“Everything reminds me of when I was at my grandparents’ house,” said Lisa Moberly.
She has been behind the stove with her grandparents since she was just nine years old, making homemade meals like carne asada.
A love for cooking, later turned into a passion project, now known as Rad.ish.
At the Williamburg location, they make street-style Mexican.
“We have Mexican street fries, we have burritos you can smother them, we have tacos, taquitos and we have burgers too,” she said.
But something you might not know by looking, or smelling, or tasting…
It’s all vegan.
“We marinate it into the asada that we would make for meat, so basically just subbing meat out and utilizing the other ingredients that my grandparents used,” she explained.
That same idea tops the Mexican street fries as well.
“This one lady came in and was like my husband doesn’t know this is vegan,” Lisa laughed.
He was quick to compliment Lisa’s cooking.
“And that’s when his wife was like ‘it’s not real chicken’ and he was just like oh my gosh it was so good,” she said. “Such a good feeling when that happens.”
For other loyal customers like Rachel Zemanek, Rad.ish filled a huge need in Northern Michigan.
“It’s very limited in terms of vegan food,” she said.
She’s been vegan for about 6 years.
“It was a whole new experience with the sushi, that was something that I really missed when I ate meat before, so now that I can have all these different varieties of sushi, it’s really a treat,” she explained.
You can get your hands on their vegan sushi at their other location – here at Coin Slot in Traverse City.
Ryan Moberly is the sous chef here, he’s also Lisa’s husband.
“We aren’t trying to force our vegan ways or veganism on anyone,” he said. “It’s just more of a cuisine.”
They want to change vegan food’s reputation.
They say it’s not pretentious.
It can be sloppy.
And there’s no denying her grandparents’ recipes are savory.
“They love I am following my dreams, they never thought being vegan would take me this far, I don’t think I did,” Lisa laughed.
The Coin Slot location opened first – drawing attention from around the Midwest and drawing inspiration from Lisa’s daughter.
“She always wanted to have sushi but I didn’t like the mercury that was in fish, so I figured out how to make vegan sushi for us,” Lisa said.
Izabela Rose died four years ago when she was just seven years old.
“I’d probably have her in here helping me because she always loved to cook,” she said.
Lisa says Rad.ish is a positive spin out of grief, encouraging her to live life to the fullest.
“It’s so important to remain kind and nice to people because you don’t know…it makes you think about life differently, approach differently, and that’s what Rad.ish is all about,” Lisa said.
You can find Rad.ish in Traverse City at 346 E Front St Suite #2, and contact them at 231-943-1145.
You can find Rad.ish in Williamsburg at 3593 Bunker Hill Rd, inside Stone Hound Brewing Company.
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