Local Spotlight - Mud Pie Vegan Bakery

Mud Pie Vegan Bakery, located on 39th Street in Kansas City, Missouri, is a shop full of treats that everyone can enjoy. If you're gluten sensitive, then this is your new favorite sweets stop. Also, if you're a coffee connoisseur, a pastry hound, prefer to eat locally-derived foods or are a student looking for a comfy place to relax and catch up on studying, then this is also your new hangout.
As summarized on the shop's website, Mud Pie came to be when owners Sharon Hughes, Michael Valverde and Ashley Valverde realized that Kansas City needed a bakery where folks with dietary restrictions and allergy concerns would be able to snack and imbibe without worrying about their health.

I found Mud Pie as I was driving to Donna's Dress Shop, and I decided to pay a visit after doing a little bit of vintage shopping. Even Donna (of the Dress Shop) recommended that I try the pumpkin muffin at Mud Pie when I mentioned to her that I would paying the bakery a visit. The shop makes it home in a yellow house replete with a white picket fence and patio (with warmers should you choose to sip on some hot choc when it's cold).

The counter faces the entrance, so I was able to take stock of the whole inventory of goodies that was offered that day, from donuts to scones to muffins.

 One thing I noticed immediately - and loved - was how many options for each type of product were available. For instance, a chocolate chip muffin comes in a jumbo size with icing, a regular size with frosting, a tiny size with frosting and a regular size without frosting...so that everyone is pleased.

When I told Andrew, the baristo, about Donna's recommendation, he said that the bakery will create some pastries for limited, seasonal offerings, but if they become uber-popular, then said pastries will be kept on the menu indefinitely, which is the case with the pumpkin muffin. Other items, he said, change daily.  When I asked Andrew about his favorite item on the menu, suddenly every customer in Mud Pie jumped in to give their suggestions. Andrew recommended the pumpkin-chocolate spice muffins while another guy - didn't catch his name - recommended the spice cake, but without the icing as he thought it was too rich. A guy that was waiting in line said that he liked the coffee chocolate chip muffin because the inside tasted like raw cookie dough and coffee (and I'm sold). Then there was a lighthearted free-for-all as everyone asserted why their preferred muffin/cake/cookie was, in fact, the best. It was great.

I ultimately decided on the coffee chocolate chip muffin, though I was tempted by the donuts as they were tiny and thus, adorable, and because they looked crispy, which is an intriguing concept. I've never had a crispy donut. Ah, next visit I'll grab one. The muffin was moist and fluffy, due in part to the lack of gluten, thus giving it that cookie dough texture. I am a fan.

 

The menu listed everything from scones to fruit bars to banana bread to cupcakes, muffins, biscottis and more. The drink menu was just as extensive, with teas, coffees and italian sodas making appearances (I was intrigued by The Hammerhead and The Dirty South drinks, but didn't get a chance to ask what was in them).

I bought a plain black coffee, but it wasn't just any cup of coffee. It was an amazing cup of coffee. Mud Pie serves coffee made by Oddly Correct, a small independent roaster that operate in midtown  Kansas City. The tagline, "Coffee to freak our your morning cup", is pretty fitting, as I found it to be very flavorful, but not overpowering. Oddly Correct, located on Main Street, sells Mud Pie's donuts in its small shop, so the two stores definitely help each other out and keep it local.

When I asked for creamer for my coffee, Andrew asked if I would like to have creamer, milk, rice milk, coconut milk or cashew milk. I was taken aback. Cashew milk? Haven't ever been offered that before. Apparently, the bakery makes its own cashew milk. Would I like to try it? asked Andrew. Yes, I freaking would. I replied. And it was great and nutty. There were even some tiny pieces of cashews left in the milk.

And the bakery would be a great place to catch up with friends or to catch up on some homework. To be honest, I've never been able to study at coffee shops. The constant stream of new people coming in and out, the smells of pastries, the awkward moment when the only chair left leaves you without a plug-in...all of these things make me opt out of coffeehouse studying. Mud Pie is different. Everything looks comfy, as though you were at home or at a friend's house.

Mud Pie Vegan Bakery = Love. Check them out on Facebook and Twitter.