Vegetarian Star

restaurantgirl.com

It’s been open for less than a year, but Amanda Cohen‘s Dirt Candy, has already won praises from customers, chefs, and food connoisseurs.

Cohen is the first New York based vegetarian chef to win the Rising Star award from starchefs.com, an esteemed culinary website.

Starchefs.com based its decision on media, past winners and an advisory board to name Moby‘s former chef at Teany the winner.

“It’s really exciting to see vegetarian restaurants around the country getting recognized and appreciated, and I’m proud to be a part of that,” Cohen said.

Ever wondered how the named Dirt Candy came to be?

Why, vegetables are the sweetest things on the earth, don’t you know?

They’re candy from the ground.

“Vegetables are amazing,” Cohen said. “Made out of little more than water, sunlight, and dirt they wind up growing into a candy store full of color and flavor. And that’s what I want Dirt Candy to be: nature’s candy store.”

And if serving vegetable dishes wasn’t enough for the environment, Dirt Candy is made from recycled and sustainable materials and is certified by the Green Restaurant Association.

Suddenly the 5 second rule about eating food that touches the ground no longer applies.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Chrissy Teigen Failed Vegan Experiment
• Mia Evans Is A “Masterchef Junior” Vegetarian Star
• Holly Madison Enjoys Vegan Smoothie From M Cafe In Beverly Hills
• Controversy Over Pro-Vegeterian Curriculum In Schools
• Ellie Goulding Creates Protein Bar “Everlasting Joy” With GoMacro

Photo: Phil Cavali

Last month Leilani Munter Tweeted about grabbing some vegan grub at California Vegan Restaurant in L.A.

The NASCAR and IndyCar driver who calls herself a “vegetarian hippie chick” is an active environmentalist, so it’s no wonder she knows the best thing for the planet is to go meatless.

California Vegan has been hooking folks up in the LA region since 2003.

It has several menus, including lunch and dinner, that give the vegan eatery bragging rights with offerings such as California soy chicken, the Pepper Steak “Burger,” and Thai curries featuring all colors of the rainbow-red, yellow, and green.

You don’t hear much about celebrities dropping by California Vegan as you do with other LA vegan eateries like Real Food Daily.

Maybe now that Leilani’s giving it some press, it will become the next hotspot for the vegetarian celebrities to hang.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Chrissy Teigen Failed Vegan Experiment
• Mia Evans Is A “Masterchef Junior” Vegetarian Star
• Holly Madison Enjoys Vegan Smoothie From M Cafe In Beverly Hills
• Controversy Over Pro-Vegeterian Curriculum In Schools
• Ellie Goulding Creates Protein Bar “Everlasting Joy” With GoMacro

Elizabeth Berkley was spotted at Real Food Daily in LA taking up two tables.

Apparently Elizabeth had lots of books with her that day as she had her dinner.

Maybe she thought her meal would take a really, really, really long time to cook.

At vegan restaurant Real Food Daily, Elizabeth doesn’t have to worry about leaving her business card that urges restaurants to add more veg food to the menu.

Wonder if she’s switched to leaving entire books instead?

Possibly Related Posts:

• Chrissy Teigen Failed Vegan Experiment
• Mia Evans Is A “Masterchef Junior” Vegetarian Star
• Holly Madison Enjoys Vegan Smoothie From M Cafe In Beverly Hills
• Controversy Over Pro-Vegeterian Curriculum In Schools
• Ellie Goulding Creates Protein Bar “Everlasting Joy” With GoMacro

Have you driven down the street lately to find your favorite restaurant closed shop because of the bad economy?

Less bank money in the bank means more visits to your home kitchen, which sadly can force many businesses to make their last supper.

Luckily for Chrissie Hynde, the vegan restaurant she opened in 2007, The Vegiterranean, is still standing strong.

“We’re about breaking even, which is really good for a restaurant.,” Hynde said. “My only interest in it is the cow protection and also to bring life back into the downtown.”

Great food and word of mouth is what has kept her doors revolving and the ovens burning.

The Vegiterranean name is often dropped in the veg community for things like awesome faux chicken sandwiches, burgers that put beef to shame, and not to mention its superstar of a co-owner.

But Chrissie never intended to be a big shot.

“I always say I have no ambitions. But that is my ambition.”

via southbendtribune.com

Possibly Related Posts:

• Chrissy Teigen Failed Vegan Experiment
• Mia Evans Is A “Masterchef Junior” Vegetarian Star
• Holly Madison Enjoys Vegan Smoothie From M Cafe In Beverly Hills
• Controversy Over Pro-Vegeterian Curriculum In Schools
• Ellie Goulding Creates Protein Bar “Everlasting Joy” With GoMacro

CNN journalist and vegan hottie Nicole Lapin recently updated her Facebook about stuffing her face with a veggie burger from Houston’s Restaurants.

“Why does Houston’s have the best veggie burger on the planet?? It’s deliciously oxymoronic…”

What goes into a Houston’s veggie burger?

The menu says the House Made Veggie Burger contains, “sweet soy, Jack cheese, mayonnaise and mustard on a house-made bun.”

No note on whether vegans can leave off the cheese and be safe.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Chrissy Teigen Failed Vegan Experiment
• Mia Evans Is A “Masterchef Junior” Vegetarian Star
• Holly Madison Enjoys Vegan Smoothie From M Cafe In Beverly Hills
• Controversy Over Pro-Vegeterian Curriculum In Schools
• Ellie Goulding Creates Protein Bar “Everlasting Joy” With GoMacro

Treehugger has compiled a list of their favorite celebrity green businesses and vegan star Heather Mills made the cut.

Not only does Heather run her little vegan cafe and restaurant in the UK called V Bites, she also recently purchased Redwood Wholesale Foods.

And that just makes Heather greenalicious!

From Treehugger.com:

“Last month we reported that Heather Mills opened Vbites Café, a seaside vegan establishment in the U.K. offering unique meatless meats and vegan favorites–accompanied by vegan and organic wines and beers. At the time, we had also caught wind of a potential new vegan frozen food business. While we at TreeHugger were skeptical over the motives, Heather Mills’ Web site now confirms that Mills is indeed the new owner of U.K.-based Redwood Wholesale Foods. And she isn’t stopping there: The company hopes to soon bring their meat-free brands to the U.S. for distribution.”

It’s no surprise a vegetarian business made the eco cut.

Meat’s not green and never has been.

Go Heather for making green so darn tasty!

Possibly Related Posts:

• Chrissy Teigen Failed Vegan Experiment
• Mia Evans Is A “Masterchef Junior” Vegetarian Star
• Holly Madison Enjoys Vegan Smoothie From M Cafe In Beverly Hills
• Controversy Over Pro-Vegeterian Curriculum In Schools
• Ellie Goulding Creates Protein Bar “Everlasting Joy” With GoMacro

Image: Hello ChateauHo on Flickr

Who’s got the best veggie chicken sandwich?

Amy from the Veg Cooking Blog asked readers at peta.org to chime in and help her make that decision.

The responses chose restaurants in every corner of the United States, including the heart of the midwest at Chrissie Hynde’s vegan restaurant, The Vegiterranean.

The Vegiterranean features the Grilled Gardein Bruschetta Pomodoro Panini. You can tell from the name, this is no ordinary soy patty on a squished bun.

As Amy writes:
“The sandwich comes with balsamic basil marinated tomatoes and soy mozzarella and is accompanied by a grilled vegetable orzo salad.”

Wow. Sounds delish!

Others that made the cut include New York city’s Red Bamboo’s Chicken Parmesan Hero with “soy chicken with vegan mozzarella cheese, smothered in sweet basil marinara sauce and served on Italian bread.”

Hungry yet?

Visit peta.org to find out which other 8 restaurants serve the best veggie chicken sandwich.

Possibly Related Posts:

• Chrissy Teigen Failed Vegan Experiment
• Mia Evans Is A “Masterchef Junior” Vegetarian Star
• Holly Madison Enjoys Vegan Smoothie From M Cafe In Beverly Hills
• Controversy Over Pro-Vegeterian Curriculum In Schools
• Ellie Goulding Creates Protein Bar “Everlasting Joy” With GoMacro

You already know the desserts at Erin McKenna’s BabyCakes bakery are vegan and made with good for you ingredients like coconut oil.

Now, notable photographer Ryan McGinley shows they can be incorporated into a “healthy” New Yorker’s diet.

McGinley recently described his cupcake experience with Michael Stipe in the New York magazine weekly article, The New York Diet.

Apparently Babycakes cupcakes, coconut water, and vodka make a great balanced dinner.

“For dinner, at 8 p.m. I had cupcakes from Babycakes at Michael Stipe’s new apartment. It was a pre-housewarming, pre-curtains-on-the-windows party; he hadn’t been in town for three months. We drank coconut water and vodka…That was sort of dinner-ish.”

If you’re concerned about Ryan’s nutritional deficiencies, you’ll be happy to know he had another “dinner” at 3A.M, which consisted of a salad of arugula, roasted beets, tomatoes, green beans, new potatoes, broccoli, red onions, zucchini, and fresh fennel,  along with ravioli with ricotta.

Read Ryan’s entire article at newyork.grubstreet.com.

via babycakesnyc.com

Possibly Related Posts:

• Chrissy Teigen Failed Vegan Experiment
• Mia Evans Is A “Masterchef Junior” Vegetarian Star
• Holly Madison Enjoys Vegan Smoothie From M Cafe In Beverly Hills
• Controversy Over Pro-Vegeterian Curriculum In Schools
• Ellie Goulding Creates Protein Bar “Everlasting Joy” With GoMacro