photo from Stillfood Bistro

The Vegetarian Resource Group maintains an online Guide to Vegan/Vegetarian Restaurants in the USA and Canada. Here are some recent vegan restaurant additions. The entire guide can be found here: http://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php

To support the updating of this online restaurant guide, please donate at: www.vrg.org/donate

Here are some new additions to VRG’s guide:

Dreamboat Donuts & Scoops, 1204 6th Ave., Fort Worth, TX 76104

Dreamboat Donuts & Scoops offers more than just donuts and ice cream, but, honoring the popular adage: “Life’s short, eat dessert first”, here’s the scoop. As the name implies, they offer a boatload of Donut varieties including familiar favorites as well as: Key Lime Lemon Raspberry, Maple, Peanut Butter and if you’ve never had a Pistachio donut, here’s your chance! Fried Cake Donuts also rise to the occasion in many blueberry selections glazed with lemon or orange. All donuts contain cashews and are yeast raised, affectionately referred to as Yeast-E-Boiz! Check the website for daily availability. Their menu lists a host of vegan ice cream made from scratch in classic flavors plus Banana Pudding, Coffee, Pistachio, and one that’s sure to be Homer Simpson’s favorite–Cookie D’oh, to name a few! There’s Soft Serve too. Choose a cup or waffle cone. Even the cones come in various flavors. Customize your frozen treat by number of scoops and toppings like homemade caramel, organic chocolate sauce, cookie pieces and more. For savory items, Cozy Dawgs are their twist on Pigs in a Blanket baked in yeast dough, with or without jalapeno and or cheese. Grab n’ go includes: coconut yogurt parfait with organic berries and homemade granola, overnight oats, as well as Sweet Potato Hummus, and Soy chik’n or grilled Seitan wraps, stuffed with veggies in a flour tortilla and a few dressing choices.

Frankie & Jo’s, Marin Country Mart, 2257 Larkspur Landing Cir., Larkspur CA 94939

Their ice cream is mostly made from sprouted cashews, but also sometimes includes coconut milk. They offer a variety of unique, vegan and gluten-free flavors for their ‘everyday ice creams’, such as Chocolate Date, Frankie’s Brown Sugar, Salty Caramel Ash, Tahini Chocolate, Gingered Golden Milk, Chocolate Mint Brownie, and California Cabin. In addition to these flavors offered year-round, Frankie & Jo’s also offers a seasonal menu of ice cream flavors and an ‘every day’ Beet Strawberry Rose sorbet. Their maple-vanilla waffle cones are also vegan and gluten-free.

Soultarian, 3660 St. Barnabas Rd., Hillcrest Heights, MD 20746

Located in Prince George County, Maryland, Soultarian serves vegan burgers, wings, and even crab cakes on their menu. They also have a food truck that does pop-ups at events and catering for private events. Their menu is constantly updated with new delicious options, and they can do custom menus for events!

Stillfood Bistro, 75 Front St., Penticton, BC, V2A 1H2 Canada and 371 Alexander St., Salmon Arm, BC V1E 4H7 Canada

Stillfood aims to create artistic, unique, plant-based fare. They endeavor to source ingredients from local farms. The menu rotates for seasonality and variety. Freshly prepared baked goods are available daily and gluten-free options are on hand. Although dinner is not served, they are especially popular for Brunch. The menu expresses a particular pride in their Eggs Benny consisting of: carrot lox, avocado, Stillfood egg, Stillfood hollandaise sauce, and more. Their take on classic French Toast is Little Red Hen sourdough or alkeme gluten-free sourdough and berry compote, with whipped topping. There’s also Mushroom Toast—an organic mushroom blend with their own hummus and Chick’n & Waffles with maple hot sauce and watermelon radish to name a few. Amongst wraps, sandwiches, and burgers there’s a Croissantwich featuring smoked tofu and hummus, a Falafel dressed with their own Lemon Tahini. Salads include a Roasted Beet Salad with Kale, tzatziki, house chèvere, walnuts and raspberry vinaigrette. One of their Bowls is Dan Dan, a rice noodles dish with Stillfood spicy peanut sauce, oyster mushrooms, bok choy, peppers and microgreens. Another is a Sushi Bowl—cabbage, edamame, red pepper, carrot, avocado, smoked tofu, lox and spicy mayo. A few of their desserts are Espresso Brownie, Carrot Cake, and Cinnamon Roll.

The Easy Vegan, 675 S. Broadway, Denver, CO 80209

You know a vegan pop-up and catering group is doing something right when they are invited into a food competition that has been dominated by carnivores and omnivores. But that is exactly what The Easy Vegan has done, not only participating but being a top competitor on Food Network’s Season 16 of The Great Food Truck Race. Dubbed a “rookie” team because they aren’t officially a food truck yet outside the show, there is nothing rookie about them, as trying some of their fare at a Denver market will prove. With an eclectic and varying menu selection, options have included carrot pancakes made with carrot cardamom cream, toasted pistachio, carrot caramel, carrot chip, and orange zest; a veggie omelet with tomato butter, house-made mung bean egg, and an herb salad with lemony hearts of palm; and a chocolate budino with salted caramel and biscoff crumb. Check website for weekly schedule at Farmers Markets/Street Markets and other events.

Vegan Pizza Land, 142 Pleasant St #103a, Easthampton, MA 01027

Vegan Pizza land is run out of a Woodfire airstream trailer permanently housed outside of “the Abandoned Building Brewery’s Beer Garden.” They are home to an array of Vegan pizza options such as Margherita Pizza, Marinara pizza, and Broccolini pizza. Their pizza is made with sourdough crust and is topped off with homemade cashew cheese.

Veggie Thumper, location varies in Des Moines, IA

Veggie Thumper is a food bus located in Des Moines Iowa. They have a variety of vegan meals such as their Philly cheesesteak and their bbq chick’n nachos. You can find the Veggie Thumper bus cruising around Ohio doing pop-ups at various events in the area.

The Ahimsak Eco Vegan Committee of JAINA is thrilled to announce the virtual “Ahimsa Vegan Conference 2023” (AVC) on August 26th and 27^th, 2023. This virtual conference is aimed to delve into the interconnections between Jainism and Veganism and celebrate the principles of non-violence and compassion towards all living beings.

This is a collaborative effort of the Ahimsak Eco Vegan Committee of JAINA with Arihanta Institute, Compassionate Living and The Jain Vegan Initiative.

Registration for the Ahimsa Vegan Conference 2023 is here: https://veganconf.arihantainstitute.org/

Warm Regards, Ahimsak Eco Vegan Committee

Photo from Vinh Loi Tofu

Below is a list of vegan Vietnamese restaurants throughout the USA and Canada.

All Chay, 1264 W. 500 N., Salt Lake City, UT 84116 https://www.doordash.com/store/all-chay-salt-lake-city-2669291/

Chau Veggie Express, 5052 Victoria Dr., Vancouver, BC V5P 3T8 Canada https://www.chowatchau.ca/

Chi, 1935 West 4th Ave., Vancouver, BC V6J 1M7 Canada www.chiplantbased.com

D’Vegan, 9780 Walnut St., Ste. 360E, Dallas, TX 75243 www.d-vegan.com

Golden Era Vegan Restaurant, 395 Golden Gate Ave., San Francisco, CA 94102 www.goldeneravegan.com

Mama Dút, 1414 SE Morrison St., Portland, OR 97214 www.mamadut.com

Merit Vegan Restaurant, 548 Lawrence Expy. #2, Sunnyvale, CA 94085 www.meritvegetarian.com

Nam Vegan Express, 8681 10th Ave., Burnaby, BC V3N 2S9 Canada www.namvegan.com

Noble Vegetarian Restaurant, 5049 College Oak Dr., Ste. A, Sacramento, CA 95841 https://noblevegan.com/

Thien Dang Vegan, 14255 Brookhurst St., Garden Grove, CA 92843 www.thiendangvegetarian.com

Vegan Bowl, 8672 S. Redwood Rd., West Jordan, UT 84088 https://www.tableneeds.net/restaurants/veganbowl/veganbowl/menus

Vinh Loi Tofu, 11818 South St. #101, Cerritos, CA 90703 www.vinhloitofucerritos.com

Vinh Loi Tofu, 18625 Sherman Way, #101, Reseda, CA 91335 https://www.vinhloitofu.com/

Be sure to also check The Vegetarian Resource Group’s online guide to veggie restaurants in the USA and Canada here: https://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php

By Mihika Chechi, VRG Intern

As both a lifelong vegetarian and someone who regularly eats Indian food, I consider myself to be quite selective when it comes to which Indian restaurants I choose to go to when eating out. One of my all-time favorites in my home of Burbank, California, is India’s Tandoori. Vegetarians and vegans alike will have no problem finding a range of different, mouth-watering options here, and I definitely recommend it to anyone who’s in the area!

The restaurant itself is nestled among an eclectic mix of shops and restaurants in the heart of Burbank’s vibrant downtown. The atmosphere inside is perfectly cozy, with beautiful paintings lining the walls and Indian classical music usually playing in the background. I’ve sat down for a meal here numerous times, and each time, the staff has been friendly and welcoming!

This time, I took my order to go, and the experience was just as pleasant. I asked the staff what options there were in terms of vegan food, and they were incredibly accommodating, writing out a quick list of food options for me that were fully vegan. There were several different vegetable and curry dishes that I could choose from, as well as a variety of bread (specifically rotis, as naan sold in restaurants generally tends to not be fully vegan, as it may have been cooked using dairy products) and rice to accompany them. I ended up ordering plain rotis and chana masala (consisting of spiced garbanzo beans in a curry broth), both of which came in large enough quantities that they were all I needed for a full meal.

As a general tip for vegans visiting any Indian restaurant, if you do order roti, just be sure to let your server know you would like it to be made without any butter or ghee being added after it is baked. Generally, this will ensure that the rotis are fully vegan, but of course, always confirm that this is the case with the restaurant staff as well. And for visitors to India’s Tandoori, don’t worry if you don’t think you have a high spice tolerance – they’re always able to adjust the spice level according to your needs and preferences! In my opinion, the spice level of most dishes here tends to be on the higher side, so if you prefer less spice, just let your server know when ordering and they’ll be sure to accommodate your needs.

Everything came well-packaged and the staff had taken care to label the food as being vegan, which was an extra care for detail that I really appreciated.

The food itself was wonderful – the rotis were perfectly warm and soft to the bite, while the chana masala was bursting with flavor from a mix of different spices and ingredients. And it was all 100% vegan! The serving size was more than sufficient, and I actually ended up having enough left over to eat the next day.

All in all, for anyone in the Burbank region looking for an exquisite eating experience in a place that caters to vegetarians and vegans, I highly recommend India’s Tandoori! No matter how many times you come back, you’ll find a plethora of new, exciting choices. Personally, I look forward to trying the vegan aloo matar dish next!

For more information about India’s Tandoori, visit their website here.

To discover other vegetarian and vegan-friendly restaurants across the U.S. and Canada, visit our restaurant guide here.

Join The Vegetarian Resource Group’s Nutrition Advisor Reed Mangels, PhD, RD, in a Free Zoom Presentation presented by the Vegan Society of Hawaii on Sunday, August 13, 2023 (Noon HST; 3PM PDT; and 6PM EDT). The topic is “Vegan at Every Age: A Guide to Healthy Vegan Diets from Conception to Older Adulthood.” Go to https://www.vsh.org/zoom/ to listen.

Jared Mens Backpack – Blue Vegan Leather Backpacks GUNAS NY

If you’re in the market for a vegan backpack, you’ll be happy to know that there’s a wide variety of stylish vegan backpacks available in the USA, Canada, and Europe.

The French company Arsayo offers backpacks.

Doshi, an American company, makes backpacks for men and women.

Gunas offers backpacks for men and ships internationally from America.

Canadian company Jeane & Jax offers backpacks for women.

American company Matt and Nat sells internationally a wide variety of backpacks in several colors.

Pixie Mood ships backpacks to both Canada and the USA.

Brielle Vegan Wool Backpack – Pixie Mood

As Chair of the International Vegetarian Union (IVU), I am delighted to extend an invitation to you for our upcoming 48th IVU World Vegan Festival taking place this year in India.

India, a country with a rich tapestry of vegetarian heritage, will be the stage for our festival across three vibrant cities: Mumbai, Chennai, and Ahmedabad. This marks another exciting chapter in our history with India, as it was the first country to host an IVU event outside of Europe back in 1957. The event was widely attended by authorities, religious figures, and the public, and we have since been honored to return several times.

The festival dates and respective contacts for each city are as follows:

Mumbai: October 28-29, 2023 – contact: [email protected]

Chennai: November 1-2, 2023 – contact: contact: [email protected]

Ahmedabad: November 4-5, 2023 – contact: [email protected]

Alongside the main festival, we have arranged an array of side attractions and even a tour to the vegetarian city of Palitana following the event in Ahmedabad, Gujarat—the most vegetarian state in India, where over 60% of the population follows a vegetarian diet.

More information on the festival can be found at our website: https://ivu.org/world-vegfest/48th-ivu-world-vegan-festival.html

Join us as we celebrate the diversity and vitality of vegetarianism in the heart of one of the world’s most vegetarian-friendly countries. We can’t wait to see you in India!

Warm regards,

Marly Winckler
Chair, International Vegetarian Union

By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS

The Vegetarian Resource Group noticed on a Kosher blog from October 2022 the following claim about Ritz Crackers:

“The O/U confirms that all Ritz Crackers (O/UD) contain real dairy and should not be eaten after or with meat. This is true even though there may be no obvious dairy ingredients listed on the packaging.”

We checked the Orthodox Union website to confirm. A search on its Products page for Ritz Crackers, turned up 27 results. All of the Nabisco Ritz Cracker varieties, including the original cracker, indicated the presence of dairy. They are certified as OU-D.

Some of the Ritz Crackers, such as the varieties with cheese or butter in their names, are clearly not vegan. But we wondered about the first entry, titled simply Ritz Crackers, also listed as containing dairy.

According to the Ritz Crackers website, the Original Ritz Crackers ingredients are listed as:

Unbleached enriched flour (wheat flour, niacin, reduced iron, thiamine mononitrate {vitamin B1}, riboflavin {vitamin B2}, folic acid), canola oil, palm oil, sugar, salt, leavening (calcium phosphate, baking soda), high fructose corn syrup, soy lecithin, natural flavor.

The only allergens listed on the package are wheat and soy.

Considering the ingredient sources, the only possible source of dairy seems to be the natural flavor. Although if dairy were present in the natural flavor, it seems it should be listed as an allergen along with wheat and soy. See the 2004 Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA). In an example given here https://www.fda.gov/media/163454/download the FDA lists “natural flavor (peanut)” on a package. Though this appears just to apply to proteins and cow’s milk, not other animal milks.

To clear up our confusion, The VRG reached out to Nabisco, the makers of Ritz Crackers, through their website contact form. Our first question read:

“We see online: ‘The O/U confirms that all Ritz Crackers (O/UD) contain real dairy and should not be eaten after or with meat. This is true even though there may be no obvious dairy ingredients listed on the packaging.’ What is the dairy ingredient? Thank you.”

The next day, The VRG received the following response from a customer service representative at Mondelez International, the company which owns Nabisco:

“…The best source of information is the product packaging. Our ingredients are subject to change based on supplier availability and we are unable to keep an exact ingredient list on file for all of our products. If milk or dairy are included in our products, in any amount, it will be listed in the ingredient statement. We ask that our consumers take the time to check the ingredient statement prior to purchasing a product.

Terms in an ingredient statement that would indicate the presence of cow’s milk protein can include but are not limited to:

butter fat
butter flavor
butter solids
buttermilk
butterscotch
calcium lactate
casein
caseinate
cheese (all varieties)
cream
cream cheese
curds
dairy flavor
delactosed whey
demineralized whey
dry milk solids
enzyme modified cheese
half & half
lactalbumin
lactose
malted milk
milk chocolate
milk derivative
milk protein concentrate
milk solids
modified butter flavor
natural cheese flavor
nonfat dry milk
reduced lactose
rennet
skim milk
sodium calcium caseinate
sodium caseinate
sour cream
sour cream solids
sour milk solids
whey
whey protein
yogurt

Since this was not a direct response to our question about the Ritz Original Crackers, we tried again through the website contact form. This time, we simply asked:

“Are the sources of the natural flavor in the Ritz Original Crackers from animals or dairy?”

We didn’t hear back, so called. But the consumer person was unable to tell us the source of the natural flavors.

We noticed that some store brand crackers similar to Ritz had natural flavors and were O/U Pareve, meaning the product did not have dairy, and the natural flavors would not be from dairy.

We emailed the certifying agency Orthodox Union (O/U). They told us

“As a kashrus agency, it is our responsibility to verify every single flavor and every component within a flavor. The primary method that this is done is very simple – the company must get every ingredient from a verified source. If their choice is a blend that includes any dairy, the resulting formula will be dairy. If they choose a blend that does not contain dairy, it will be Pareve. If they choose to create their own flavor, they will submit a full list of every single component of the flavor – this can be dozens of ingredients, which is then reviewed by our ingredient research department. The company will then be given a choice of approved sources for these ingredients. Our Rabbinic Field Representatives are tasked with verifying that these ingredients are only coming from approved sources, by doing unannounced inspections. We are very aware of every single ingredient and non-ingredient that is used in every production. Different companies get different designations based on what ingredients they choose to use. The other brands do not use the same ingredients as Ritz, therefore they have a different designation.

If a product lists dairy ingredients on the ingredient panel, it is obviously dairy. Some common dairy ingredients are Milk, Yogurt, Cheese, Cream, Butter, Whey, Lactose, Casein, and Caseinate. However, a product may contain a dairy ingredient that is not listed on the ingredient panel such as those present in the product’s unspecified ingredient ‘flavors’. Due to these concerns it is not entirely possible to determine the dairy status of a product based solely on the listed ingredients.

Please see the below links of articles for more information as to the reason one may not rely on labeling alone:

https://farrp.unl.edu/resources/gi-fas/opinion-and-summaries/dairy-free-and-non-dairy
https://oukosher.org/halacha-yomis/sodium-caseinate-is-often-an-ingredient-in-non-dairy-coffee-creamers-i-know-that-sodium-caseinate-is-a-milk-derivative-how-can-a-product-be-labeled-non-dairy-if-it-contains-sodium

At times, consumers inquire about the source of a dairy ingredient. Unfortunately, the OU is unable to divulge this information, as a manufacturers source of supply is proprietary information. We are bound, both legally and morally, to maintain this confidentiality. We can assure consumers that the supervision and classification of the products is according to the OU standards.”

Though Ritz has not told us that the natural flavors or other ingredients are dairy, and the OU is unable to tell us the source of the dairy ingredient, for those who are concerned, you may want to depend on the OU/D designation. We have seen this on the Ritz package. Here is information about OU/D: https://oukosher.org/blog/industrial-kosher/all-ou-symbols-explained/. Note there is also an OU/DE

symbol for items made on dairy equipment. Here is a definition of pareve, which can also be helpful, but be aware it doesn’t mean the product is necessarily vegan, since it can contain egg or fish: https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3694185/jewish/What-Is-Parve-Pareve.htm

Also, interestingly, on the Canadian website https://www.snackworks.ca/en/product/00066721002204

natural flavors is not listed as an ingredient in Ritz Crackers as of July 13, 2023. However, on an Amazon website, natural flavors were listed in a Ritz cracker imported from Canada. See: https://www.amazon.com/Ritz-Original-Gram-Pack-Canada/dp/B017TXGM8Y

The contents of this posting, our website and our other publications, including Vegan Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

The Cheesecake Factory Vegan Cobb Salad

The Cheesecake Factory mentions “vegan” for these two menu items:
Vegan Cobb Salad: Crisp Lettuce, Grilled Asparagus, Avocado, Roasted Beets, Green Beans, Tomato, Cucumber, Carrot, Quinoa, Farro, Almonds and Toasted Pepitas with House Vinaigrette

Impossible® Burger: A Delicious Plant-Based Burger with Vegan Melted Cheese, Lettuce, Tomato, Pickles, Onion and Our Special Sauce on a Toasted Brioche Bun
(They don’t mention what is in the bun and Special Sauce.)

Note that they also say: Our menu items are handcrafted in our kitchens, often using shared equipment (including common fryers).

See https://www.thecheesecakefactory.com/menu
and
https://thecheesecakefactoryme.com/uploads/pdfs/TCF_KWT_Allergen%20Data.pdf

For information on veggie restaurants in the USA and Canada, see https://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php

The contents of this posting,  our website and our other publications, including Vegan Journal, are not intended to provide personal medical advice. Medical advice should be obtained from a qualified health professional. We often depend on product and ingredient information from company statements. It is impossible to be 100% sure about a statement, info can change, people have different views, and mistakes can be made. Please use your best judgment about whether a product is suitable for you. To be sure, do further research or confirmation on your own.

Debra Daniels-Zeller’s article “Peach Passion” from The Vegetarian Resource Group features a wide range of vegan peach-based recipes. Enjoy Cinnamon-Peach Oatmeal with Toasted Walnuts; Creamy Peach Salad Dressing; Lime-Cilantro Peach Salsa; Coconut-Peach Soup; Tempeh Teriyaki with Peaches; Grilled Balsamic Peaches; Cardamom-Peach Upside-Down Cake; Peach Cashew Cream; and Lemon-Peach Jasmine Rice Pudding.

Read the entire article here: https://www.vrg.org/journal/vj2006issue2/2006_issue2_peach_passion.php

To subscribe to Vegan Journal in the USA, see: https://www.vrg.org/member/2013sv.php