Reverie Bakeshop is a vegan bakery that is a 7 minute-drive from campus. You should know that they sell out items as the day goes on, which means you have to get there as early as possible for the best possible selection — and they open at 7am. 

But once you get there, whatever time that might be, everything that remains is worth trying. The crowd favorite was easily the breakfast biscuit ($5.50), which consists of vegan egg, cheese, and sausage sandwiched in between two fluffy biscuits — a bit too fluffy, in my opinion. I would have preferred less carbs and some more filling, but I would still absolutely get this again.

There’s not much to say about the chocolate fried donut ($3); it tasted like a standard donut — that is to say, delicious. The chocolate chip cookie ($2.65), which is also gluten-free, was similarly delightful; it was chewy, with the perfect combination of dough and chocolate chips.

The current seasonal brownie ($3.50) was Valentine Day’s themed, with a cute heart-shaped fondant and tasty strawberry jam. But the brownie itself was a little too cake-y; I would have preferred a more fudge-y brownie. Still, Reverie Bakeshop ticks off all the boxes: delicious, affordable, welcoming, and good for animals and the environment. Get over here ASAP.

Richardson’s other vegan bakery is one of over 70 locations across the U.S. This particular Cinnaholic has beautiful purple walls with cozy seating and friendly staff. The most important thing you should know is that you can customize pretty much anything; for example, the cinnamon rolls start at $5.50 and you can add whatever toppings you wish at $0.50 each. Each frosting flavor is an additional $0.25; I recommend cream cheese frosting with chocolate chips, chocolate sauce, and powdered sugar.

But on this visit, when faced with menu anxiety, we opted for a specialty “very berry roll” ($7.25), which is topped with cake batter, strawberries, blueberries, raspberry jam, and powdered sugar. The fruits were fresh and the warm and tasty roll had a strong cinnamon flavor and just the right amount of sweetness. But my favorite item from this visit was easily the s’mores cookie ($2.50), which is limited edition — so get it while you still can! The vegan marshmallow is surprisingly stretchy despite lacking gelatin, and the chocolate was gooey and delicious.

Another highlight was the soft serve ($4), which comes in three flavors — we opted for pineapple. It was refreshing and had such concentrated flavor; you could feel it in every bite. You can also order a scoop of cookie dough ($3.99, either chocolate chip or snickerdoodle) by itself and add one topping; not wanting to suffer a heart attack from sugar overdose, we opted for strawberries. I will definitely come back again… and again… and again as I try out menu combinations from the endless possibilities.