Brunch at Candle Cafe

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:

Candle Café, 388 Third Ave., New York, NY 10016

Candle Café offers a variety of gourmet dishes made with organic or locally farmed whole foods. Starters include nachos with oyster mushrooms and cashew cheese, and chimichurri skewers with char-grilled seitan and chipotle coulis. Wild mushroom crepes, a Cajun seitan sandwich, and the Candle burger with house made seitan patty are available as entrees. Brunch is available on the weekends and includes French toast, the Candle croissant with smoked tempeh bacon, and nuevos rancheros with homemade tortillas and tofu scramble. The dessert menu includes a strawberry rhubarb cobbler and carrot cake with caramelized pineapple sauce.

House of Fortune, 18425 Colima Rd. (Upstairs), Rowland Heights, CA 91748 and 13788 Roswell Ave. #101 Chino, CA 91710

Looking at the expansive menu of House of Fortune, you would be hard-pressed to distinguish this restaurant’s offerings from those of a “traditional” Chinese restaurant. From their starters such as the Szechuan Wontons in a savory sauce with chili oil and cilantro to their variety of soups including the Winter Melon Meatball Soup, to the hot pot offerings and the entrees including Mongolian Pork, General Tso Chicken (the chicken being battered button mushrooms), and Peking Duck, to the dumplings and buns, the options seem unlimited. Make sure to round out the meal with dessert—a slice of cheesecake perhaps—and one of their many tea offerings, such as the iced jasmine milk tea, made with soy or almond milk, as well as the option to add Boba. Added bonuses: gluten-free options are noted on the menu, and the soy products are non-GMO.

Love in Action Café, 4419 Tuckaseegee Rd., Charlotte, NC 28208

This vegan comfort food venue offers a range of cuisine, from soul food to international fare. Entrees include the Chick Jewl Curry, Soul Wraps, the Jackfruit Bowl, and more. Popular dishes include the Jackfruit Philly Cheesesteak, Meatless Loaf Platters, and OG’s Sweet Potato Pie. The café also offers a variety of sea moss items, including sea moss-infused French toast, smoothies, cereal bowls, and ice cream bowls, as well as sea moss gels. All dishes feature local, organic ingredients. Additionally, 30 percent of the café’s sales go to the Love in Action Program, which provides transitional housing, programs, and services to veterans, seniors, and people with disabilities.

Maiden Fine Plants & Spirits, 1216 6th Ave., Fort Worth, TX 76104

Maiden Fine Plants & Spirits offers a seasonal tasting menu consisting entirely of plant-based food with vegan drink pairings. The tasting menu consists of courses designed to be consumed over a 2- to 3-hour timespan. The menu changes based on the season, but one spring menu consisted of a lemongrass grapefruit consommé; roasted parsnip filled with confit zucchini and walnut served with sourdough bread and shallot jam; potato-leek soup; poached cream of cauliflower with zucchini peanut pasta; and olive oil cake for dessert.

MANEATINGPLANT, Westfield Topanga Mall Food Hall, 6600 CA-27, Canoga Park, CA 91303

Having established a following as a mobile concept, via pop-ups, special events, and their refurbished school bus food truck, Olive the Magic Food Bus, MANEATINGPLANT has found a stationary home as a member of Topanga Social at the Westfield Topanga Mall. While they will continue their mobile presence, this location will provide a consistent place from which to offer their Pan-Asian menu, boasting items such as Garlic Noods, made with a garlic sauce, shallot jam, shiitake, Chinese broccoli, and pickled mustard greens, or their Musubi, a plant-based take on the Spam sandwich, made with house made cashew kewpie, rice, and nori.

New Moon Vegan, 119 S. Batavia Ave., Batavia, IL

Inspired by New York bakeries and her Italian roots, Jo Colagiacomi, the owner of New Moon Vegan, has opened her first brick-and-mortar, a sweet and savory bakery. Featuring mouth-watering goodies like pistachio-rosewater shortbread cookies and Mostess cupcakes made with vegan vanilla cream and topped with chocolate ganache, New Moon Vegan proves that any nostalgic dessert can be veganized. If you need something a little heartier, try one of their pretzel dogs, made using veggie dogs from Upton’s Naturals in Chicago. Of course, you will want some coffee to pair with your baked treat, and they have that covered, serving single-origin Ethiopian coffee, from Manbot Coffee Roasters.

PLNT Burger, 11 W. 42nd St., New York, NY 10036

PLNT Burger is a straight-forward vegan burger shop. The patties are Beyond Meat, the “cheeses” are vegan, and the fries are herb seasoned. Pair it with an oat milk based soft-serve or a sweet tea, and you’ve got a nostalgic masterpiece of a meal.