well, we may have gone there three days in a row for breakfast… Aside from the flavors listed in the photo, we had a sugar doughnut with the trademark chocolate sauce vortex swirl, vanilla sprinkles, apple fritter with apples baked into it, and blueberry chocolate cookie. Not only were the doughnuts fluffy and yeasty, the coffee was rich and flavorful. 

The Hop Ice Cream Cafe has a couple locations in Asheville, and as soon as we walked in I could see a separate case with the word “Vegan” written out in tiles on the front. There were quite a few flavors to choose from, but I opted for the basic chocolate. What really took it over the top was the house made peanut butter sauce; I could eat gallons of it. The space is bright and whimsical, and I loved the art work on the walls that were made by youth and inspired by Dr. Seuss. 

Because you can never have too much chocolate ice cream, we also hit up French Broad Chocolates for this cup of indulgence. They also have chocolate and other products that are vegan and clearly marked with a “V” on their menu. I always appreciate it when a place makes it obvious. My sweet tooth felt quite satisfied in Asheville, and I’d go back no question! Stay tuned for upcoming posts: drinks and more food (but savory next time).