Onion Maiden‘s brick-and-mortar opened Spring 2017, located at 639 E Warrington Ave in Allentown. After rocking the pop-ups and popping up around the 412 for so many the plant-based events, the vegan-fused trio of plant-based *bad*brains who flex their amazing take on Asian-American fusion finally found their hearth home. Here is a recap of a dope pop-up Onion Maiden dinner at The Vandal back in February 2016!
“A good appetite needs no sauce” – Old Polish Proverb
It took us a little while to finally dine at Apteka. Not for lack of wanting, the idea of vegan pierogi and Polish fare sounded amazing, but the time had to be right!
Cue the Autumn/Winter season. As light begins to wane and darkness becomes the day, the season of early sunset sets upon us. Chilly air and foggy breath make for ruddy cheeks and hearty appetites, a fitting climate to open this treasure trove of earthy, pungent, and rustic charm.
Before ecoRDN returned to Pittsburgh from NYC living we made a list of all the many vegan-friendly food hubs to visit upon return to our glorious city and Spak Brothers topped the list. Spak forged a path not many dared back when they first opened their doors. Sure Pittsburgh has seen a vegan-friendly boom over the last five years, but before that boom the vegan scene was practically crickets. There was the dope East End staple Quiet Storm, the Southside Zenith with their epic brunch and all-vegan dessert, however pizza and wings were not yet on the menu. Thus enter the Spak!
Let it sink in; ALL-VEGAN, EVERYTHING! Vegan here and vegan there. Vegan, vegan everywhere!
All India Restaurant is one of 12 Indian restaurant’s in the Central Pittsburgh area.
‘Central’ Pittsburgh spans downtown to Wilkinsburg and Highland Park to Southside, all walkable and bikeable locations (mostly).
What made us go all-in for All India is first the Vegan Pittsburgh sticker on the door. Vegan Pittsburgh researches and works with food sellers to verify and clearly list all plant-based friendly items on their menus. Restaurants that meet Vegan Pittsburgh’s criteria are given a cool decal to proudly display their plant-based awesomeness to the hungry masses. It makes the search much easier for vegan foodies, Vegan Pittsburgh does all the legwork, we the foodies have but to seek & destroy.
(During this article’s genesis, Onion Maiden had yet to open their first brick-and-mortar and had primarily shared their amazing wares via pop-ups and the like. However, now they have their very own shop located at 635 E Warrington Ave, Pittsburgh, PA 15210!!! More reviews to follow…)
It’s not often ecoRDN dines out, we are thrifty and enjoy cooking so much that most of our food consumption happens within the comforts of our hobbity domicile. We practice mindful eating so are in-the-zone for most meals in regards to the balance of protein to carb and vegetable ratio. Thus when ecoRDN does decide to check out a new eatery we don’t feel bad about eating comfort foods with a little extra in the way of heavy and/or unbalanced offerings. Sometimes it’s perfectly acceptable, and on the occasion in mention, our intro to the amazing world of Onion Maiden, we downed dawgs and tots with carnivalesque gusto to a backdrop of blazing metal and classic punk.
ecoRDN loves to take walks that end in plant-based foods being shoved in our gobs. One of our favorite walks has always been from the city of Pittsburgh, crossing the Highland Park bridge to get to the quaint little town of Aspinwall. Before 2012, living in Pittsburgh, the walk would take us to the Waterworks Mall. There we often read or drew in Barnes & Noble while getting jacked on coffee with no vegan fare around but a lowly protein bar or snack from Marshall’s or TJ Maxx. My how times have changed! Aspinwall now has an amazing all vegan restaurant, Randita’s, offering lunches Monday through Saturday and weekend dinners Friday and Saturday. They also have a food truck located at Aspinall Riverfront Park.
The excitement of one’s change of environment often takes a backseat to the actual move itself, because anybody who has ever moved knows moving is the work of grotesque, nefarious forces. In perfectly illustrated irony we at ecoRDN realized we took more gear than was necessary to NYC when we left Pittsburgh in late-August 2012, the unfortunate realization of this happened while packing to move back to Pittsburgh three years later.
ecoRDN 