Review: Vegan Brunch at Beachland Ballroom

At times, my social life is a little ridiculous. In between work travel and running and a million other things I like to do, it can be hard to make time to do all of the things I want to do. Like go to brunch.

My boyfriend and I share a Google calendar to assist with plan making. Otherwise, I think we'd be quadruple booked instead of just double booked some weekends. Months ago, we'd talked about going to Beachland Ballroom for brunch. But it just finally happened.

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon. Around 12:45. We pulled up to the restaurant and easily got parking on the street. We walked up to the restaurant and opened the door. Inside, the lobby area and the restaurant was jam packed with people. And all different kinds of people. Tattooed hipsters. Suburbanites. Older women in sweater sets. Bikers. It was neat to see so many different kinds of people intermingling.

We told the hostess we were starving so she seated us at the bar. A 10 top had just been seated before us in the dining room and she said it would have taken forever for us to get our food. I appreciated her honesty.

We sat down at the bar and Barb the bartender took good care of us. Got us water right away. Quickly took our orders. While we waited for our food, we enjoyed some people watching. The guy sitting next to me was ridiculously hung over...but still drinking. The guys on the other side of my boyfriend were old, grizzly biker looking dudes who orders shots for breakfast. But what really kept my attention were the delicious looking plates of food that kept coming out of the kitchen.

The Vegan Special

I ordered a vegan special - a combo of potatoes, scrambled tofu, veggies, and greens. (one of many vegan and vegetarian items on the menu) The tofu needed a little something so I added some sriracha. (Isn't everything better with a little sriracha?)As I was gobbling down my breakfast Barb the bartender stopped by to check on us. She asked me how I liked my vegan meal and I told her I liked it. She proceeded to tell me that she loves her meat but really thinks that Beachland Ballroom serves up some good vegan food. It was kind of a cool moment. I wouldn't have expected Barb the bartender to be down with vegan food. 

The only bad part of brunch was when the AC kicked off. Based on the looks of the inside of Beachland Ballroom, you might not even expect them to have AC, so I wasn't all that surprised when it stopped working. But what's a little sweat among friends and strangers eating brunch?

I think my boyfriend was a little skeptical about how our meal was going to be based on the location, interior, etc., but he absolutely loved his sausage biscuit and pancakes. He said the coffee was also pretty good, too. 

I really need to start making more time in my schedule for brunch. Especially if I can find more vegan and vegetarian friendly brunch spots!

Cleveland Veganz Brunch at Beachland Ballroom

Can you believe that I've lived in Cleveland for my entire life and up until recently, I'd never been to the Beachland Ballroom?  Crazy, right?  Thank goodness my year of "why the heck not" is getting me out of my normal routines.

A few Sundays ago, I had the pleasure of meeting up with some of the ladies from the Cleveland Veganz meetup group at the Beachland Ballroom for brunch.  It was super nice to meet some of the people I've spoken with online.  (And after losing more than 50% of my friends in my late 2009 breakup, I could definitely use some more people in my social circle)  In my recent pursuit of new friends/acquaintances, I've been happy to find that strangers are pretty welcoming...especially if you have something in common or have a tale of woe.  (divorced women tend to love me)

But enough about that.  You want to hear about the food, right?

Despite how the Beachland Ballroom looks (if you've never been there, it looks like a weathered, worn down, neighborhood hangout/old man bar), it draws in a great brunch crowd with its vegan and vegetarian friendly fare.  There's always a dj spinning tunes (or pressing buttons on a laptop, as was the case when I was there), and the bar is most definitely open.

Feeling adventurous, I decided to order a bloody mary.  I'd never had one before, since bloody mary mix generally contains wordhestire sauce - which you may not realize - contains anchovies.  My waitress assured me that the Beachland uses fish-free mix, so I decided to order a drink.  (in hindsight, not the smartest move before a long Sunday run...oy)  I love tomato juice and I love vodka...so I hoped for the best.

I was not a fan.  I could have been a fan...but despite my love of tomato juice and vodka, I do not like anything spicy.  And whoo-boy, this was spicy. 

After a pretty long wait, my brunch arrived.  I ordered a tofu scramble with breakfast potatoes and greens.

Let me give a quick disclaimer - I'm not much of a breakfast fan.  Unless it's a pumpkin pancake or a bagel, I'm generally not into breakfast food.  So...I can't rave about my meal.  The tofu was nicely cooked and had some flavor, but it wasn't the best tofu dish I've ever eaten.  I do appreciate the presence of vegan and vegetarian items on the brunch menu, though.  Try finding tofu in your local Denny's or Eat 'N Park...it's not going to happen.

If you're looking for a different kind of brunch experience or are on the hunt for some vegan grub and some "hair of the dog" action, you should give Beachland Ballroom a gander some weekend. 

New Cleveland Veganz Meetup 02/07/10

I am super excited because I'm finally going to be able to make it to a Cleveland Veganz outing.  There's going to be a little brunch get-together at the Beachland Ballroom on February 7, 2010 at 11:00 am.  Although I'm not really a breakfast or brunch eater, I'd love to meet some of the other vegans/vegetarians in the community and I want to support the Beachland Ballroom's very vegetarian friendly brunch.  There are multiple vegan options and quite a few vegetarian options.  And, awesomely, there's a DJ.  I don't know quite what that means, but I suppose you can dance around after you eat to burn off your breakfast?  I've been meaning to check out this brunch, and this event is the perfect excuse to get dressed before noon on a Sunday.

If you're interested in attending this shin-dig (respectful non-vegans welcome), please contact the ladies at Cleveland Vegans directly to RSVP.  Click here to send them an email.

Hope to see you there!