8 Awesome Vegan Restaurants You May Not Know About

Veganism has so many benefits, and in my opinion, the exposure to the array of wonderful vegan restaurants is high in the hierarchy. Before discovering veganism, I knew very little about how awesome eating out could be. The variety of deliciously healthy and cruelty-free options provided at vegan restaurants around the world is nothing short of astounding. If only I had the time and money to visit them all!

Here, I've compiled a list of lesser-known vegan restaurants that deserve much more publicity than they already have. If you live nearby, please check these places out and support them as much as you possibly can.

Cornish Arms, Brunswick
http://www.cornisharms.com.au/

The Cornish Arms is a pub-style restaurant located in the Australian state of Victoria. The Cornish Arms promotes the typical Australian philosophy of enjoying a pint of beer and a greasy parma after work. For vegans, this uniquely Australian experience can be hard to come by. Thankfully, however, the search for the perfect vegan pub meal isn't hopeless - The Cornish Arms has your back.

Although not a fully vegan restaurant, Cornish Arms offers vegan alternatives to almost every menu item, as well as several purely vegan meals. Their meals range from faux chicken and lentils burgers to salads, parmigianas, burritos and chilli dogs. It's a mock-meat and greasy-chip lover's dream!

Mono Cafe Bar, Glasgow
http://www.monocafebar.com/

The Mono Cafe Bar boasts quite a high profile within the UK, but outside of the country, the all-vegan bar and cafe is relatively little-known. Their menu is freshly cooked in-store, which is always wonderful, and they're willing to cater to people of all dietary requirements. The Mono Bar offers beer, wine and soft drink, many of which are organic; as well as ethically prepared, locally designed and roasted coffee. They also brew their own ginger beer and lemonade!

Their menu looks spectacularly delicious. It includes soups, sandwiches, fish 'n' chips, salads and burgers - everything you'd expect from a reputable vegan restaurant. There's also a choice of three delicious desserts - Oreo cheesecake, anyone?

Doomie's Home Cookin', Los Angeles
https://www.facebook.com/doomieshomecookin

Doomie's Home Cookin' is especially tailored for lovers of hot, greasy and fattening American-style fast food - without all the meat! They are known for creating indiscernible replicas of popular fast food favourites - perhaps most notably, the McDonald's Big Mac. They make all of their own food from scratch, and reviewers note them as one of the best vegan fast food retailers in the world.

They also offer chilli cheese fries, onion rings, 'facon', steak, schnitzel - anything your fast-food loving heart desires. An enviable range of delicious desserts will also greet you on your visit - from coconut macaroons to chocolate canapes, you can't go wrong with Doomie's Home Cookin'.

Doomie's Home Cookin', Los Angeles

C-A-L-F Cafe, North Yorkshire
http://www.calfsanctuary.com/calf-project/

I follow C-A-L-F Sanctuary on Facebook and I'm always amazed and inspired by the owner's dedication to her work. In times of struggle, she always puts the animals first and never seems to make a single selfish decision. The Sanctuary is funded entirely through donations and through the accompanying vegan cafe, located in North Yorkshire, England.

C-A-L-F is the only fully vegan cafe in Scarborough. A dedicated and compassionate group of volunteers prepares all the food fresh in-store, and all funds go towards the rehabilitation and care of the sanctuary's animal residents. Their menu includes burgers, frittatas, soups, salads, pies and cakes.

Painted Elephant, Newcastle upon Tyne
http://www.painted-elephant.com/

Painted Elephant is a newly-opened, fully-vegan restaurant located in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. Their menu is described as "Modern Bohemian", boasting fries, pad thai, burgers, cake, flatbread, hummus (who doesn't love hummus?) and much more. They offer gluten-free options and are willing to cater to people of various dietary requirements.

Painted Elephant also offer delicious vegan catering for private events such as weddings, birthdays or small parties. The restaurant is open five days a week from Thursdays to Saturdays and is independently run. Be sure to check them out if you're nearby.

Painted Elephant, Newcastle upon Tyne

Franchia, New York City
http://www.franchia.com/

Franchia is a lesser-known vegan restaurant in a city (awesomely) plastered with them. Their menu is described as 'Asian-fusion' and is 100% plant-based and vegan-friendly. They provide catering for baby showers, weddings, birthdays - almost any private event you can think of, and the reviews of their service are glowingly positive.

Their menu is very large and varied, offering pancakes, zen rolls, steamed wontons, stuffed mushrooms, various dumplings, salads, noodles, soups, porridge, rice dishes, various mock meats - the list goes on. I'm getting hungry just thinking about it.

Loving Cafe, Fort Wayne
http://www.lovingcafefw.com/

Located in Indiana, America, Loving Cafe is a fully vegan restaurant offering a delicious and comprehensive menu, including options for children and raw vegans. They aim to provide an earth-friendly, compassionate experience for every customer while promoting a harmonious and cruelty-free lifestyle.

Their menu includes soups, salads, sandwiches, rice dishes, various starters, delectable desserts, smoothies and noodles. Their raw options include french fries, tacos, sushi and cheese cake, while their children's menu offers garlic bread, grilled cheesy-bread, tortillas, nuggets and BBQ wings.

Govinda's, Australia
http://govindas.net.au/

Govinda's is a Hare Krishna restaurant existing in several locations throughout Australia - including Adelaide, Perth, Darwin, Sydney and Melbourne. They offer delicious, fresh and nutritious meals at outstandingly affordable prices - at my nearest Govinda's, all-you-can-eat is available for a mere $10. The restaurant is specifically vegetarian, although many vegan options are also available.

Always located beside a Hare Krishna temple, Govinda's is unique in its offer of a tranquil and karma-free eating experience, as all preparations are offered to Lord Krishna before being served. Their meals include curries, cakes, lasagna, samosas, pakoras and much more.

Govinda's Restaurant

If you have any further suggestions, please let me know in the comments so I can include them in a future post, and once again - make sure to check out all of these awesome vegan restaurants and support them. They deserve all the recognition they can get for making the world a better place for the animals. Thanks for reading!

Can People Living in Poverty Be Vegan?

One of the many arguments against veganism revolves around the idea that, for one reason or another, not everybody can subsist solely on a plant-based diet. Although very rare, it is indeed true that some people are (not necessarily permanently) unable to survive without animal products. This, however, doesn't necessarily mean they're not vegan.

Veganism isn't about being perfect. We all make mistakes, and since we live in a non-vegan world, it's near-impossible to completely avoid contributing to suffering in some way. This, however, doesn't mean that veganism is impossible. As long as somebody tries their absolute best to live a compassionate lifestyle and avoids contributing to harm as much as humanly possible, they're vegan.

"Veganism isn't about being perfect. We all make mistakes, and since we live in a non-vegan world, it's near-impossible to completely avoid contributing to suffering in some way. This, however, doesn't mean that veganism is impossible."

This sentiment remains true for people living in poverty. In dire times where people have absolutely no choice in what they eat - if they have to live off of scraps, for example - they may have to unwillingly consume animal products. This doesn't make them any less compassionate - or any less vegan, for that matter - they are only doing what they need to do to survive, as is the case with most of Earth's creatures.

This isn't a matter of convenience, it's a matter of necessity. If you choose to eat plant-based unless it is inconvenient to do so, you're not vegan. This is a selfish act indicating that personal convenience is more important to you than the lives of those who are suffering. If you think shopping ethically is only important when it's easy for you, you're not vegan. Sometimes, if you're aiming for a better world, small sacrifices are necessary.

Most people do have a choice in what they eat - and, if compassion is their priority - they will choose not to consume or use animal products. Even if supermarkets are not readily available, vegan food can be grown in large amounts in your own backyard for a low cost - plus it's sustainable, self-replicating and incredibly healthy! Vegan food consistently replenishes itself, and it doesn't need to be fed other food!

Most people without much money subsist on plant-based diets as it is, since plant-based food is some of the cheapest and most easily accessible food on the planet. Rice, beans, lentils, vegetables and grains can all be (quite easily) grown from home, or purchased in bulk from a supermarket for a low price. When cooking (or growing) from scratch, a vegan diet is infinitely more affordable than the traditional Western diet, which consists largely of animal products and processed foods.

If animals are able to survive in a dire environment, it's highly likely that humans will be able to as well. They could share whatever the animals are surviving off of rather than raising them for food. Doing so requires the use of many vital resources such as food, shelter and water - all of which could instead be directly consumed by humans.

In rare cases, however, there simply isn't a choice. People living in urban areas in poverty, for example, may not have access to the conditions needed to grow plant-food, and may instead have to subsist solely through scavenging or through receiving donations from others. This is a matter of survival rather than a matter of convenience. If it's a live-or-die scenario, they are still vegan, so long as they still do their very best to fight for the animals.

"[Some people] may not have access to the conditions needed to grow plant-food, and may instead have to subsist solely through scavenging or through receiving donations from others. This is a matter of survival rather than a matter of convenience. If it's a live-or-die scenario, they are still vegan, so long as they still do their very best to fight for the animals."

The same holds true for vegans who need to take non-vegan medication or wear special medical gear made from animal products. So long as they need these products to survive, they are still vegan. Our lives should be our priority - a living vegan can do much more good than a dead one.

If we lived by the idea that somebody is automatically 'un-vegan' as soon as they consume an animal product, whether accidentally or out of complete necessity, our cause would never fare well. Veganism has never been about attaining absolute perfection, nor is it about climbing the moral hierarchy. It's about caring enough to do whatever you can to stop unnecessary suffering. If you live with this goal in mind and do your best to uphold it, you are vegan. If you slip up at any time, or absolutely need to consume an animal product for one reason or another, don't feel guilty. You're not perfect. Perfection is unachievable - animal liberation isn't.

Vegans Need to Supplement... What's the Big Deal?

Supplementation is a particularly touchy topic within the vegan community. The subject of B12 supplementation is especially controversial among vegans and non-vegans alike - many see it as 'unnatural' and therefore wrong and unhealthy. It may be true that B12 supplementation is 'unnatural' in one sense of the term, but it's an 'unnatural' necessity. Vegans need B12 - all humans do - and unfortunately, there are very few plant-based 'natural' sources of the vitamin remaining in our environment.

B12 is an imperative vitamin responsible for maintaining the health of the brain and nervous system. Plants and animals are both incapable of producing this essential vitamin - instead, it is derived from bacteria found in soil and animal intestines. Root vegetables pulled from bacteria-infused soil will contain remnants of the B12 vitamin, as well as the water from some unsanitised lakes and rivers. Some believe this is how the earliest humans sourced their vitamin B12, but we don't know for sure. The human intestinal tract is also known to contain some B12-producing bacteria. In general, it is unknown whether or not these B12 sources are sufficient, so most people don't take the risk.

While vegans can easily obtain all other vitamins from plant-based sources (or from the sun, as is the case with Vitamin D), B12 is slightly different. Most people source their B12 from bacteria found in meat, dairy and eggs, but for vegans, this obviously isn't an option. Fortunately, there is an quick, easy, cruelty-free way to obtain Vitamin B12 - it's called supplementation.

"B12 is an imperative vitamin responsible for maintaining the health of the brain and nervous system. Plants and animals are both incapable of producing this essential vitamin - instead, it is derived from bacteria found in soil and animal intestines."

There are two main ways for vegans to obtain B12 - through sub-lingual (under the tongue) tablets or through regular injections. B12 is also available in many fortified foods (such as mock meats, Vegemite and nutritional yeast), but there's much debate over whether this type of supplementation is adequate. Personally, sub-lingual supplementation is best for me. It's quick, simple, affordable, it doesn't involve scary needles, and most importantly - it works. I've never had any problems with my B12 levels, and no animals have had to suffer in the production of the vitamin.

Some people believe that supplementation via injection is much more effective, but I see it as a matter of personal preference. If a monthly injection is more appealing to you than a daily or weekly sub-lingual tablet, go for it. In my experience, I've heard of both options working equally well.

Despite what some non-vegans claim, the necessity for B12 supplementation isn't restricted to the vegan community. Due to the lack of naturally occurring B12 reserves in artificially bred ruminants, it is common for farm animals such as sheep and cattle to be injected with B12 supplements. You can read more about this here. Non-ruminant animals, such as horses and rabbits, are believed to also require some level of B12 supplementation or fortification. So, it's not just vegans who consume an 'unnatural' source of B12 - people who eat sheep and cattle likely do as well, and I've never heard them kick up such a fuss about it!

If we wanted to source our B12 in the most natural way, we could take the non-human primate route and try eating faeces and soil - but these options aren't very appealing, are they?

Since B12 does not come directly from animal sources, it can easily be produced and distributed without harming any animals. If you source your B12 from animal products, however, you will be contributing to harm. So, you have the choice of being healthy and contributing to harm, or being healthy and not contributing to harm. The latter is certainly the most appealing option for me! While B12 can be found in eggs and dairy products, it's still best to avoid these sources because their production contributes towards suffering and exploitation.

"If you source your B12 from animal products, you will be contributing to harm. So, you have the choice of being healthy and contributing to harm, or being healthy and not contributing to harm. The latter is certainly the most appealing option for me!"

Non-vegans often use this necessity for B12 supplementation as an argument against veganism, but this opinion simply doesn't cut it for me. They use it as 'proof' that you can't obtain every vitamin you need from a vegan diet, but this isn't true at all. Bacteria isn't an animal product, so you can indeed obtain all the vitamins you need from a vegan, animal product-free, cruelty-free diet. If you think about it, B12 supplements are almost like magical tablets you can take to stop some innocent animals from suffering. Doesn't that sound awesome? Why wouldn't you try it?

While supplementation may seem 'unnatural' to some, we must remember that veganism isn't about being 'natural' - it's about doing the least amount of harm as possible to animals and the environment. Since B12 supplementation isn't unhealthy and doesn't do any damage to the human body, it's really nothing to fret over. Think of it as a positive thing. It's quick, easy and doesn't cause any harm - so what's the big deal? Take a little tablet once a day or once a week, be healthy and love animals. In my opinion at least, that's the very best way to live.