Hippocrates' Daughter - Grimsby

1 Mountain Street
Grimsby

289-235-8841

This little vegan gem recently (July 22, 2016) sprouted up in downtown Grimsby, thrilling the vegan and vegetarian community. The decor is eclectic and fun with mismatched tables and chairs, tables sawn in half and hung on the wall for decoration, and a huge window for people-watching.

On this Friday night, 10 people from the Niagara Vegan group met to enjoy the new menu. A menu that no longer contains any oil and covers everything from apps, bowls, and sammies to main salads, entrees and desserts. Check it out here.

 The first time I ate here, it was taco Tuesday. I had a pulled jackfruit taco and a fish taco. Both were amazing, but the fish taco (my first) made me into a lifetime fan. The portions were hardy, fresh, and delicious.

This time, I had the beanloaf with mashed sweet potato and spinach. The loaf was moist and held together well. It had a subtle sage and fennel flavouring, topped off with a ketchup glaze that added a nice sweetness and pop of tomato flavour. The mash was delicious and creamy.

The rest of the gang ordered the Kevin Fakin' Burger (black bean patty, cheese, portobello bacon), the mac and cheese (the recipe for which could not be pried out Aisha), and the Laughing Buddha bowl (chickpeas, avocado, sweet potatoes, spinach, marinated cabbage, and tofu fried rice topped with turmeric tahini dressing). When the food arrived, the noisy room silenced. Everyone was eating, concentrating on all of the flavours, and very happy.

For dessert, we were offered date squares, brownies, and an off-the-menu treat of chocolate chip bars. I tried the chocolate chip bars which had a real blondie feel to them, and they were amazing. Soft, chewy, full of vanilla and chocolate flavour. The date squares and brownies were also very moist and flavourful.

Hippocrates' Daughter is located in downtown Grimsby with street parking available, in addition to the mall parking across the street and the lot behind Giant Tiger. All easy to find and less than 5 minutes' walk.

Isn't licensed.

Hours:
Tuesday to Saturday - 12pm to 8 pm
Closed Sunday and Monday.

How to Connect:
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5 Tips for Dining Out as a Vegan

Considering there are only a handful of vegan restaurants in the Niagara region, most of us will end up in restaurants that don’t specifically cater to our food choices. Never fear, it’s still very easy to get something decent to eat at almost every places Here are five tips that will help along the way:

1. Call ahead

If I have any heads-up as to where we are going, I will call ahead to ask questions about the menu. If it is at all possible, I will also call on off-hours (not during the lunch or dinner rush) so that the server will have more time to talk to me about choices. This can alleviate any discomfort you may feel by being the centre of attention, and gives the server or kitchen staff the time to investigate questions they may not know off the top of their heads.

2. Check menu for items that may be easy to alter.

Often times, you can tweak an already existing menu item to make it vegan which makes it a lot easier for the kitchen to comply. A grilled veggie wrap can quickly be made vegan by ditching the goat cheese for example or a pasta dish can be veganized by foregoing the parmesan and prosciutto. Just make sure to check that all of the other ingredients are in fact vegan.

3. Don’t be afraid to ask for suggestions.

Just as you shouldn’t be afraid to make suggestions, some establishments are quite vegan savvy, and you may end up with better items by asking for their ideas. I have often dined in restaurants where the chef offers to make up something entirely different from anything on the menu, and every time this has happened, the chef’s choice far outdoes anything I would have thought up.

4. Be sure to lay out what you can/can’t eat (not everyone knows what is meant by vegan).

After telling someone that I am vegan, I have been offered eggs, cheese, fish (that doesn’t count right?), and dairy. Some people have not had the exposure to vegans and don’t really understand what we eat. Not to mention all of the vegetarians (or often omnivores) who label themselves as vegans and then go on to eat animal-based products, adding confusion to the mix. Let the restaurant know what you don’t eat so they can accommodate you appropriately.

5. Keep snacks in a pocket or purse.

Sometimes, regardless of your preparation or polite attitude, there are times when the restaurant is just not going to be able to offer you anything decent and the sparse green salad or plate of fries isn’t going to cut it, so have a backup plan. Keep small snack baggies in your purse or pocket. Nuts, dried fruits, granola bars, muffins, soup/stew in a thermos (that you can chug in the parking lot, yep, been there, done that) - all are easy to make ahead and carry around with you.

Keep a positive attitude (I firmly believe that the vegan message is best furthered by being polite and agreeable), and perhaps you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how well you can eat out, vegan. 

Eating Vegan in Niagara

As many of us plant-based eaters know, it can be difficult and sometimes intimidating to figure out what to eat when you're dining out. Is the rice made with chicken stock? Are the potatoes fried in lard? Does the deep fryer for the fries do the calamari as well? Additionally, it can be tricky to find restaurants to accommodate both us and our omnivore friends and family members.

Because of this, I wanted to create a place to talk about restaurants in the Niagara region that aren't strictly vegan. Obviously, we can all find something amazing to eat in vegan joints like Rise Above (swoon) or Hippocrates' Daughter (yum), but what about regular restaurants.

This is a real beginner list, but I will be adding to it all the time. Part of the notes will be experiences that I have personally had at a particular restaurant, what I ate, and what I learned about other options. Another part will involve me calling and speaking with representatives from restaurants and posting their suggestions as to what vegans can eat.

Please feel free to message me if you have any questions or suggestions. I hope that you get something out of these reviews and that perhaps your experiences while dining in Niagara are just a little bit easier.

With compassion,
Terry Cohoe

Apologies for the under construction aspect of this blog. I'll get it figured out asap. :)