Vance Lehmkuhl - Eating Vegan in Philly

Copyright 2016 Vance Lehmkuhl

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.

Published by Sullivan Street Press, Inc., New York

Digital ISBN: 978-0-9976663-3-5

Print ISBN: 978-0-9976663-4-2

Contents

Introduction
Vegan City Guides

Vegan City Guides began as a conversation with food blogger, Paul Graham, after we published his book, Eating Vegan in Vegas. In 2012, we both agreed that there needed to be a way for vegans and vegan-friendly people across the county to learn about each other and what was happening in the various communities that supported a vibrant vegan food culture. As Paul put it, we needed to build bridges.

It became apparent as we traveled throughout the country that there was indeed a large and growing vegan food culture flourishing in many cities and towns that we normally dont associate with this attention to what we eat. Even in some of the most meat-oriented areas of the country, where the largest part of their economy derives from the raising and selling of beef cattle, there are signs in grocery stores alerting shoppers that they sell vegan foods.

The world has changed a great deal since that fateful discussion in 2012. The newest volume in Vegan City Guides, Eating Vegan in Philly, has shown us what is possible and from where this commitment to a plant-based diet has sprung. Philadelphia is where both the vegetarian and vegan movements began. For those who travel to Philadelphia for the history lessons, this new volume will be a source of great interest as to both the history of these two movements as well as the history of the restaurants that were actively involved in promoting a plant-based diet for all. Of course, what it also offers is the most comprehensive listing of vegan and vegan-friendly restaurants in and around Philadelphia.

As we continue to provide the vegan travelerwhether on the road for business or pleasurewith new volumes in the series, please join us at our Facebook page with comments about your travels and discoveries (facebook.com/eatingveganin). The building of bridges cannot continue without the active participation of everyone.

Foreword

Its no secret that Philadelphia is now an East Coast hot spot for vegan dining. VegNews recognized the city as such a couple years back in a head-to-head contest with Washington, DC. And the papers of record in both DC and New York City have done features making this point.

Heres another indicator: there was a time when there were so few truly vegan-friendly places in Philly that I had eaten at all of them. For a time, I was able to keep track of each new entry as it appeared. That time is happily long gone, as venues of all kinds increasingly see the value of appealing to those forgoing meat and dairy. And in my role as an occasional features writer and then vegan columnist for the Philadelphia Daily News over the past 15 years, Ive contributed more than 200 articles covering this shift in thinking.

Some of those were collected in my previous book from Sullivan Street Press, V for Veg: The Best of Phillys Vegan Food Column. But this volume seeks to combine my take on the vegan scene with news you can usea heapin helpin of places to find vegan food in Philadelphia, backed up by big-picture context.

Clearly this is largely for vegan travelers coming to (or considering coming to) Philadelphia, to get you up to speed immediately and help out in those situations where you find yourself with an unbooked meal and want to find something edibleand maybe incrediblenearby. But Im hoping Philadelphia vegans will also enjoy and benefit from this book.

Philadelphia has become abundant enough in vegan offerings that this project doesnt comprise every single place in town that has a vegan option or two (sorry!), and certainly there will be even more growth in the future. The idea here was to choose a healthy sample of vegan-friendly joints (including, of course, all of Phillys vegan restaurants) and provide some idea of what theyre coming up with to offer vegans, with an emphasis on those that have blazed local vegan trails, providing background perspective that may help readers choose what, where, and when they want to eat.

So there are chapters covering the history of vegan-friendly dining starting from colonial days to the present; a firsthand look at one of the citys emerging vegan traditions, the Best Vegan Cheesesteak in Philly Contest; and a couple bulleted lists for quick reference. I hope this will serve to lead all readers to the dish that persuades them that vegan-wise, Philly is the place to be.

Let me take this opportunity to thank Cynthia, Skyler, and Mariah for eating with me when I just had to check a certain place out and for lovingly providing alternate perspectives on vegan food and many other topics. Thanks also to my editor at the Daily News, Laurie Conrad, for her steady guidance and to Deborah Emin at Sullivan Street Press for suggesting I write this book. It was a good idea.

Phillys Central Role in Early US Vegetarianism and Veganism

Philadelphia is known and loved as a city of history and innovation, so it makes sense that it has a rich history of veganism and vegetarianism: in fact, its where the US vegetarian movement was born in 1817, and the city has helped further that movement in several ways over the past couple centuries.

Even in the eighteenth century, there were individual vegetarians in Philadelphia. Benjamin Franklin spent several years as a vegetarian, and as if his many other forward-looking inventions and innovations werent enough, hes likely also the first American to promote the eating of tofu.

How did that happen? Well, while Franklin was living in London before the Revolutionary War, he apparently encountered the bean curd concoction and was fascinated enough by it that he obtained some of the Chinese caravances, or soybeans, and had them shipped to Philadelphia botanist John Bartram.

My dear ever friend, Franklin wrote, explaining that he was sending some Chinese Garavances, with Father Navarettas account of the universal use of a cheese made of them, in China, which so excited my curiosity, that I caused enquiry to be made of Mr. Flint, who lived many years there, in what manner the cheese was made; and I send you his answer.

Franklin continued by remarking that he believed there were soybeans growing in the colonies, but I know not whether they are the same with these [enclosed], which actually came from China, and are what the Tau-fu is made of. They are said to be of great increase.

According to Early History of Soybeans and Soyfoods Worldwide by William Shurtleff and Akiko Aoyagi (Soyinfo Center, 2014), Franklins letter is the earliest-known historical document by an American or in connection with America that mentions tofu by name. Bartram either planted the soybeans himself or distributed them to local farmers to try their hand, but no record has been found showing whether any were finally turned into tofu.

However, soybeans are turned into tofu daily at City Tavern, an Old City institution that traffics in historical authenticity, and thats where I learned about the Franklin-tofu axis. Heres the relevant passage from my column Tofu on the Colonial Table (August 8, 2013):

City Tavern owner and executive chef Walter Staib said adding a tofu entre was one of the best decisions I ever made, as the dish has wound up a top seller at City Tavern.

The straight-off-the-menu version is vegetarian, but is breaded with egg and served on linguine that also has egg; the vegan alternativewhich Staib noted tastes just as goodis a broiled tofu served on a bed of seasonal veggies.