- Top Rated Bakery in Baltimore
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Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse
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Vegan
Vegan
American
Beer/Wine
Delivery
Take-out
Bakery
Catering
Worker-owned bookstore and coffeehouse reopened here winter 2018 after move from 30 W North Ave. Added a full bar at this space. Find panini sandwiches, soups, salads, and vegan baked goods including doughnuts by Donut Alliance. Bar is open until midnight Fri-Sat. No longer using dairy as of Feb 2021. Relocated from 1225 Cathedral St. Open Tue-Sat 9:00am-9:00pm, Sun 10:00am-4:00pm. Bookstore open 12-7pm Wed-Fri, 11-4 Sat-Sun. Bar stays open until midnight.
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- Outdoor seating
- Wheelchair accessible
- Accepts credit cards
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Last update on 14 Oct 2024 by ahs_boy
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Added by kwanza on 31 May 2011
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38 Reviews
First Review by kwanza
MaxCanner
Points +59
My Fav vegan spot! - Edit
All the sandwiches on the menu are amazing. Especially the vegan bacon cheeseburger. Yum. The pasta specials can be disappointing, so I tend to avoid those. But the classic menu items won't fail you. My go-to is the bhan mi. Great coffee, great place. Definitely recommend. I'm here at least once a week
Read moreGuest
Josh Fossgreen
Points +144
Wow! - Edit
We had two awesome experiences here while in Baltimore for a couple days. Last night we had dinner (vegan bacon cheeseburger, banh mi salad, vegan nachos) and today we had brunchy stuff (grilled cheese with tomato, veggie sandwich, curried squash, blueberry-passionfruit bread pudding), and EVERYTHING was really good.
Read moreStaff were friendly, food came out fast, prices were very fair. Would definitely come again next time we're in town.
I normally don't rate non-vegan places 5 stars (they serve dairy products if you ask for them), but the food was just so freaking good.
Pros: Awesome food, Inexpensive, Good atmosphere, free Wifi
Cons: serves dairy! get it together, red emma's!
Guest
Ryan MTB
Points +477
Lousy food, overpriced - Edit
I wish I could give 1 star, but 2 is the minimum hc will allow. I paid $14 for a crappy little vegan "bacon cheeseburger". It should have cost like $5, and BTW it tasted lousy. [edit by staff- see ToS]
Read moreCons: Expensive, tastes bad
Guest
ZoeyWiseman
Points +18
great vegetarian food, many vegan options available. - Edit
Such a great little coffee shop! Lots of food choices, so much available for a vegan like me. I recommend the Banh Mi sandwich!
Read moreGuest
corvid
Points +86
Worker-owned and very veg-friendly - Edit
Red Emma's used to be a tiny sub-street level coffee shop and bookstore on St. Paul Street. It was mostly frequented by activists and occasional office workers in need of a caffeine fix. Now it is a cavernous cafe, bookshop, classroom, and performance space in the rapidly growing Station North Arts District. There are still a lot of young activists and artists frequenting the place, but the service population has definitely expanded to encompass a broader swath of city residents. This is definitely a good thing, as Emma's has a lot to offer. As a worker-owned collective, Red Emma's is a shining example of how things can be done differently and better even within a broken capitalist system. Relevant to this Happy Cow review are, of course, their food choices. They are making an effort to provide low-cost fresh, healthy food to everyone in a city where this kind of desperately needed food is often off-limits to lower income folks.
Read moreThe menu at Emma's has expanded significantly since their St. Paul days. They still offer a full array of fair trade coffee (now roasted in-house) and tea, but now also sell local (all vegan) beer. Their food continues to be all vegetarian, and much of it is vegan. The menu holds a good mix of sandwiches, soups, and salads, as well as some heartier meals. They also make various breakfast bagels as well as serving a weekend brunch. They always have a selection of delicious baked goods, including such rare delicacies as vegan whoopie pies and cinnamon buns.
The atmosphere is modern industrial. It is cool to see how they reclaimed this building. The bones were left intact and enhance the worker-focused aesthetic of the place. The original ceramic floor is stunning. Huge windows ensure that the space is always full of light, making it an ideal place to sit and read while enjoying a hot beverage and one of those delicious baked goods.
Pros: economical, diverse menu, beautiful space
Cons: seating sometimes limited
Guest
alv410
Points +43
Delicious, economical vegan/vegetarian food - Edit
Red Emma's has delicious vegan and vegetarian food, as well as very tempting hot and cold beverages — including beer and wine (a more recent development). Their prices are pretty economical, ranging from a hearty $3 side dish to $7 sandwiches and salads. They also include a daily $5 special. My personal recommendation for a cheap, filling snack is the Black Bean Bomb (their bagels are perfect — chewy and flavorful). For a $7 meal, I recommend pairing their weirdly good vegan Mac & Cheese with the vegan BLT. For coffee, start with their "Red Emma's Roast." The only improvements to the food/drinks I'd suggest is to double the amount of tofu in the Bánh Mì Salad/Sandwich… and perhaps offer a nondairy espresso Affogato in the summer time!
Read moreThis newer version of Red Emma's is kid-friendly and wheelchair accessible. A lot of people seem to use Red Emma's for small meetings, study sessions, and quiet hang outs. Red Emma's is also the home of the Baltimore Free School, so you might want to check out if a class session of interest to you is going on while you're there. Lastly, it's worth mentioning that Red Emma's is home to Thread Coffee, an ethical coffee collective that roasts coffee right in the cafe!
Pros: excellent food, good value, friendly staff
Cons: more tofu in the Banh Mi, please!
Guest
DanielAmaral
Points +707
Awesome place! - Edit
very cool place with a lot of vegan options.
Read moreThe nachos were great, as the grilled cheese and the cinnamon roll. They also have a lot of lattes to drink and you can add VEGAN MARSHMALLOWS. They also have a lot of political books to sell.
Guest
mickb94
Points +21
vegan-tastic - Edit
It's hard to find a place that isn't just "vegan friendly" and actually wants to feed you great food without taking ya broke!!! Delicious food, comfy coffee house atmosphere, and Baltimore-istic beauty and charm. Don't pass it up. Make a special trip. If you need to...I know we are sure glad we did!!!
Read morePros: whoopie pie, key lime soda
Guest
NIBsmf
Points +1102
Great place - Edit
Food: 8. In general the food is sort of heavy on the mock meats and mock cheeses, which I'm sort of "over" at this point in my veganism, but they still have some pretty darn good stuff. I've now been there twice and got the tofurkey melt sandwich both times, and I have to say that while it's a pretty simple sandwich it is really quite tasty. I had some of their desserts, and those were good but not thrilling. Everyone else I know who's had their vegan food has liked it a lot, too.
Read morePrice: 8. Reasonable.
Atmosphere: 8. Cozy space. It feels very airy. I like their selection of books. I don't adore the neighborhood and feel a bit nervous walking there alone at night, but it could be worse. Luckily parking seems pretty easy to find around it.
Staff: 9. Very friendly and helpful.
Pros: Tasty food, Mostly vegan, Cozy
Cons: Not a great neighborhood, Could benefit from more healthy options
Guest
Took
Points +180
Interesting Scene, Impressive Lattes - Edit
I try to find the best lattes in town, wherever I go. After trying 6 different local coffeehouses, I landed on Emma's.
Read more+ the best soy latte I've had in B-more (perfect foam). Also, they don't charge extra for soymilk!
+ interesting characters there. I find the baristas to be my favorite thus far -- one woman was singing Radiohead and dancing behind the counter, which is refreshing.
+ sell Dirty Carrots vegan cupcakes, cookies, etc. plus have vegan sandwiches and cream "cheese" for your bagel.
+ fantastic music
+ lots of reading material. I bought a coloring book titled, "Sometimes the spoon runs away with the spoon."
+ friendly vibe...always.
Pros: Food + drink is amaze., Cool place to hang out., Definitely on the inexpensive side.
Guest
kwanza
Points +305
nice find - Edit
I stumbled across this place by accident, and am glad that I did. It's a bookshop / coffeeshop, and also serves sandwiches, soups, muffins and cookies. Plenty of vegan options, including mock-meat sandwich fillings. Good value for money.
Read moreThe bookshop itself has got a bit of a radical left wing feel to it. The staff and customers were very friendly, and were happy to give me advice about where else in Baltimore I could find vegan food.
Pros: value for money, good for vegans
Guest
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