Students with alternative food lifestyles can sometimes experience difficulties when it comes to finding places to eat. Vegans have more local dining options in DeKalb than they may realize, many just a short walk from campus.

The closest option for many students is Pita Pete’s Healthy Eats, 901 Lucinda Ave.

“We have six different vegan options, which is probably six more than all the other restaurants,” said owner Leslie Metz. Metz said Pita Pete’s tries to recognize and respect the needs of vegan and vegetarian students.

“We even have a vegetarian and vegan grill so their vegetables won’t be cooked where the meat gets cooked,” Metz said.

A fairly new product offered at Pita Pete’s is seitan, a sort of ‘fake steak’ made from wheat gluten by local vegan bakery Sunny Day Bakery, 263 E. Lincoln Highway.

“We’re probably the only place on campus that has it where it tastes good,” Metz said.

In addition to the seitan, Sunny Day Bakery cookies can be found at Pita Pete’s, including their new seasonal pumpkin cookies.

“They make phenomenal products. We have the same vibes here, and we want to get as organic and the best vegan stuff we can,” Metz said.

Sunny Day Bakery also has cookies for sale at the Huskie Hub inside the Holmes Student Center, said Charles DeMaio, Sunny Day Bakery owner. The vegan bakery is located in the basement of The House Café, 236 E. Lincoln Highway.

“It’s good to have vegan food options where you live, and there’s not much of it going on,” DeMaio said about his decision to start Sunny Day Bakery. “It’s the lifestyle that I love. Other people live it too.”

DeMaio offers granola, cookies and seitan products.

“We use maple syrup from Wisconsin in a lot of our products, which comes from a small family farm. A good amount of ingredients I use are verified organic,” DeMaio said.

The baked goods are also available at Duck Soup Coop, a whole foods grocery store at 129 E. Hillcrest Drive and at The House Café.

The House Café is known for the live entertainment it offers almost nightly, but their menu is also an attraction for vegetarians and vegans.

“We do pita pizzas, wraps and salads, vegan organic veggie burgers, no-cheese pizzas, pesto pizzas, veggie sandwiches and wraps,” said barista Ben Dahl. “I’d say about 75 percent of our menu is at least vegetarian-friendly.”

He notes that all vegetarian options can be made vegan and all the salads are cheeseless. The House Café offers rice and black beans on its daily menu and many of its soups and chilis are also vegetarian or vegan.

Down the street at 122 E. Lincoln Highway is Mediterraneo, which offers Middle Eastern fare that is inherently vegetarian friendly.

All of the food at Mediterraneo is made when you order it, so if something comes with meat or cheese on the menu, it can be special ordered without, said server Mike Garnet.

“It’s all Middle Eastern food, and a good portion of our food is vegetarian. Its’ all really, really good, and you can’t find our taste anywhere else in DeKalb,” Garnet said.

The restaurant is also adding another element to its dining experience soon.

“In a week or so we’re starting live entertainment, and we’re going to bring in the NIU Jazz band,” Garnet said.

The owner is a grad student in the NIU music department and he relates a lot with the students, Garnet said.

“He’s a really nice guy. I can’t tell you how many times he’s given out hummus or dessert on the house,” Garnet said.

Mediterraneo doesn’t serve alcohol but allows people to bring their own beer and wine.

“It’s a cool place to relax or bring a date,” Garnet said. “It’s a classy place.”

Across DeKalb, a need for vegetarian and vegan options is being realized. Other vegan friendly restaurants include Eduardo’s Mexican Restaurant, 214 E. Lincoln Highway, Bea’s Wok and Roll, 1402 Sycamore Road, and Thai Pavilion, 131 E. Lincoln Highway, according to VegGuide.org.

“A lot of vegan stuff doesn’t taste good but we want some tasty options for them other than tofu or a veggie burger,” Metz said.