I’ll eat most any kind of food – I thrive on variety. Sometimes I like to eat a LOT of vegetables. And to meet this desire, vegan options abound in Bellingham. However, the detective work involved can be tiring. Are there animal products in this dish, in this dressing, etc. Now I can walk in to Bloom and order carefree.
The owner, Justin Bilancieri, hearkens from Marlboro, MA and more recently from Colorado. His roots are New England where the ole saying goes:Â use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without. The original reduce, reuse, recycle! So it seems apropos his restaurant is vegan. Veganism is a diet/lifestyle excluding animal products. A vegan is concerned about animal welfare, the environment and human health. In particular, the practices of factory farming and animal testing. Now back to your regularly scheduled review…
Justin has created a comfortable atmosphere from the old Kendrick’s billiards space. There are picnic tables, community dining tables, plush seating and bar stools in the front of the restaurant. Shelves filled with books on varied subjects (engineering, food, art) divide the space. He will create a music/art venue in the restaurant; there are two stages. Sitting here was almost like being at home. It is open and comfy with a kitchen attached where I can watch men preparing a meal for me. See my happy face? And with free wi-fi, Bloom is an office away from home.
You can’t go wrong ordering anything from the menu. Even though Tom calls vegan meals food’s food. I ate a raw tomato cucumber coconut soup with a salad and quinoa bowl. The quinoa spiced with curry and dill. The salad is a superfood salad with kale, collard, chard, mixed greens, cabbage and carrots with their superfood dressing. What a serving! The heat from the quinoa warmed the greens and the combo was delicious. I could eat it daily. Tom had the sun dried tomato hummus platter ( the soup came with his meal) with a superfood salad. The hummus serving was huge and it was adorned with carrot spears and cucumber rounds. We’ve eaten hummus for decades and this was the best – except for *MIL’s, of course!
Dessert was a raw shortbread with a smear of raw dark chocolate. It was our antidote for an evening of wine from across the street. Bing, you are now again energized! Along with hazelnut chocolate coconut ice cream we were too happy.
The menu (PDF) changes along with the seasons, and so do the business hours. Be sure to call/check the website for updates.
*MIL = mother-in-law
Bloom Vegan Restaurant, Bellingham WA
360-733-2381Â Â Â Â 1320 Cornwall Ave, Bellingham
Thur-Sat 11am – 9pm (varies)