Vegetarian Star

Ross Kamens of Noodles & Company

When Ross Kamens founded Noodles & Company, he was a vegan, which is probably why by default most dishes are vegetarian.

“We allow people to customize their dishes,” Kamen told Twin Cities. “I was a vegan when we started Noodles in Denver in 1995, and the premise was to have most dishes start vegetarian and allow people to add the meat, chicken, fish and tofu — and now we have meat-balls. Customers can get exactly what they want.”

However, now he doesn’t mind the Parmesan crusted chicken breast with the penne rosa pasta and he sure wasn’t vegetarian when he ate that grasshopper taco.

“Chapulines in Oaxaca, Mexico,” Kamen replied when asked about the strangest food he’s eaten. “They’re little grasshoppers, and they were made into tacos. They were delicious. I had them with a cucumber and mint agua fresca.”

Like its founder, Noodles & Company has gotten less vegetarian, and taken the miso soup and cold spicy peanut noodles off the menu.

But there’s still plenty of vegetarian fare among the selections that are divided into Asian, Mediterranean and American cuisine like the Thai Curry Soup and Japanese Pan Noodles.

Thankfully, the grasshopper rotini hasn’t been unveiled yet.

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If you stopped into the Oprah Winfrey retail store this week, The Oprah Store, you may have had the chance to sample some vegan treats from Karyn’s Raw Cafe.

Karyn’s goodies, which included bread pudding, squares of chocolate, and raw cookies, were some of the treats available in the store during a tea event with some of Chicago’s top bloggers.

Karyn’s raw is owned by Karyn Calabrese, who has appeared on Oprah’s show before on an episode titled, “Age Defying Woman.”

Karyn has an impressive CV: a raw foodist for over 20 years and a vegan for 30 years!

Karyn’s vegan empire in Chicago includes a Raw Cafe with a juice bar as well as cooked options, home delivered meals, beauty aids and health supplements and wellness classes.

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If your favorite item was taken off the menu at a restaurant, why not stage a peaceful protest?

Or at least talk to the manager about bringing it back.

Alkaline Trio started its band in the Chicago area, so Matt Skiba was well acquainted with vegetarian and mostly vegan restaurant on Halsted, The Chicago Diner.

Skiba loved the Vegan Caesar Salad so much, when it disappeared from the menu, he requested it be put back on there.

Skiba told VegNews, “Chicago Diner is amazing. I love that place. I’ve been eating there since I can remember. Two years ago they took my favorite thing off the menu. Initially it was called the Seitanic Caesar Salad, this vegan Caesar salad that was absolutely killer. Then they changed the name of it-they have funky, fun names for a lot of dishes-and then, I don’t know why they did it, but they took it off the menu and I was so bummed about it that I went in and complained. I was nice about it and they obviously make great food aside from that salad, but I politely protested and said that they should put it back on the menu. And they did! About two weeks ago I got a phone call from a friend of mine saying that they put the Caesar back on the menu.”

From the looks of the current Spring/Summer offerings, the Vegan Caesar Chicken Salad still has a place at the diner.

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More celebrities are speaking in favor of the St. Ann’s Well Cafe located in Malvern, Worcestershire, England that faces closure.

The Malvern Hill Conservators have announced they will not be renewing the lease to the owner and plan to turn the spot into a tourist hub.

An online petition has gathered over 1,800 signatures and a Facebook group has over 6,500 members.

Photographer and member of the famous McCartney family, Mary McCartney, wrote, “This sounds like a wonderful cafe with vegetarian theme at its heart which is a extremely important issue for myself for personal and environmental issue.”

Martin Shaw, who also signed the petiton, wrote, “I’ve used the cafe, and as a vegetarian it was a lifeline for me – please reconsider this decision, which if carried out will deprive so many of us who need and enjoy healthy and ethical food.”

The online petition can be found at Go Petition.

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Mario Batali has announced that he supports Meatless Mondays!

The chef who has given hints during interviews that people should focus more on plant based foods instead of meats, will have all of his 14 restaurants adhere to the veggie holiday as well.

Every Monday, there will be at least 2 vegetarian dishes served, such as pasta or pizza.

In addition, many of the restaurants will designate the items as Meatless Mondays options, with Mario’s “MM” logo.

“The fact is, most people in the U.S. eat way more meat than is good for them or the planet,” maintains Batali.

“Asking everyone to go vegetarian or vegan isn’t a realistic or attainable goal. But we can focus on a more plant-based diet. That’s why I’m such a big believer in the Meatless Monday movement!”

Visit the Meatless Mondays website, a project by the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health, for more information on the meat-out day, including recipes.

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Martin Shaw, who plays Judge John Deed on the British television show with the same title, has signed a petition to save the St. Ann’s Well Cafe in Malvern Hills.

According to the BBC News, the Malvern Hill Conservators want to evict the manager, and another source says the place will be turned into a tourist information center.

The manager of St. Ann’s said of Shaw, “He said he’d found it a tranquil place and was lovely for him to get to when he is at the town theatre.”

More than 6,000 people have signed a Facebook petition asking the cafe to remain open.

When you live in an area where there aren’t too many vegetarian restaurants to begin with, it’s always pains to see a good place close.

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Chipotle first expanded its vegetarian market by offering the vegan filling in its Dupont Circle restaurant in Washington, D.C.

Then, New Yorkers got to sample the Garden Blend in their fajita burritos.

Now, according to the Sacramento Business Journal, Chipotle has claimed Roseville, California as its latest location to test the meatless variety, along with stores in Los Angeles and Denver.

Could the vegan filling one day be available in yourtown, USA, or will it be restricted to larger cities and regions known for residents that are more likely to be open to a meat-free variety?

“We’re still playing with the recipe,” said Chris Arnold, director of public relations with Chipotle. “We don’t have any data yet. But we have had a lot of interest from customers for something like this from all across the country.”

Chipotle has over 1,000 restaurants in 35 states in the United States and Canada.

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Katie Couric‘s got a thing for a vegetarian sandwich from The Lunch Box on 9th Avenue in New York City.

The sandwich Couric’s co-workers call “The Veggie,” consists of “pepper jack cheese with avocado, lettuce, tomato, sprouts, carrots, cucumber, peppers and honey mustard on toasted multigrain bread.”

This was reported in an article from the New York Post on what  NYC’s top dogs chew on in between Blackberry messages–cause you know they don’t have time to take a regular lunch!

Simon Doonan, creative director at Barney’s is into vegetarian and even vegan offerings from Mangia on 57th Street, citing his favorite dishes as hummus, brown rice and the black bean soup bowl, of which he sometimes gets two helpings of.

Who said it’s hard to eat veggie and healthy at work unless you brown bag it?

What’s your favorite dish to grab “to go” when you can’t make it from scratch?

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