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what's been your local experience of these?

I tried one many years ago (in Louisville), on my first Homecoming.  Well - I got invited out to one, that is Smile

There's also a vegetarian only Indian place that I've started frequenting quite recently.  And the prices are quite reasonable (for Sydney), and the selection is broad, the taste authentic.  Food is fresh too, and plenty of locals frequent this place.

I live a fair way out of the city (35 minutes, by train), but it's a fairly large metro area.  The actual city itself has some vegetarian only places, but I've not had the opportunity to give those a shot.

Given the rising interest in vegetarian/veganism, I am guessing that there are more and more specialist places opening up.  Where skillful expertise can showcase the merits of this kind of food.

ps, I guess juice bars/smoothie places are 'vegetarian-only' as well BigSmile
I'm very blessed to work at a local, brand new, upscale, all vegan restaurant. So far, we've been really popular and successful. Since the beginning of the year, Colorado Springs has really jumped on the bandwagon. We also have a vegan drive through where you can get hot dogs, chicken strips, and bacon cheeseburgers. We also have had, for a few years now, a restaurant/bar that serves all vegan food, but they are only open 4pm-2am so that's usually out of my eating out time frame, most of the time. Also a new place just opened up called "Vibe" that's a combo vegan restaurant/oxygen bar (you can get CBD infused oxygen! Haven't been there yet and it's on my list.) Also, we have a small specialty grocery store called Willamette Market that used to just serve gourmet hotdogs with vegan versions of each at their deli - now they have expanded their menu to include lots of different sandwiches and stuff and 99% of it is vegan by default.

In December, we drove to Breckenridge (2.5 hours of perfect beauty) and had pizza at a place called Piante Pizzeria. All vegan. The best fake cheese and sausage I've had, truly. They were amazing. Can't wait to go back.
oh - that's really awesome to hear!  congrats on the job too Smile
It's great you're living your dream Jade!
oh nice!

The place described in that article is in Newtown, which is in the inner city (of Sydney), and is quite a trendy, hipsterish place (in a good way).

It's also home to a vegan fish & chips store called Bliss and Chips.  Read an article about it last year.  

Apparently it looks so authentic (the food) that some people are a little upset when they find out it's entirely plant based.

I rarely visit that part of town though.  Bit of a trek for me, where I live.

But something to keep in mind Smile
They opened a vegan only burger restaurant near us recently (Boon Burger) and it's really good! I was skeptical at first (being an omnivore burger enthusiast) but they won me over. It's usually full too which I think is a good sign.

I used to work in the kitchen for a vegan raw food restaurant chain (they prepped the food in a central location and one of my jobs was to drive it out to the various locations). The food was really good and the free lunch we got was a definite bonus (the chefs would experiment and come up with some delicious meals for us). Unfortunately the price for the food was crazy. If I wasn't getting it for free I wouldn't have been able to afford it. The owners had all this big talk about making healthy food for the masses but there was no way that poor people (i.e. me, their own employee) could afford it, which led me to believe they were a little out of touch.

I think it's good that more vegan places are opening up and doing well. I still eat meat (yes, bad Spaced) but having more options available makes it easier to make the change to a more sustainable diet. I think as vegan food becomes cheaper and more available it will do a lot to change people's diets, the main excuse many people have for not eating more veg is convenience. Eventually we are all gonna have to stop eating so much meat as it's unsustainable.
Gazza, I would recommend Lentil as Anything. I've been to a few of their restaurants in Melbourne and they all served delicious food plus as a bonus they have a "pay as you feel" policy. 
nice! definitely heard about them. Never tried it though.

<sighs>. Guess I'm going to have to visit Newtown one of these days BigSmile
It's really exciting for me because it feels like I'm on the "front lines". Sure, we get a lot of super stoked vegans who drive hours out of their way to try the food - and are usually even more stoked after they eat! - but primarily we get lots and lots of curious omnivores. Occasionally someone sits down, looks at the menu, realizes there is no meat, and runs out the door. But I've watched so many minds open right up, and literally say, "I thought vegan food was boring! This is amazing!".

It's great because the place I work, it's -primarily- whole foods based (we have a few processed items but we are the largest restaurant purchaser of produce in the state of Colorado!) - we don't have any fake chicken, or fake cheese, or fake burger patties. We have tofu, tempeh, and seitan, but that's it. We have a wonderful curry seitan dish that often, especially when older people get it, they are shocked that the seitan isn't meat. It's really nice being able to show people that vegan food isn't bland, or boring, or unexciting. I have the conversation with a lot of omnivores now about how lazy it is to just throw cheese on everything - restaurants don't have to try! You go to a vegan restaurant, the flavors have to be more creative and thought out. At the same time, all of our dishes are relatively simple and really just a few ingredients. The most popular item on the menu is blackened, roasted brussels sprouts that are deep fried in a rice-flour tempura batter. Then they are drizzled with a balsamic reduction. "Life-changing" is a word I've heard more than once about them - and even people who say "ew brussels" who try them are converted. It's a lot of fun, and the regulars who are omnivores really bring me so much hope and joy. Even for me, 10 years ago, thinking about eating a meal without meat in it was weird!! For people to choose to go out to a restaurant and pay for a meal without a steak or a chicken breast is really exciting.

And as far as places like you mentioned, pleno, that don't explicitly say they are plant-based and have "animal" foods on the menu, there is a chain called Native Foods in Denver (I think there are some in California too). I've heard lots of stories about people who actually go there, eat, and leave without any idea that they didn't eat real chicken. My father-in-law is a huge omnivore (who needs to make better choices as often as possible since he's already suffered a heart attack...) and after we tried Native Foods, he was emailing them asking if they were going to open a location in the Springs! They aren't, but it's great to see this shift where vegan food has become so delicious (and the analogues so believable) that people are literally begging for it.
if ever you find yourself in Singapore (by some strange circumstance), I highly recommend dropping into Gokul Vegetarian Restaurant.  It's in the Little India precinct.

Just a fantastic menu, and very interesting drinks.
(04-10-2018, 12:12 PM)sunnysideup Wrote: [ -> ]Gazza, I would recommend Lentil as Anything. I've been to a few of their restaurants in Melbourne and they all served delicious food plus as a bonus they have a "pay as you feel" policy. 

I'm here as we speak (the Abbotsford branch) and the food was AMAZING.

I really needed a pick me up after a difficult day yesterday.

Endorsed.

G
Nice bro! Get yourself some comfort food. 
Enjoy Melbourne by the way.
 
Here in Trois-Rivières, Québec, Canada.  We have a really good vegan restaurant called Café Frida (http://cafefrida.ca/) if anyone ever comes over this way. Smile
 
Lentil as Anything - Sydney edition Smile

finally made my way to this institution of Newtown.

Glad I did!

Today - I visited after a 20km hike.  Had my hunger on me Smile

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Sesame Ginger Tofu


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Curry Plate


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Vanilla Cake


/ /

this place is all vegan!

A treasure.
 
Wow, apart from the cake, it even looks low on gluten ! Smile
 
I was vegetarian for a year and got really ill. I really concentrated on preparing the correct foods and had print outs of minerals, phyto nutrients, vitamins and trace minerals that were contained in plant life. I still ate some dairy (not a huge fan) but no meat and yet my iron levels became dangerously low causing heart problems. I tried different forms of iron and it was making me sick as well. I have to confess that I have health issues I was born with and have an issue absorbing nutrients through my GI tract. I cried when I had to go back to eating meat. As I love animals so dearly and honor their lives.
We do get our meat from a local place and the animals live well until they are humanely culled. This is a horrible delima for me and one that comes with deep struggle. I pray over my meals and do my best not to feel an aching guilt. I admire those who are vegetarian and vegan I appreciate the reasons for the decision plus they always appear to be so healthy!!!! Sometimes I wish I had a different body so that I could live the way I really want to on the inside (in my imagination). That's something that I continually have to balance. It's my body that truthfully draws me closer to The Creator as it is the one thing that presents the most limitations for me. So for that, I am grateful for the suffering. Thanks guys for reading and I hope that I won't be judge or ridiculed for eating meat. Much love.
I’ve been noticing a true lack of vegetarian cooking classes.
We are eating more plant based but I’d like to know as much about vegetarian options that meet protein requirements as I do standard cooking.

Seems if one was really well versed in nutrition and had a passion for plant based eating that would be a rockstar if an up and coming business idea. At least in some areas that are very omnivorous to carnivores based.

There is technique to anything, most of us have technique in balancing nutrition needs for standard fare but plant based is more mysterious especially when you do not even know what foods taste good to your palate. Guess we need more of both veggie restaurants and cooking classes.