Thank God for Vegans!

One of the first things I quickly discovered as someone living with lactose intolerance in Philadelphia was... VEGAN FOOD!

ok so I've never been much of a vegetarian. I love hamburgers and a occasional steak and especially in the summer, grilling is one of my favorite pastimes. As much as I respect vegetarians and their choices, I love meat. Vegans are even most exclusive, refusing to eat anything that is even a byproduct of animals, such as milk, eggs, etc. Which means... Vegan food is safe!

Because of their beliefs, there will never be any milk, cheese or butter in anything that is vegan. Great... but how does this really affect us? Well Philadelphia has a ton of vegans and vegetarians. Any Whole Foods store has vegan options for most of their cakes, breads, snacks, etc. This means for once in your life, you can go to a food store and buy a cake without becoming sick afterwards. Now you know I love cooking anything. But there will always be that night where you're tired from work and don't want to bake, but you're really craving a slice of chocolate cake, now you have somewhere to go.

Another benefit of Philadelphian's love of vegan food... vegan restaurants. Now there are restaurants you can go to and eat without any fear of later repercussions. For those of us lactose intolerant, this is nothing short of a small miracle.

Here's a list of some popular vegan restaurants in the Philadelphia area:

Basic 4 Vegetarian Snack Bar
Reading Terminal Market

Belgian Cafe
2047 Green St. (Fairmount)
Philadelphia

Blackbird Pizzeria (Vegan Pizza?!?!)
507 S. 6th St.
Philadelphia

Cafe Spice
35 S. 2nd St.
Philadelphia

Farmicia
15 S. 3rd St.
Philadelphia

Horizons
611 S. 7th St.
Philadelphia


For next week... I have a special request for my readers. Please pick any dish or recipe and I will try to adapt it so those with lactose intolerance can still enjoy it. I'm waiting on your suggestions so let me know!