Spring Checklist: Veg Out

✅ GRANDMA PIE

At 20th Street Pizza, Mark Mebus begins with a long-fermented, highly hydrated dough as the canvas for his round and square pies. The Grandma style is a 14-inch square pan pizza topped with tomato sauce, cashew mozzarella, basil and olive oil. 20thstreet.pizza.

✅ BREAKFAST SANDWICHES

Grindcore House’s all-vegan menus have so much to offer when it comes to satisfying coffee shop standbys. Head to the South Philly or West Philly location for the Grizzli—baked tofu, “bacon,” and cheese piled onto a maple-buttered biscuit from Miss Rachel’s Pantry. grindcorehouse.com.

✅ BARN CAT CHEESE

“This one’s a really fun cheese, because we use the vegetable ash on it so it gives it a really cool appearance,” says Conscious Creamery’s Stephen Babaki. Cashew-based and cave-aged for three weeks, Barn Cat has a clean flavor with zesty citrus notes. Pair it with jam, crackers, or fruit. theconsciouscultures.com.

✅ SIKIL PAK DIP

Chef Alex Tellez fell in love with this salsa when his grandmother’s sister first made it for him. The Mayan dip he makes at Sor Ynez has a consistency similar to hummus, but it’s made with charred pumpkin seeds, tomato and habaneros. Tellez tops it with cilantro and pomegranate seeds and serves it with crudité. sorynez.com.

✅ SAYUR SINGKONG

To make the most popular dish at Hardena, Diana Widjojo swaps out traditional Indonesian cassava leaves for more widely available collard greens, or sometimes kale. “First we make a spice paste, then add coconut milk and water and let it boil until the leaves are tender,” says Widjojo. hardenaphilly.com.

✅ WHOOPIE PIES

When Kate Devlin switched to a primarily vegan diet, whoopie pies were the treats she missed most from her childhood growing up in the Harrisburg area. “Crocus Eatery was essentially born out of me being homesick for my family’s food,” says Devlin. Find her line of classic and innovative Pennsylvania Dutch pies at local farmers’ markets and cafés. crocuseatery.com