Tip jar

Photo: Courtesy of Chicago Diner

Q My vegan cousin is coming over for a family dinner, and she’ll go ballistic if I don’t have a dessert for her (again). Any idea where I can score vegan sweets?—K. Daily, South Shore
A You don’t need to tell us about vegan cousins—ever since we put whipped cream on a vegan pumpkin pie, ours won’t come over anymore. The popular choice of hipster vegans is Bleeding Heart Bakery (2018 W Chicago Ave between Damen and Hoyne Aves, 773-278-3638), which always offers egg- and dairy-free ginger brownies, “chocolate” chip cookies, pecan tarts and pumpkin pie. If you’re going the cookie route, try Swim Café (1357 W Chicago Ave between Ada and Noble Sts, 312-492-8600), which just rolled out a line of vegan Mexican wedding cookies and oat bars made with orange marmalade. But for one-stop shopping, Chicago Diner (3411 N Halsted St at Roscoe St, 773-935-6696) might be your best bet. There you’ll find a full line of layer cakes (including chocolate mousse, pictured) and even cheesecakes that are so tasty the rest of your family will eat them, too. (Just don’t tell them what’s not in it.)—David Tamarkin