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!

Recent discussion topics include:
-Has anyone had experience organizing an eco-friendly vegan birthday party for children?

-Anyone find any new (past couple of years) vegan/animal rights storybooks or cookbooks for young children up to teens? If so, please share as we are updating our website book list.

-Have other families have tried Wayfare’s vegan butter. It’s a new favorite in our family!

-Could you please recommend movies that promote environmental care/farm animal care/veganism/Plant Based Diet that is suitable for 6-year-old children to watch?

– Plus more!

VRG’s Parents and Kids Facebook Group is intended to be a group that offers support for families raising children on vegan diets and for vegan kids. We envision it as a place to get advice about a wide-variety of topics: pregnancy, birthday parties, school lunches, Halloween, non-leather apparel, cruelty-free products, summer camps, and more. Please use it as a place to share your wisdom, seek advice, or just find a sympathetic ear. The goal is to offer support.

Consequently, any profane, defamatory, offensive, or violent language will be removed. Feel free to disagree, but do so respectfully. Hateful or discriminatory comments regarding race, ethnicity, religion, gender, disability, sexual orientation, or political beliefs will not be tolerated. We expect that posts should relate to vegan diets and lifestyles. The Vegetarian Resource Group reserves the right to monitor all content and ban any user who posts in violation of the above rules, any law or regulation, SPAM, or anything otherwise off topic.

Please share this information with any veggie families that you know! Thanks.

By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS

Chobani introduced in 2019 a coconut-based non-dairy yogurt to its product line.

We sent Chobani a message through the contact form on its website asking if the natural flavors were all plant-derived. We received this email response from Colleen of the Community Loyalty Team at Chobani:

“Thanks so much for getting in touch with us and for your great question. Absolutely, our Non-Dairy Chobani products are considered to be vegan and vegetarian friendly. While we don’t use milk or other animal products in our non-dairy recipe, milk is present in the factory where Non-Dairy Chobani products are made. Being transparent with consumers about everything that goes into our products (and what doesn’t!) is important to us.”

We spoke with Mary from Chobani’s Community Loyalty Team in February 2019. She said, “All of our natural flavors in all of our flavors are fruit- and vegetable-based.”

Interested readers will find more information on Chobani’s Non-Dairy Yogurt by visiting the Chobani website.

The contents of this posting, 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.

Miss Shirley’s Café with locations in Baltimore and Annapolis, Maryland participated in the greater Baltimore area Vegan Restaurant Week. They have decided to extend their Special Winter Vegan Restaurant Week Menu another week. You still have time to enjoy a wide range of vegan dishes for breakfast and lunch including Vegan Griddle Cakes, Trail Mix Oatmeal, Avocado Toast, Sweet Potato Quinoa Salad, Spinach and Kale Salad, Athena Bowl, Beets and Sweets Sandwich, Beyond Burger, Park Place Powerhouse, and more.

Here’s Miss Shirley’s Café special vegan menu: https://www.mdveganeats.com/miss-shirleys-menu
Restaurant locations can be found here: https://www.missshirleys.com/locations/main-locations

If employees did not complete a pledge through the 2018 CFC because of the government shutdown, it is not too late. The online pledge portal for federal government employees (cfcgiving.opm.gov) remains open until 11:59 pm, February 22 (Hawaii-Aleutian Standard Time) for monetary and volunteer time pledges. In addition, employees can still submit a paper pledge to their CFC Keyworkers.

If an employee already pledged this year, thank you so much. Thank you for your support of the Combined Federal Campaign.

By Jeanne Yacoubou, MS

The VRG received a question from an online reader who wondered if there are any laws that restaurants must follow when labeling their menu offerings as vegan.

There is not a federal legal definition of “vegan” in the U.S. restaurants must use. This means that companies and restaurants might feel free to use the term as they wish.

There are 3rd party certifying agencies, which certify products or foods. A company need not use them to call an item vegan, and the agencies can have different standards.

Posted Calories at Restaurants Law
The FDA enforces (since 2017) a calorie & nutrition labeling rule in certain chain restaurants and similar eateries. Read more about it here: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/adding-calorie-counts-on-menus-might-make-americans-eat-better-but-not-in-the-way-youd-think-2017-04-13
This rule may not help you as a consumer looking for vegan options.

FALCPA and Vegans
More helpful is the food allergen rule FALCPA established in 2004. Food allergen rule FALCPA established in 2004

Foods containing eggs & dairy will need to be listed on food packages. Unfortunately, this rule doesn’t apply to restaurants (although some may voluntarily provide and/or display this information). Here are some pertinent FAQs from the above link:

Q: What about food prepared in restaurants? How will I know that the food I ordered does not contain an ingredient to which I am allergic?
A: FALCPA only applies to packaged FDA-regulated foods. However, FDA advises consumers who are allergic to particular foods to ask questions about ingredients and preparation when eating at restaurants or any place outside the consumer’s home.

Q: How will FALCPA apply to foods purchased at bakeries, food kiosks at the mall, and carry out restaurants?
A: FALCPA’s labeling requirements extend to retail and food-service establishments that package, label, and offer products for human consumption. However, FALCPA’s labeling requirements do not apply to foods that are placed in a wrapper or container in response to a consumer’s order – such as the paper or box used to provide a sandwich ordered by a consumer.

EU and Vegan Labeling
In 2019 the EU is supposed to begin looking into legally defining “vegan” and “vegetarian.”
https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2017/11/03/EU-to-set-legal-definition-of-vegetarian-and-vegan-food
This means that there may be laws that companies and possibly restaurants must follow unless the EU designates it as voluntary guidance.

Be sure to check back to our blog for updates on this issue.

NOTE FROM THE EDITORS: CONSUMER LAW
Though vegan may not be specifically defined in the U.S. by law, there are general consumer laws, which may apply.

For example, In the case of kosher, though the government doesn’t define kosher, in some states it can protect consumers who purchase kosher food by ensuring that the regulations governing representation of kosher food are adequately enforced and businesses don’t promote fraud.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld New York’s Kosher Law Protection Act, passed in 2004, ruling that it does not interfere with religion in any way and exists solely for preventing fraud. The law allows food sellers and producers to decide for themselves what kosher practices to follow.

Some people would like the government to define vegan. But the question becomes (like kosher or organic) who then decides what vegan means, and if stringent or less stringent definitions are used. For example, though often products with an unknown source of cane sugar are called or labeled vegan, would a government rule allow this or not in a vegan food? Who would decide?

See:
https://www.reuters.com/article/usa-religion-kosher/new-york-kosher-law-is-kosher-court-rules-idUSL1E8GBOXE20120511

http://consumer.georgia.gov/business-services/kosher-food?print=true

https://www.njconsumeraffairs.gov/kosher

Vegan Food Preparation in Restaurants
In the case of preparation technique in restaurants, if of concern to you, you may want to ask the manager before ordering. This information will not be on food packages and may not be reflected even in nutritional listings (available upon request at some restaurants).

You can ask specific questions such as:
Do you fry meat, poultry, fish or seafood in the same oil used to fry plant foods like potatoes or breaded vegetables?
Do you fry meat or fish on the same grill surface used to fry vegetables or tofu?
If you have separate grill surfaces for meats and vegetables, do you use separate cooking utensils, too?

If these are of concern to you, you may feel better eating in vegetarian restaurants.

For reference see:

The Vegetarian Resource Group labeling article
FDA 2016 regulation on restaurant menus
FDA 2014 guidance on labeling
FDA 2013 guidance on labeling

The contents of this posting, 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.

Due to the generosity of an anonymous donor, The Vegetarian Resource Group each year will award $20,000 in college scholarship money to graduating U.S. high school students who have promoted veganism/vegetarianism in their schools and/or communities. Vegetarians do not eat meat, fish, or fowl. Vegans are vegetarians who do not use other animal products such as dairy or eggs.

One award of $10,000 and two awards of $5,000 will be given. Entries may only be sent by students graduating from high school in spring 2019. Deadline is February 20, 2019. We will accept applications postmarked on or before February 20, 2019.

Applicants will be judged on having shown compassion, courage, and a strong commitment to promoting a peaceful world through a vegan/vegetarian diet/lifestyle. Payment will be made to the student’s college (U.S. based only). Winners of the scholarships give permission to release their names to the media. Applications and essays become property of The Vegetarian Resource Group. We may ask finalists for more information. Scholarship winners are contacted by e-mail or telephone. Please look at your e-mail.

For details on the contest, see: http://www.vrg.org/student/scholar.htm

If you happen to visit or live in Boca Raton, Florida, you may want to try out Artichoke & Vine located in an office building on the 2nd floor at 4800 N. Federal Hwy., Boca Raton, FL 33431. This vegan restaurant offers both indoor and outdoor seating. They make their own delicious “meat” alternatives and many other items served on their menu including condiments. We tried several dishes including the mock “crab” cakes (seen in photo).

For more information on this establishment, visit:
www.artichokeandvine.com

To see complete Vegetarian Resource Group online restaurant guide for the USA and Canada, visit:
https://www.vrg.org/restaurant/index.php

Photo from Fancy Plants Café

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:

Fancy Plants Café
613 W. Briar Pl.
Chicago, IL 60651
A friendly neighborhood café that brews fresh coffee and espresso with a variety of delicious breakfast and lunch options, such as savory breakfast sandwiches and lunch wraps, delicious muffins and pastries, and a rotating soup of the day! The service is extremely friendly and the atmosphere is both calm and inviting. All of the vegan cheeses are made in house, and daily specials provide a surprise to any Fancy Plants Café regular, such as cinnamon pop tarts and almond cupcakes with lemon ginger frosting.

The Juice Merchant
3401 Walnut St.
Philadelphia, PA 19104
And
4330 Main St.
Philadelphia, PA 19127
And
920 Montgomery Ave.
Narberth, PA 19072
The Juice Merchant is just that, with a variety of fruit and vegetable juices, juice blends, and smoothies. If you’re interested in something more solid, they also offer salads, toasts, and fruit bowls.

Li’lL Nonna’s
1505 Town Creek Dr.
Austin, TX 78741
Li’lL Nonna’s is a vegan pizzeria located outside of The Buzz Mill coffeehouse/bar in Austin, Texas. Their menu offers a wide variety of New York Style pizzas and gluten-free options. All pizzas are topped with freshly made vegan mozzarella and organic tomato sauce. Order your pizza with delicious veggies or vegan meat-alternatives including beeteroni and smokey tempeh. Enjoy outdoor seating or take-out.

LoveOnYourLips Desserts
2100 Pleasant Hill Rd., #251
Duluth, GA 30096
Located in Gwinnett Place Mall, LoveOnYourLips Desserts offers amazingly delicious fruit and vegetable vegan cheesecake, specialty cakes, cookies, croissants, a variety of breakfast and brunch sweets, danish, rugelach and organic coffees, teas, ice-cream and shakes. Order by phone or email as the desserts are all small batch made and sell out quickly.

Nateure’s Plate
182 Charlotte St.
Peterborough, ON K9J 8T2 Canada
Nateure’s Plate is a newly renovated plant-based eatery/bar in Peterborough, Ontario. They veganize traditionally meat-based menu options, including mozzarella sticks with marinara and chicken parmesan. It’s great for a group of vegans/non-vegans, kids, and anyone looking to indulge in delicious comfort food.

Real Fake Meats
2278 Gottingen St.
Halifax, NS B3K 0H2 Canada
Real Fake Meats is a plant-based butcher specializing in vegan meats and cheeses. The offer a variety of specialty craft sandwiches and soups. Every month, they host a Balance & Brunch club with an hour of yoga followed by a family style brunch. You can order take-out or pick up one of their charcuterie trays for your next event!

Souly Vegan Café
4125 Durham Chapel Hill Blvd.
Durham, NC 27707
The vegan mac and cheese is a customer favorite, and tends to blow the minds of non-vegans. Meatless options of jerk chicken, buffalo bites, and curry chickpeas are staples of the menu. The décor and atmosphere reflects the Southern influences in the menu.

Photo: Broccoli Quinoa Burger from Broccoli Revolution

By Taylor Gale, VRG Intern

Having lived in Bangkok, Thailand for five months I learned tips and tricks on how to remain vegan while living abroad. It was not as hard as you think. Due to the Eastern cooking style, tofu was an option at almost every restaurant I entered into. Thankfully, there are also fresh fruit and vegetable markets at almost every corner you turn. The options for vegans were there, but the trickiest part of it all when ordering meals in restaurants was to make sure that they were completely up to the standards of being vegan.

Typically, it is not the main ingredients which make the meal not vegan, but it was the sauces and broths used in traditional Thai cooking which made it a problem. Fish sauce and chicken or beef broth is found in numerous Thai meals.

During my study abroad, I was lucky enough to have a Thai mentor, Auntie Sam. She taught me a few phrases to indicate that I was vegan for when I ordered food. The word “jay” (เจ) represents veganism. In order to be on the safe side of ordering, I also suggest to say that you do not eat fish sauce (chan/pom mai ghan nam pla) or egg (chan/pom mai ghin kai).

While in Bangkok, I ate at numerous vegan and vegetarian restaurants. One of my favorite vegan spots was, Broccoli Revolution (https://www.facebook.com/broccolirevolution) , which is located on Sukhumvit road. The restaurant is located within a chic area and the ambiance is very hipster. Plants were hung everywhere, everything was painted white or bright colors, they serve juice and organic wines, and every item on their menu is vegan! I highly recommend the Broccoli Quinoa Charcoal Burger; it is a packed plate full of delicious flavors. I went to Broccoli Revolution frequently with my non-vegan friends and every single one of them said that the burger was one of the best burgers they have ever tasted. The prices are very reasonable and the items on the menu are perfect if you like to order a bunch of plates to share with others!

Another favorite of mine is Mango Vegetarian & Vegan Restaurant and Art Gallery (https://www.facebook.com/MANGO-Vegetarian-Vegan-Reastaurant-and-Art-Gallery-821759707838666/), which is located off of Khao San Road. Their menu is expansive, so there are a lot of options for those who are picky. The workers were always super friendly and always had a smile on their face. An added bonus is that the shop owner’s cat wanders around the restaurant, playfully walking past the guests or sleeping on the cushions.

Khun Ta J Food Vegan Stall (https://www.instagram.com/khunta_jfood/) is another great place that caters towards vegans. As soon as I began looking over the options, the owner asked if I was vegan and began to give me recommendations on what to order. The stall is in the middle of a food market on the ground level of Gateway mall beside Ekkami station. You are able to order rice with one, two, or three toppings. The toppings changed a bit each time I went, but no matter what I ordered, the food was always fantastic! This is a great option when you need something fast and convenient!

For a more pricey and sophisticated meal, I suggest dining at the Veganerie (https://www.veganerie.co.th/menu/). Their vegan golden spring-rolls were to die for, as well as the Hawaiian veggie teriyaki burger! They serve up a diverse selection of desserts and plant powered smoothies. Although they opened up in 2016, the team has already expanded to having four locations. The Veganerie’s philosophy of food and acceptance of all dietary restrictions mixed with their creative and passion exploding recipes creates a welcoming environment for all types of people!

While adventuring and trying all of these restaurants I found other outlets of food, which met my vegan dietary needs. As I mentioned earlier, on almost every corner you turn in Bangkok there are fruit and vegetable stands. While they may carry fruits and vegetables that Westerners are accustomed to having, such as pineapples and mangoes, they also carry Eastern types of food, such as durian and rambutan. I highly suggest trying rambutan, which has a somewhat deceiving outer appearance due to its spikes and vibrant pink color, but on the inside it is a sweet fruit that is perfect for the hot weather in Thailand. What I do not suggest is buying a whole durian. While it is a popular Asian fruit, the smell and taste is so pungent, somewhat similar to a dirty locker room. As a foreigner I suggest tasting a durian flavored ice cream, that way you still get to experience the taste of durian but are not overwhelmed with the smell and amount of durian. The best part about these fruit stands is that everything you buy is packaged conveniently so that travelers and walkers are able to eat on the go. Although the fruit is packaged in a small plastic bag with a wooden stick, which is personally disturbing due to the environmental impact of plastic consumption, the packaging allows vegans and all others to have ample access to fresh and nutrient dense foods.

While in the U.S. we have convenient stores, such as Seven-11, WaWa, or Royal Farms, Thailand has a similar shop set up called Family Mart. It was at Family Mart and local grocery stores I was able to buy vegan snacks, which I carried with me whenever I knew I would be traveling to another country or just walking around all day. I bought oats to make overnight oats and tons and tons of packaged nuts and dried fruit. Dehydrated mango and seaweed snacks were a great snack, which was available pretty much at any convenient store.

When traveling in Thailand, I suggest to use the HappyCow app (https://www.happycow.net), which can be downloaded on your phone or computer. This app/ website is a great way to find fully vegan, vegan friendly, vegetarian, nut-free, etc. restaurants. You type in your location and specify what are your dietary restrictions and it will direct you with a multitude of places to choose from. It saved me many many times when there were language barriers between myself and the locals!