Photo from Spicy Moon

The Vegetarian Resource Group maintains an online Guide to Vegan/Vegetarian Restaurants in the USA and Canada. Below are some recent 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:

Casa Terra
6835 N. 58th Dr.
Glendale, AZ 85301
Casa Terra is a vegan fine dining restaurant. The executive chef is world-renowned in his field and has crafted an innovative menu inspired from flavors all over the world. Dishes include butternut squash tortellini, sweet potato tamal, and saffron chorizo risotto. Not feeling too fancy? They have a selection of wood-fired pizzas for every palate.

Harvest Café
1367 S Kihei Rd. #3-105
Kihei, HI 96753
Harvest Café is a fast-casual vegan joint on the island of Maui. Menu items have some island influence such as the Tiki Taco Plate and the Ono Smoothie Bowl, while others are classic dishes like Macaroni and Cheese and the namesake Harvest burger. They also serve delicious vegan desserts and hearty breakfasts. Order take-out online or sit at one of their outdoor tables, either way, you’ll be enjoying an appetizing and healthy meal!

Nick’s on Grand
223 Grand Ave.
South San Francisco, CA 94080
Nick’s on Grand has options for everyone with a unique mix of vegan takes on classic Filipino dishes, such as sisig, and more modern vegan options like their mac & cheez. Gluten and Soy-free foods are clearly labeled making this restaurant a stress free ordering process for people with a wide range of diets. Their dog friendly outdoor patio ensures that all members of a family can enjoy their time at Nick’s on Grand.

Spicy Moon
328 East 6th St.
New York, NY 10003
Offers traditional Asian cuisine as well as innovative out of the box meals packed with flavor, which is also aesthetically pleasing. These dishes include, Peppercorn Brussel Sprouts, Edamame with BBQ seasoning, Dan Dan Noodle with Beyond Beef, “Honey” Walnut Edamame Nugget, Mountain Yum Vegan Cheese Puff. They also serve up some of the traditional Asian meals, such as spring rolls, vegetable fried rice with Beyond Beef, Vegetable Ramen, and Mapo Tofu. Spicy Moon offers rice wine, boozy milk teas, and a variety of juices, all which are vegan.

The Queen’s Table
12115 Montwood Dr. #201
El Paso, TX 79936
Positive vibes and food that warms the soul! The menu here will surely delight many from UnFish, UnShrimp, UnBacon, Kings Burger, Mac & Cheese, Sweet potato soufflé, onion rings, fried pickles, creamy horchata to The Kings Punch. The staff and owner get rave reviews for having magical hearts, so don’t miss the opportunity when in El Paso to be delighted by the Queen!

The Vegan Doughnut Company
14811 Detroit Ave.
Lakewood, OH 44107
Esteemed as Ohio’s first and only all-vegan doughnut shop, The Vegan Doughnut Company serves up fresh homemade doughnuts daily. With classic flavors like Old Fashion Cake to fun combinations such as Hibiscus and Sprinkles, this bakery is sure to have something for everyone. You can even order doughnuts to be delivered or picked up for events with their online order form! They have pop-up shops so be sure to follow along on social media for special hours.

Photo from Good Karma

Mardi Gras events in New Orleans, Louisiana are March 5th, 2019. If you’re going to be there, here’s some vegan establishments you can visit:
Breads on Oak
Good Karma Café
Mac and Moon
Max Well New Orleans
Piscobar Kitchen
Seed
Superfood Bar
Sweet Soulfood

Other veggie-friendly restaurants can also be found here: https://www.vrg.org/restaurant/Louisiana.php#c4

We had the opportunity to dine at Veganized, an organic vegan restaurant, located at 9 Spring Street in New Brunswick, New Jersey. This is near Rutgers University. The quaint restaurant will be moving to a larger location down the street later this year; however, its present location was quite crowded when we visited on Valentine’s Day.

We enjoyed dining on an entrée they call Mash – n – Gravy, which consists of crusted tempeh, roasted carrots, truffle mash potatoes, sautéed kale, and maitake mushroom gravy (see photo). Dishes brought to nearby tables all looked gorgeous.

Information on this restaurant can be found here: http://veganizedfoods.com/

The Vegetarian Resource Group Online Guide to Veggie Restaurants in the USA and Canada can be accessed here: https://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php

By Marcia Schveibinz

Saturday, March 23, 2019, at 7pm , Congregation Beit Tikvah
Corner Community Center, Roland Park
5802 Roland Ave, Baltimore, MD 21210

Learn to prepare vegan hamentashen and a variety of fillings.

Marcia will also give ideas for vegan Passover dishes. Each attendee will receive a copy of Vegan Passover Recipes by Chef Nancy Berkoff, RD. Event is free for Beit Tikvah, Vegetarian Resource Group, Baltimore Vegan Drinks, and Jewish Veg members. $5 donation suggested for others. Please let us know if you are coming at https://www.facebook.com/events/347058466085887/
Or email [email protected]

Marcy Schveibinz became interested in food and nutrition when growing up in Buffalo, NY with her Dad who became a “health nut,” and started eating “whole wheat bagels” which weren’t easy to get in the ’70s! Marcy has a degree in nutrition from Buffalo State College. She is a national board certified health and wellness coach and did her training through the Mayo clinic. She has two vegan children.

Vegetarianism is not eating meat, fish, or fowl. Vegans are vegetarians who also don’t eat dairy, eggs, or other animal products.

In Genesis 1:29, God said, “Behold, I have given you every seed bearing herb, which is upon the surface of the entire earth, and every tree that has seed bearing fruit; it will be yours for food.

We were instructed in the first conversation with a human to eat plants, not animals (that is being vegan). Isaiah revisited these instructions in the most iconic verse of his written prophecy. In imagining the Messianic era, Isaiah wrote: “ ‘The wolf and the lamb shall dwell together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain,’ saith the LORD.”

Thousands of years ago, Isaiah realized that the trailhead on the path to peaceful coexistence is found in our stomachs, in our dietary choices.

According to the Jewish Veg society, “The prohibition on killing animals for food remained in place for 1,000 years. Only after the Flood … did God permit meat-eating for the first time, and even then only with severe restrictions and deep reservations. None other than Rabbi Joseph Soloveitchik, one of the founders of Modern Orthodoxy, described meat-eating as the most reluctantly granted permission in all the Torah:”

For more information on the Jewish vegan cooking demo, call Monday through Friday 9am to 5pm (410) 366-8343.

For more information on Beit Tivah, visit https://beittikvah.org/

For more information on vegan nutrition, see https://www.vrg.org/nutshell/vegan

Photo: Avocado Beet Root Burger

The next time you’re in San Francisco, CA, be sure to visit VeganBurg. Enjoy many different types of vegan burgers including Avocado Beet Root (pictured above), Smoky BBQ, Tangy Tartar, Creamy Shrooms (pictured below), Hawaiian Teriyaki, and many more. Add on Seaweed Fries, Sizzlin’ Broccoli, Creamy Garlic Fries, a Rainbow Salad, etc. They also serve vegan soft serve for dessert!

Photo: Creamy Shrooms Buger

For more information see: www.veganburg.com

To see The Vegetarian Resource Group’s Online Guide to Veggie Restaurants in the USA and Canada, visit: https://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php

We recently had the opportunity to dine at Killer Vegan restaurant in Union, New Jersey. We tried their Killer Vegan Panini (consisting of country-fried cutlet strips with avocado, tomato, onion, arugula, and chipotle mayo on a grilled panini), several of their side dishes (mashed potatoes and gravy, roasted Brussels sprouts, and kale salad), as well as their delicious vegan milkshakes made with Klein’s vegan ice cream. Service was fantastic and we enjoyed our meal.

Find information on Killer Vegan here: https://killervegan.com/
The Vegetarian Resource Group’s online list of veggie restaurants in the USA and Canada can be seen here: https://killervegan.com/

The Vegetarian Resource Group is an activist non-profit organization that does outreach all-year-long. For example, VRG tables at different events throughout the USA and also sends literature free of charge to other groups/individuals doing educational activities in schools, hospitals, camps, restaurants, libraries, offices, etc. Our ability to continue doing this depends on people like you! Your donations allow us to promote the vegan message whenever we’re called upon for assistance. Please consider becoming a monthly or quarterly donor to The Vegetarian Resource Group.

Thanks so much for your support. You can become a monthly or quarterly donor online here: vrg.org/donate

By Reed Mangels, PhD, RD

General nutrition advice indicates that greens with high oxalate content are not good sources of calcium, since the oxalate interferes with absorption. A reader asked if cooking would render the oxalic acid ineffective and not block absorption.

There are two kinds of oxalate in foods – soluble oxalate and insoluble oxalate. The insoluble oxalate is what binds with calcium so that neither the calcium nor the oxalate are absorbed. My review of the literature indicates that the soluble oxalate is more easily absorbed. Boiling vegetables decreases total oxalate content, primarily by loss of soluble oxalate. So, for example, even though there is a reduction in oxalate when spinach is boiled, much of that reduction is in soluble oxalate. Absorption of calcium from spinach is still low (~5%) apparently because insoluble oxalate content was not reduced markedly by boiling so it still formed a complex with calcium that prevented absorption of both calcium and oxalate. So, no, we can’t say that cooking renders the oxalate ineffective in terms of its ability to bind with calcium and prevent the calcium from being absorbed.

For vegan calcium sources, see https://www.vrg.org/nutshell/vegan.htm#calcium
and https://www.vrg.org/nutrition/calcium.php

The contents of this email, our website, and our other publications, including Vegetarian 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.

Danone says they have opened the largest plant-based yogurt facility in the U.S., and will produce Silk Yogurt, So Delicious Dairy Free Yogurt and cheeses.

For more information, see: https://abasto.com/en/news/danone-plant-based-yogurt-facility/?utm_source=Danone+Opens+Largest+Plant-Based+Yogurt+Facility+in+The+U.S.&utm_campaign=Newsletter&utm_medium=email

By Taylor Gale, VRG Intern

Johnny Rad’s is a great spot for a convenient and good ole all American joint. It is a small-scale eatery located at 2108 Eastern Ave. Baltimore, MD 21231, right up the street from downtown Fells Point. The ambiance is very hipster, with all of its employees dressing for the occasion. The light is somewhat dim, creating an intimate dining experience, perfect for small parties. Johnny Rad’s offers a great selection of beer, wine, and food! Conveniently, if the food item is vegetarian or vegan it is labeled as such at the end of each description.

For starters, their French fries and freshly made chips are to die for! They typically offer a non-vegan sauce with the fries, but if you specify to your waiter that you are vegan, they will happily give you a vegan sauce as well, which gives a tang, complementing the crispiness of the fries and chips.

Johnny Rad’s salads cater more towards vegetarians, but they do offer a vegan garden salad that comes with vegan croutons and you have the option of being able to add vegan chick’n and vegan steak to any salad. They have three vegan dressings, which are labeled as such (thank you Johnny Rad’s!!). Their sesame ginger dressing is heavenly if you like Asian flavors! They also provide balsamic vinaigrette and creamy Italian.

Personally, whenever I have gone to Johnny Rad’s I go with friends or family and order as much as possible. Their pizza is a must have, every time! I ordered the Trainwreck and the BBQ Chicken pizza, but substituted the cheese for PEP vegan mozzarella and vegan chick’n. They offer a wide variety of veggie toppings and vegan meats, so basically you can create whatever type of pizza your heart desires. All of the staff are super helpful and friendly when you express your dietary needs/restrictions.

For sandwiches, their vegan cheesesteak is a must! Their sub and brioche buns are vegan and every sandwich comes with a side of chips, fries, or salad. Johnny Rad’s offers a delicious portabella burger, as well as the Impossible Burger.

Thankfully they label half of the dessert menu as vegan. The donut twist is made from their fresh pizza dough, deep fried, and then is tossed in cinnamon and sugar, served with a side of icing. Similarly, their rainbow bites are fresh dough squares, tossed in powdered sugar with an icing glaze topped with rainbow candy sprinkles.

Johnny Rad’s has a huge menu selection of beers, wines, and cocktails. I personally am not that familiar with what types of beers compliment certain foods, so I asked the waiter and he guided me on what was popular and tasty!

The only hiccup of Johnny Rad’s is its parking, which is nonexistent. It can be a hassle to find street parking, but I promise you, the attentive service, mouthwatering veggie food, and the edgy atmosphere will leave you satisfied beyond your expectations. By the end of the meal, I was already planning my next visit! This place is perfect for a casual date night or a meetup for friends and family.

For more information you can visit their website, http://www.johnnyrads.com/JohnnyRads/home.html or Instagram page, https://www.instagram.com/johnnyrads/?utm_source=ig_profile_share&igshid=hsh5wctnjdh6, where they post their specials every week!

You can also take a look at VRG’s veggie restaurant guide at https://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php!