Brunch at The Owl House in Rochester, NY

Over the weekend just after my 30th birthday (June 9 and 10), Paul and I went for a little road trip through New York State with stops in Rochester, Waterloo, Syracuse, Watertown, and Alexandria Bay. Our main plan was to visit Boldt Castle in the Thousand Islands, but we also made a few other stops along the way. I did some research in advance for delicious vegan eats and managed to find two fantastic restaurants in some of those cities. I'll be posting about the other one tomorrow. Our first stop was at The Owl House in Rochester.

We arrived in the morning and we were able to order from their Breakfast and Lunch menus. The Owl House is not a vegan restaurant, but it definitely caters to vegetarians and vegans. Mostly every item on the menu can be made vegan, and it seems as though the menu was written with vegan dishes in mind and not as an afterthought. They use fresh ingredients that are sourced locally as much as possible, and many items on the menu are gluten-free.

Paul's vegetarian lunch

My vegan lunch

Paul had the "Hash N Eggs" for brunch (from the menu: Two Eggs Any Style or Scrambled Organic Tofu; Summer Hash w/ Smoked Tempeh, Peppers, Onions, Roasted Corn, Potatoes & Cajun Seasoning; Toast). I sampled some of the hash and it was so delicious and had a great spicing from the smokiness of the tempeh and the cajun spices.

I had the Lentil Burger (from the menu: Housemade Lentil Burger, Tomato, Red Onion, Sprouts, Dill Pickles, Roasted Garlic Vegenaise on an Onion Roll).  It came with a side salad with a light dressing. I also got some Daiya cheddar on my burger. The lentil burger was really good and the onion roll was super delicious. I believe the pickles were homemade as they tasted like tangy, crunchy, pickled cucumber slices. The onion, sprouts, and garlic Vegenaise made for the best toppings on this burger and I wouldn't have changed a thing!

We also split a plate of Rosemary and Cracked Black Pepper Fries with House Spiced Ketchup that were wonderful!

Some other menu items include:  the Saigon sandwich (House Smoked Tofu, Pickled Cucumber & Carrot, Baby Arugula, Cilantro-Lime Marmalade, Roasted Garlic Vegenaise on Baguette), Vegan Mozzarella Sticks, Olek's Buffalo Stance sandwich (Buffalo Spiced Tempeh, Pickled Red Onion, Baby Arugula on Baguette), and Viva Verde Tacos (Three Soft Corn Tortillas with Smoked Tofu, Salsa Verde, Guacamole, Roasted Garlic Vegenaise, Cabbage Slaw, Black Bean & Sweet Corn Salad).

They also had a huge selection of beer from local microbreweries, local wines, and even some interesting cocktails made from house-infused alcohol! Some of these mixtures include their House Infused Sage Whiskey, their Lavender Earl Grey Tea Vodka, and their House Cocao Whiskey and Bourbon. I stuck with my coffee since it was early in the morning, but some of those drinks sounded intriguing!

You can find The Owl House at 75 Marshall Street in Rochester. Their hours are 11:00am-10:30pm from Tuesday to Sunday (closed on Monday).