Green is the new black: Kelowna's crop of plant-based restaurants grows
In the food universe of the past, it has not been easy being green.
Vegetarian and vegan bullying was real, so kudos for those who stuck to the program and kept on flying the flag. Happily, these days, even if you don’t want to be a total convert and switch your food religion, things just got a whole lot easier to dabble in veganism. The new food culture begs us to expand our carnivorous horizons and maybe even just cut down our meat consumption by a small percentage.
As the North American food trend continues to go greener, the food industry has been directed to be more environmentally conscious, we can now turn to our local vegans and say, nice work. Because of your demand and the creativity of our modern chefs, eating meatless has become a totally fulfilling experience. And as you make your menu choices, just think about the profound effect on the livestock if occasionally we all choose a veggie burger instead? Green is the new black.
Vegging out in Kelowna has become a heck of a lot easier come 2020. We have a couple of vegetarian restaurants and even a new vegan restaurant. Lake Tai has been serving up 100% vegetarian Taiwanese food for a few years now. And the Naked Café on Lawrence is vegan and the Orchard Room touts itself as being a primarily plant-based menu – rocking the concept of moderation. Rockstar vegetarian restaurant Frankie We Salute You arrived on the scene not long ago with great fanfare. They serve the most delicious gourmet vegetarian cuisine — enough to convert.
Vegan purists now have another entire restaurant to frolic in. Renegade Kitchen has opened on Leon Avenue just recently. Leon Ave has become infamous for its heartbreaking homeless community, but this didn’t deter owners Chef Shaun Sanders and Meghan Carr, and their leap of faith has been rewarded with crowds of happy diners.
The menu here is an evolution from their popular food truck and focuses on vegan comfort food. Shaun’s fine dining background has led him to create amazing plant-based meat substitutions - his meat patties have a cult following and the bacon is absolutely amazing. Trust me, you will not feel like you are suffering and eating ‘rabbit food’ at this joint. The menu has crazy good poutine options, burgers and biggie comfort faves like mac n’ cheese, lasagna and shepherd’s pie to dive into.
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