REMOVED: Fork & Spoon

I went to Fork & Spoon today since it was the only vegan spot listed in Bangor. It may have once been vegan, but it is not anymore. I was not terribly happy with my overall experience either. I don't want to negatively affect a business that is (I think?) vegetarian, particularly in a town with not many options, but I do want to comment on my experience as a general "heads up" to other vegans visiting the restaurant.

I went in and immediately saw a sign listing flavors of ice cream they had, and one of them was marked with a (v). Strange, I thought, since this was listed as a vegan restaurant on Happy Cow. So then I saw some stuff on the board that said "cheese" and so I figured I'd ask for clarification. I got to the register and asked what items were vegan. The woman at the register said "everything on the board."

Looking at the heavily-stocked baked goods rack against the wall, I said "So none of that is vegan?" The woman replied, "No. You can't get croissants like that without butter." I thought that was a weird thing to say, especially since I've had AMAZING vegan croissants. In the interests of letting her know that you can, in fact, make vegan croissants and baked goods, I said "Oh, well I get them in CA all the time." So she said "Really, like from where? Tell me who." So I said "You mean you want names?" She said "yeah" and pulled out a pen and paper. Although I think her initial reason for doing it was like ... yeah right, prove it... I thought it was great, cool! Maybe she'll contact them and ask them how to make vegan goods! So I said "Some of the best vegan croissants I've ever had came from Sweat Pea Baking Co. in Portland, Oregon."

I'm not sure if she actually wrote it down or not because she then went in to this weird, abrupt tangent about how the rent is really high for the space and she'd make no money on vegan food and no one will eat vegan food. Then she said "My daughter won't even eat here because it's vegan food."
I'm not sure why me asking if things were vegan garnered a response about how no one likes vegan food and her rent is high and her daughter has been raised to believe vegan food is weird and gross (hint, hint... that's a reflection on you, not vegan food). Anyway, I had my son with me and he's allergic to soy, so I asked if any menu items were soy-free. She looked confused and got into dismissive mode. She said "well, you can get the salads made soy-free." So I clarified, (since my son is 18 months old and not yet a salad-eater) "I was wondering if there might be something for him." So then she said the bread is gluten-free. I said, "So, soy, as in tofu, soy cheese, things like that." So then she says "Yeah, we've got that. We've got soy cheese." The woman working with her said "No, she was asking for things WITHOUT soy." The woman just sort-of stared blankly ahead like she was confused and wanted out of the conversation. So I said, "Okay, thanks!" and I decided to eat elsewhere (great burrito place with vegan options across the street).

So. My takeaway is that the woman who (I'm assuming) is manager/owner doesn't actually know much of anything about vegan food, and be careful of allergens like soy. In terms of being vegan, it is not. To its credit, the menu actually looked like it had some tasty options for vegans and vegetarians. She did mention they have a cashew-based cheese, so that's an option.

Honestly, give this place a try. I appreciate that there is a vegetarian option in town. However, if management or the owners happen upon this review, I would definitely give more thought to being welcoming to your vegetarian AND vegan clientele. We vegans have money to spend, I promise! As I mentioned to the woman, you don't have to use the word vegan when advertising if people are afraid of that word. Also, I don't need to know about rent costs and your daughter's food aversions... it felt defensive and unnecessary.

The food here was absolutely phenomenal! I got a chickpea quinoa salad and it was amazing! The smoothie I got I wasn't crazy over but that was my fault as it said it had ginger in it and I don't really like ginger. My only complaint would be that there aren't many smoothie options without agave, also the smoothies were a tad pricey for the size.

The meals are filling and tasty, and the space is open and inviting.