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Is It Something in the Food?
by Ashley Doyle

As Philadelphia has begun to attract the attention of national animal
welfare groups, we're being called upon to entertain large groups
that expect vegan menus. The recent visit by Alley Cat Allies was no
exception, where the chef at the Radisson Plaza Warwick Hotel created
a vegan menu for over 100 people who came to learn about feral cat
TNR (trap, neuter, return) management.

Voted as the tenth best city for vegetarian food by Vegetarian-
Restaurants.net, Philadelphia's thriving restaurant scene does a
great job catering to all types of cuisines. Philadelphia even has a
website www.vegphilly.com devoted to vegan and vegetarian restaurants
and grocery stores in Philadelphia, including the many Chinese and
Indian restaurants in Philadelphia with full vegetarian menus. Lemon
Grass located between 36th and 37th Streets on Lancaster Avenue
offers an exceptional vegetarian menu along with their traditional
Thai menu. Another local favorite is The Basic 4 Vegetarian Snack Bar
at the Reading Terminal Market. More extensive lists can be found at
www.vegetarian-restaurants.net and www.vegsource.com.

If you find yourself entertaining a vegan, you will need to do a bit
more research into restaurant menus to find dishes that abstain from
using both obvious foods like eggs, milk, cheese and meat, and also
less obvious animal-based ingredients not eaten by vegans, such as
albumin (a protein found in eggs and milk), carminic acid, found in
Red #4 (a red food dye made from beetles), whey (a liqued derived
from milk and found in breads, crackers and other baked goods) and
honey, which is made from bees. A complete list of animal ingredients
and their alternatives is available online at www.caringconsumer.com.
You can also find a sampling of vegan recipes online at
www.vegcooking.com.

Cuba Libre and Cafe Spice, across from one another in the Second
Street Old City dining district just south of Market Street, offer a
selection of vegan options among the dishes on their menus. One of my
favorite vegan entrée's is the Corn Crusted Pan Seared Local Seitan
with Chimichurri Sauce served at the White Dog Café 420 Sansom
Street, between 34th & 35th Streets. Local vegans told me that their
favorite vegan dishes at Sunwishes at 20th and Walnut, which offers a
selection of sandwiches, and the Kind Café on Third Street.

And no dish better illustrates the hybrid of Philadelphia and vegan
cuisine better than the vegan philly cheese steaks offered at
Gianna's Grille (507 S. 6th Street between Lombard and South) and
Govinda's, located at 1505 South Street.

Posted on SHARE Yahoo group Aug. 4, 2006