To Live For - Vegan Bakery

The opening of To Live For Bakery and Cafe has been highly anticipated. Their vegan bakery goods have been available, for I am not sure how long, at many places around Vancouver and as far away as Calgary, Whistler and Victoria or through various delivery services or online for pick up from their commissary kitchen. Now you can enjoy their goodies or amazing bread with a coffee or soft serve ice cream in a beautiful and comfortable space at 1508 Nanaimo Street from 7 to 5 daily!
Admittedly, arriving at 11 am on Sunday morning to a new and exciting opening was not the most brilliant move, but we cheerfully joined the quickly moving line and endured the chill. Not surprisingly, things were a bit chaotic inside but we were impressed by how the staff were handling things. We liked the idea of sitting down to enjoy the space but there will be time for that when things settle down a bit (assuming they will settle down). Instead, we opted to enjoy our coffees on the road (btw, if you have not tried oat milk in your latte, you are missing out!) and our baked goods at home.
In the meantime, we recommend the same approach as we suggested during the height of the pandemic when seating was limited. That is to enjoy your meal but go somewhere else to do your lingering. Taking up space that is limited and people are waiting in the cold? Well, we call that slightly shitty behaviour (although we defend your right to be shitty!). Admittedly, we did not really see any of that and don't want to be too judgemental. We're just sayin'.
I could not wait to get my hands on their Whole Wheat Sourdough (shown here with vegan butter, of course). It did not disappoint. A just slightly chewy crust and a mild sourdough flavour, we had to put it away before we ate the whole thing in one sitting!
Mharie spotted the croissants on TLF's Instagram feed and that was it! The Almond Croissants were as good as they looked and the Pain Au Chocolat also hit the spot. Puff pastry is apparently in no way compromised by using plant-based ingredients which leads me to ask, why would you use anything else?
Of all the cinnamon bun styles, I am able to pass up many but not the ones that are upside-down and covered with sugar icing (I know that's not what it is called) and pecans. This is big enough to share and will keep us satisfied until our next visit to TLF.
We had to order at least one cookie. This is more of a chocolate chip meal. It was rich and sweet and built for 2 for sure. Vegans don't take chocolate for granted!
Back to savoury and we loved this Cheddar Biscuit! Where did they get this cheese? It was amazing and melty when gently warmed up. The biscuit was just crumbly enough and perfect as far as this biscuit expert is concerned!
It is so nice to walk into a place and not have to ask if there are eggs or dairy products in items. We can order anything we see! I look forward to trying their soft-serve ice cream when summer returns. It will be nice to sit down and enjoy a coffee and pastry when things calm down too. They are not the only vegan bakery around, but they have the best selection and the nicest room. Well done, folks!
Food                         5 out of 5
Vegan options          5 out of 5
Comfort                    4 out of 5
Service                     4 1/2 out of 5
Value                        5 out of 5








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Are you guys eating again? At some point Marie and I became the kind of people who take pictures of everything we eat, whether in a restaura...