MPLS Vegan Weekly

MPLS Vegan Weekly

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MPLS Vegan Weekly episodes

  • Front Porch Pies Storefront, Mill City Indoor Market & ThanksLiving

    This week we go on a Twin Cities vegan bakery crawl, starting with the big news: Front Porch Pies is opening its first permanent storefront in Minneapolis. We also cover winter farmers market changes, a new plant-based steak on store shelves, and a Thanksgiving-season vegan potluck.

    In this episode:

    • Front Porch Pies, the vegan bakery Racket calls "the excellent vegan bakery," is opening at 3008 36th Ave. S., Minneapolis, in the old Savory Bake House space. The grand opening is planned for Saturday, Nov. 14.
    • Some backstory on baker Chelsea Keene: in 2025 her baked goods were sold at every Dogwood Coffee and Backstory Coffee location, her hand pies were at Caydence Records & Coffee in St. Paul, and she ran a Thursday stall at the Uptown Farmers Market.
    • The menu goes well past pie, with cookies, muffins, scones, galettes and bars. Racket called her vegan pecan pie "a gooey and decadent dead ringer for the dairy version." It was $7.50 a slice in 2025, and prices may have changed.
    • Mill City Farmers Market has moved indoors to the Mill City Museum lobby (use the 2nd Street entrance). It runs the first and third Saturdays, November through April, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. This month's dates are Nov. 7 and Nov. 21.
    • The St. Paul Farmers' Market lists Saturdays 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. and Sundays 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 290 5th St. E. and 308 Prince St. E. It doesn't post separate winter hours, so check before you go.
    • Beyond Steak Filet is now at Sprouts nationwide. It's made with mycelium, faba bean protein and avocado oil, and each serving has 28g of protein, 3g of fiber and 1g of saturated fat. We couldn't confirm that any Twin Cities store carries it, so call ahead.
    • Puris, in a Food Business News story out of Minneapolis, launched H2-IZO, a pea protein for high-protein drinks and dairy alternatives. It's an ingredient sold to food makers, not a grocery product.
    • The Annual ThanksLiving Vegan Potluck from Compassionate Action for Animals is Saturday, Nov. 14, 1 to 3 p.m., at Matthews Park, 2318 29th Ave. S. Bring a dish based on your last name: A to J brings dessert, K to R a main dish or salad, and S to Z a side or appetizer. The West Suburbs Vegan Potluck is Thursday, Nov. 12, 6:30 to 8 p.m., at Unmapped Brewing.

      • Sources:

      • Racket: October restaurant news (Front Porch Pies storefront)
      • Racket: Front Porch Pies vegan bakery
      • Mill City Farmers Market
      • St. Paul Farmers' Market
      • Beyond Meat: Beyond Steak Filet at Sprouts
      • Beyond Meat press room
      • Food Business News: Puris launches pea protein ingredient
      • Compassionate Action for Animals: ThanksLiving Vegan Potluck
      • Compassionate Action for Animals: Events

        • Subscribe / follow along: https://mplsvegan.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=transistor&utm_campaign=mpls-vegan-weekly

        Full transcript

        Priya Anand: No, I'm serious, a storefront. An actual door you can walk through. Front Porch Pies is getting a SHOP.

        Marcus Dell: Wait, the pie people? The ones you have to chase around coffee shops?
        Priya Anand: The pie people! Chelsea Keene's bakery. Racket calls it "the excellent vegan bakery," which, coming from Racket, is basically a love letter.
        Marcus Dell: Okay, where. Give me an address before you give me feelings.
        Priya Anand: 3008 36th Avenue South, Minneapolis. It's the old Savory Bake House space.
        Marcus Dell: So a bakery's moving in where a bakery used to be. That's... that's the circle of life, Priya.
        Priya Anand: The circle of crust. The grand opening is planned for Saturday, November 14th.
        Marcus Dell: Ten days. Okay. I can do ten days.
        Priya Anand: And that's kind of why I wanted to do a bakery crawl today. Because for a while, just finding her stuff WAS a crawl.
        Marcus Dell: Right, explain that, 'cause I never really understood the map.
        Priya Anand: So last year, 2025, her baked goods were at every Dogwood Coffee and every Backstory Coffee location. Her hand pies were over at Caydence Records & Coffee in St. Paul. And she had a Thursday stall at the Uptown Farmers Market.
        Marcus Dell: Uff da. So you basically had to be a pie detective.
        Priya Anand: A very happy pie detective. Coffee in one hand, hand pie in the other.
        Marcus Dell: Okay but... hold on. "Front Porch PIES." Is it just pie? Because I respect pie, but a crawl needs some range.
        Priya Anand: No, no, it goes way past pie. Cookies, muffins, scones, galettes, bars.
        Marcus Dell: Galettes. That's the... the rustic folded one?
        Priya Anand: That's the rustic folded one. It's pie that can't be bothered with a pan.
        Marcus Dell: Pie on a nap schedule. Okay. I'm in.
        Priya Anand: But for me the headliner is the pecan pie. Racket called her vegan pecan pie "a gooey and decadent dead ringer for the dairy version."
        Marcus Dell: Mm. See, this is where I get suspicious.
        Priya Anand: Of course it is.
        Marcus Dell: No, hear me out. "Dead ringer" is a big claim. Pecan pie is basically butter, sugar and eggs holding hands. Take out the butter AND the eggs, and what's left is... nuts in a mood.
        Priya Anand: Nuts in a mood!
        Marcus Dell: I'm just saying. I've been burned. I've had the vegan dessert that tastes like a polite apology.
        Priya Anand: Okay, fair. Everybody's had the polite apology. But Racket's word was GOOEY. Decadent. That's not how you describe an apology.
        Marcus Dell: Oh, sure. Nobody ever gets carried away writing about pie.
        Priya Anand: Marcus. You're going to stand in that shop on the 14th, take one bite, and go completely quiet. I can see it already.
        Marcus Dell: Maybe. MAYBE. What's it cost me to find out?
        Priya Anand: So last year it was seven-fifty a slice. Honestly? I don't know what it'll be at the new shop. Prices may have moved.
        Marcus Dell: Seven-fifty a slice is already a little spendy.
        Priya Anand: For a dead ringer?
        Marcus Dell: For an ALLEGED dead ringer. I'll pay it once. For science.
        Priya Anand: For science. Okay, small problem for me, though. Bakeries don't have a house hot sauce, so my whole rating system goes out the window.
        Marcus Dell: Thank goodness. Nobody wants sriracha scones.
        Priya Anand: I mean... don't tell me what I want.
        Marcus Dell: And I can't judge it by the fries, so we're both flying blind here.
        Priya Anand: So what's the verdict? On your scale.
        Marcus Dell: A brand-new storefront from a baker peopl...

        9 min
      • Front Porch Pies Vegan Bakery Opening + Winter Farmers Markets

        Front Porch Pies, a Twin Cities vegan bakery, is finally opening its own shop. This week we cover the grand opening date, a vegan potluck on the same day, and where to buy from local growers now that outdoor market season is over in Minneapolis.

        In this episode:

        • Front Porch Pies is moving into the former Savory Bake House storefront at 3008 36th Ave. S. in Longfellow. Racket reports the grand opening is planned for Saturday, November 14.
        • The opening date slipped. The Star Tribune had reported an October target.
        • The bakery's website calls it a "walk-up retail bakery" and promises "pies for days, mural debut, giveaways, raffle prizes." Hours haven't been posted yet.
        • Before getting its own shop, Front Porch Pies sold through Dogwood Coffee, Backstory Coffee and Caydence Records & Coffee in St. Paul.
        • Compassionate Action for Animals hosts its annual ThanksLiving Vegan Potluck on Nov 14, 1 to 3 p.m., at Matthews Park in Minneapolis. Bring a vegan dish.
        • Other CAA events this month: the West Suburbs Vegan Potluck (Nov 12, Unmapped Brewing), the Online Vegan Recipe Club (Nov 17) and a volunteer vegan lunch service at Simpson Housing every Friday in November.
        • Mill City Farmers Market moves indoors starting Nov 7. It runs the 1st and 3rd Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., in the Mill City Museum lobby (use the 2nd Street entrance). The St. Paul Farmers Market is open both outdoors and indoors this season.
        • Puris, a pea protein company based in Minneapolis, has a new pea-protein powder. The company says it can add more than 30 grams of protein to a drink.

          • Sources:

          • Racket: October restaurant news
          • Racket: Front Porch Pies vegan bakery
          • Front Porch Pies
          • Star Tribune: Restaurant roll call
          • Mill City Farmers Market
          • St. Paul Farmers Market
          • Star Tribune: Winter farmers markets roundup (last season)
          • Star Tribune: Puris pea protein shakes
          • Compassionate Action for Animals: Events

            • Subscribe / follow along: https://mplsvegan.com/?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=transistor&utm_campaign=mpls-vegan-weekly

            Full transcript

            Priya Anand: ...no, I'm serious, I've been refreshing their website like it's concert tickets.

            Marcus Dell: For PIE, Priya?
            Priya Anand: For pie! Front Porch Pies is finally getting a shop. A real one, with a door.
            Marcus Dell: Okay, wait, back up for the people who just tuned in. Who's Front Porch Pies?
            Priya Anand: Vegan bakery. Up to now they haven't had their own storefront. They've been sold through coffee shops around the Cities. Dogwood Coffee, Backstory Coffee, and Caydence Records and Coffee over in St. Paul.
            Marcus Dell: So the move was, find the pie, then buy a latte you didn't need.
            Priya Anand: Pretty much. And Racket, in their October restaurant news roundup, called it, quote, "the excellent vegan bakery."
            Marcus Dell: Okay, hold on. "Excellent." Every new place gets called excellent. I've been burned. I've driven across the river for "excellent" and gotten a sad little muffin.
            Priya Anand: Fair! But Marcus, this isn't some place that opened last week and got a nice write-up. They built a following before they even had a shop. People already went looking for them in coffee shop pastry cases.
            Marcus Dell: ...Okay. That counts for something. A coffee shop wouldn't keep the case stocked if nobody bought it.
            Priya Anand: Exactly.
            Marcus Dell: So where's the shop?
            Priya Anand: 3008 36th Avenue South, in Longfellow. It's the old Savory Bake House storefront.
            Marcus Dell: Ope, so it's been a bakery before. That's a good sign. The ovens kind of know what they're doing.
            Priya Anand: I don't think that's how ovens work.
            Marcus Dell: It's how I think ovens work.
            Priya Anand: And here's the date. The grand opening is planned for Saturday, November 14th.
            Marcus Dell: Wait, didn't I hear October somewhere?
            Priya Anand: You did! The Star Tribune had reported they were aiming for October. That slipped. Racket's latest says November 14th.
            Marcus Dell: See, THIS is why I'm skeptical. Dates move. I'm not putting a pie on my calendar until it's on the counter.
            Priya Anand: Okay, that's fair. Openings slip all the time. All I can tell you is November 14th is the most recent date I've seen reported. If it moves again, we'll tell you.
            Marcus Dell: Thank you. That's all I want.
            Priya Anand: And their own website is pretty fun right now. They call it a "walk-up retail bakery." And they're teasing, quote, "pies for days, mural debut, giveaways, raffle prizes."
            Marcus Dell: Mural debut! Okay, now I'm a little in.
            Priya Anand: Right?
            Marcus Dell: What are the hours? What flavors? Give me the menu, Priya. You always know the menu.
            Priya Anand: ...I don't. Honestly, I don't know. The site says "more details to be announced soon," and there are no hours posted. So I'm not going to guess on air and send you to a locked door.
            Marcus Dell: Priya Anand doesn't know a menu. Mark the date.
            Priya Anand: It happens! Rarely. But it happens.
            Marcus Dell: Okay, so here's my real question, though. The episode's called "Line Around the Block." Are we actually expecting a line?
            Priya Anand: I can't promise a line. Nobody's reported one, because it hasn't opened yet. But a beloved bakery, first shop, a Saturday, giveaways? I'd show up early. Just in case.
            Marcus Dell: That's a very Minnesota answer. "Probably a line, doncha know, but I don't want to be presumptuous."
            Priya Anand: Guilty.
            Marcus Dell: Okay, and my usual verdict. Here's the problem. There are no fries at a pie shop.
            Priya Anand: And no house hot sauce, so we're both off our scales.
            Marcus Dell: Uff da. We're just two people with nothing to judge by.
            Priya Anand: We'll manage. Okay, so here's what makes November 14th a really good day. Same Saturday, Compassionate Action for Animals is hosting their annual ThanksLiving Vegan Potluck.
            Marcus Dell: Oh, nice.
            Priya Anand: One to three p.m., Matthews Park, in Minneapolis. The deal is, you bring a vegan dish.
            Marcus Dell: Wait, wait. So you pick up a pie in the morning...
            Priya Anand: ...and you bring it to the potluck in the afternoon. You're the hero of the dessert table and you didn't even turn your oven on.
            Marcus Dell: That's honestly geniu...

            9 min

          About MPLS Vegan Weekly

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          Plant-based Minneapolis and Saint Paul: new restaurants, bakeries, menus, and events worth leaving the house for — with Priya Anand and Marcus Dell. New episodes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.