Fiddle Heads, Raw Vegan Cafe & Shop – Worcester, VT

After breakfast at Mint and the interview with Dan of Liz Lovely we headed 30 minutes north to what has become one of my favorite stops on the trip, Fiddle Heads in Worcester, VT.

Fiddle Heads – 100% vegan & raw

18 Worcester Village Rd
Worcester, VT

Founded and run by the amazingly talented and compassionate Linda Wooliever, Fiddle Heads is a must-stop in northern Vermont. Not only does Linda create nut- and hemp-milk bags, reusable tea and coffee bags, and other products that are great for aiding a healthy lifestyle, she also sells packaged raw food, healthy eating ebooks, bulk foods and herbs, supplements, and provides catering services in addition to the cafe within the shop itself. An interesting side note: it turns out that carpenters like to use the filtering bags for sawdust. They’ve also heard from folks who like to use them for apple pressing, and beer and kombucha filtering. There are certainly a lot of big things coming out of this little storefront!

Fiddle Heads is adorable! The vibrant colors dotted with handwritten quotes on the walls, along with an array of products makes for a unique and enriching experience all around.

The food is also phenomenal. Unlike some raw food restaurants, everything at Fiddle Heads is made fresh. The only items that are prepared in advance are the crackers, onion bread, and eggplant bacon. OMG, the eggplant bacon is SO GOOD!!

I had the “RAWLL American Burger” which is by far THE best vegan burger (raw or cooked) that I’ve ever had. Here’s what you get: the raw burger comes with with eggplant “bacon,” raw mayo, cheddary cheeze, green sprouts (or green leafies) and a slice of a local tomato on top of delicious onion bread. Quite filling and hella delicious. Served with a local greens or sprouts and some of our homemade kim chi or sauerkraut and some yummy raw black olives.

The combination of things on and in this burger is so winning that I hardly have words for it. It’s got crunchy, flaky, and soft textures wrapped up in divine flavors that will forever tickle your taste buds. My favorite part is the eggplant bacon. This was my first experience with eggplant bacon and Lord Have Mercy, am I hooked! Salty, sweet, and crunchy. More please!

Ethan had the “RAWsome Wrap:” pick your potion: Sunflower Seed Cheeze, Sunshine Salad, Cheddary Cheeze, or NOT Tuna. The wrap is kale or collard leaves. The filling: dollop of your choice of salad or cheeze, house kim chi, carrots, sprouts and/or green leafies.

Ethan: Fiddle Heads happened for us at the right time. We just munched on Liz Lovely cookies and the memory of our first go in NYC was still fresh in my waste line; I mean mind. I opted for robust collard wrap instead of the frilly kale. They are both really healthy but wrapping food in collard greens just oozes health bomb! I recall having the Sunshine Salad on one leaf and the NOT Tuna on the other. Thank you for this crisp and clean nutrient dense meal!

You know my affinity for freshly pressed juice now, right?! :) Linda offers a wide variety of juices and they all sound delicious. I carefully chose the “Witches Brew” (bottom left pic) which is a blend of various veggies made by Linda herself. The description reads: superfood smoothie full of delicious things – do you trust me? :-) – tell me if you want a berry brew or green brew. I opted for green!

For his drink Ethan got the homemade Kombucha. ETHAN: I know everyone loves GT Dave’s Synergy or Wonder Drink kombucha, as do I, but this was like a fine wine. It was served at the perfect temperature, the bite was just right, the mouth feel left a sense of refreshment, and the balance of carbonation and liquid weighed in a refined sip. Well done!

For dessert we had the Mint Chip Breeze (oh my delicious GOODness!!) and the Berries N Cream Cake (second pic below). Yummers City!!

And here are some of their filtering bags. Neat-o!

We sat down with Linda to chat about Fiddle heads and her move to veganism. Fiddle Heads opened two Octobers ago. Linda was quite literally standing in the shower when she thought, wouldn’t it be nice to have an internet cafe here in this small town. She went on to explain how the entire journey has been a full expanding experience in mind, body, and soul. It has “turned into a life’s journey.”

Linda has been a high-raw vegan for ten years and so Fiddle Heads has been 100% vegan since the doors opened. She said, “I didn’t want to sell anything that would feed into people’s addictions.”

The “impetus to become vegan was in 1995” when Linda’s mom died of lung cancer and her neighbor died of the end stages of diabetes. She said that she then became turned on to foods for healing the body, and learning how to get out of the way to let your body do the healing.  The final push was conversing with a woman in Oregon, on a forum for expectant mothers. Linda had been experiencing uncomfortable weight gain and other issues during her pregnancy and ended up connecting with the moderator of the forum who put together a two-week dietary program for Linda. She said that she didn’t start this with the idea of being vegan but after slowly getting rid of animal products in her diet, and feeling and seeing the healthy changes in her body, she couldn’t go back.