The place I was most eager to visit in Minneapolis was The Herbivorous Butcher. What started as a farmers market favorite in the Twin Cities became a brick and mortar store earlier this year.
Like the vegan's equivalent of Space Mountain, when Herbivorous Butcher first opened, there were hour-long lines to get inside.
They sell a variety of plant-based meats that are all made in house. The selection varies by the day, but expect things like seitan steaks, ribs, cold cuts, sausages, and plant-based cheeses.
(Wonder why vegans would eat something that tastes like meat? Check out this post.)
Herbivorous Butcher
The interior is set up like your standard butcher shop with workers in crisp aprons, slicers, and scales to weigh your cruelty-free meat before wrapping it in white paper. There are also playfully subversive touches like cleavers in the wall and in place of a door handle.
Herbivorous Butcher shares its daily offerings on Facebook, and every day since they opened I've followed along, wishing that I could get a taste for myself.
Those wishes came true when I visited earlier this month. I arrived during the day on a Wednesday, and there were just a few other people in the shop.
As I perused the piles of options and wedges of cheese for sale, I hardly knew where to start. I wanted everything. It's a good thing our hotel room had a mini refrigerator!
In addition to their own house-made items, they also have a small selection of packaged vegan items for sale along with Herbivorous Butcher t-shirts and bags.
I ended up choosing three kinds of plant-based cheese - brie, pepperjack, and garlic pepper havarti.
The brie had a lovely soft consistency like a well-made cheesecake. The flavor was mild, and the texture smooth in the mouth. The pepperjack had a delightful bite of heat, and the havarti didn't overpower in its garlicky quality. All of the cheeses were soft and easy to spread.
As for the plant-based meats, I chose pepperoni, pastrami, BBQ ribs, and chorizo.
Here’s how I used it:
The pastrami was easily my favorite of the bunch. Thinly sliced with a smoky edge, it was wonderful by the fingerful or in a homemade reuben sandwich. I don't think I'll be able to go Herbivorous Butcher again and NOT buy it. It made me excited to try their other cold cuts in the future as well.
I used the pepperoni for a couple of wine and cheese nights, and I put it on a pizza. (Pepperoni and sauerkraut for me. Pepperoni, pineapple, and mushrooms for David.) The pepperoni has whole peppercorns in it, and it's especially good when browned in a pan before using.
We had the chorizo in tacos. It comes in an oblong sausage form, but it's easy to crumble into a pan.
I had the BBQ ribs on the grill with an extra coating of barbecue sauce. On the side, mac & cheese and vegan collard greens with liquid smoke. Now, that’s comfort food!
Visiting Herbivorous Butcher was every bit as fun as I hoped it would be, and their products were very high quality. I can't wait to go back again and try more things.
Update: Herbivorous Butcher now has a cookbook too! So if you don’t live in the Twin Cities, you can make their seitan from the comfort of home. Read about it, and grab their carrot lox recipe.
Celeste
I wish I shared your enthusiasm! I’ve had stuff from the Herbivorous Butcher and in my opinion, it all tastes very similar. Its a heavy block of seitan which sits like a brick in your stomach. If you are gluten intolerant, your stomach is going to reinforce that badly for the next 5 to 6 hours. I’ve had their Korean ribs, chorizo, Italian sausage, most of it, hoping to find something really good. Its essentially flavored mock duck in many forms. Ok to have once in a long while.
Cadry
Hi, Celeste! I’m sorry to hear that your experience didn’t match my own. Their pastrami & hickory bacon are my favorites. Luckily, I don’t have any problems with gluten. I can see how for someone who is gluten-sensitive, obviously a big block of gluten would be a problem. They do sell some vegan meats made of jackfruit, if you ever felt like trying again.
Shell
I didn’t know vegan butchers existed! What a cool place.
Cadry
There are lots of other seitan-makers out there, but Herbivorous Butcher really went all in on the idea of a vegan butcher shop. It’s a really fun space.
Kristina
I have been waiting to be home for a long enough stretch to order a Herbivorous Butcher delivery… I’d love to visit in person!
Cadry
Oh, you waited just the right amount of time! They’re offering a couple of new sets starting tomorrow, and they look really good!
Little Vegan Bear
Wow, the place looks great – I love the wooden wall of knives! It’s quite incredible that a ‘butcher’ can now be an exciting place to go, rather than the memories I have as a child of strange raw meats and horrible smells. I like how you can just get as much as you want to try things as well rather than be stuck with a whole package of something you’re not too keen on. And they have cheeses too! Awesome. Your reuben looks great. My boyfriend and I have been all about reubens lately – on the weekend the vegan deli near us made reuben filled croissants and he was blown away.
Cadry
Yes, it’s really fun how they went all in on the idea of it being a butcher shop. While I was in the Twin Cities, I passed a standard butcher shop with bodies hanging in the window. It was so horrible, and I had to avert my eyes. Herbivorous Butcher is the total opposite, and the inside smells clean and delicious, as opposed to reeking of blood.
It is nice that you can buy as much or as little as you’d like. I can’t wait to try more the next time I go.
That’s terrific that you and your boyfriend have been all about reubens lately. I go through phases like that too! Susan from Kittens Gone Lentil went there last weekend too and tagged me in an Instagram picture of that croissant. It looked amazing!
Grace
Yay!! I haven’t been there yet. I know living in Minneapolis, I should get right on that. I love that you feature a lot of places to visit in Minneapolis.
Cadry
Oh, Grace, you owe it to yourself to go! There’s a little gift shop next door to Herbivorous Butcher that is fun too. You could make a little afternoon of it. I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed my posts on Minneapolis!
Casey
So glad you made it to my neck of the woods! Both those places are the best. ?
Cadry
You’re so lucky to have these options at hand! I’d be there every week.
Bianca
I AM SO JEALOUS. OMG. I want to go there so, so bad! And I have a friend in Minneapolis, so what am I waiting for?????
Cadry
You would love it so much! Get there now before it’s winter again. 😉
Rita
Oh, my gosh, my mouth is watering as I read your post. I can’t wait to locate a store similar to this one. I live in New Jersey, so I will definitely be looking for these vegan meats, as I am a new vegan.
Cadry
Congratulations on going vegan! Herbivorous Butcher isn’t available in stores outside of Minneapolis yet. However, they do have a few options on their website that are available for shipping. You could try those out! Or if you’re looking for vegan meats that are closer to home and available in grocery stores, I recommend Upton’s and Field Roast.
Veganopoulous
I love stuff like that, and here in Australia too we’re seeing more butcher-style vegan products. There’s a veg butcher in Sydney I haven’t tried yet. Your pizza photos are great!
Cadry
Yes, Susan mentioned that too! That’s terrific. Thanks for the kind words on the photos. It helps to have such a delicious subject! 🙂
Susan
That pizza looks gooooooood!
The Herbivorous Butcher sounds so much fun. There’s been a vegan butcher in Sydney for a while, but they were more a cafe that also sold their housemade sausages and bacon in packages. They didn’t have the traditional butcher set up like HB does. Would love to visit one day!
Cadry
The pizzas were amazing. There’s another pizza place that I like in Minneapolis (Pizza Luce), but now that I’ve discovered Pizza Nea, I can’t imagine going anywhere else when I’m in town.
That’s great that Sydney has a vegan butcher shop as well. The set-up sounds kind of similar to Upton’s Breakroom. It’s mostly a little cafe, but they also sell their seitan/jackfruit products. I think it’s really fun that Herbivorous Butcher went all out with the concept.
Caitlin
damn, girl. DAMN.
Cadry
You’re not wrong.