Vegan Dining in South Philly: East Passyunk Avenue edition
By Heather Conaway
Maintaining a vegan diet is always challenging. Eating out can be extremely difficult because there are very few options for plant-based eaters. For those who aren’t familiar with the term, plant-based eaters refrain from eating animals or any products that come from animals, which includes meat, fish, and dairy.
Luckily, a number of restaurants along East Passyunk Avenue offer vegan (and vegetarian) options. Some restaurants even offer a full vegan menu. Here are four highlights:
1. Black N Brew, 1523 E Passyunk Ave. (Cross Street and East Passyunk Ave.) offers vegan-friendly food, baked goods, and a full coffee bar with dairy alternatives. Need a quick to-go meal? Try their Vegan Banana Oatmeal Cookies or Vegan Blueberry Bars. Pair these with the Yoga Slider smoothie made with soy milk, vanilla syrup, banana, and cinnamon.
The regular menu includes vegetarian and vegan options like Vegan Hash–veggie chili scrambled with tofu and potatoes. This hearty dish is topped with guacamole and served with toast. Black N Brew also offers daily vegan brunch specials. One recent offering was a vegan burrito made with scrambled tofu, house made salsa, black beans, guacamole, vegan cheese and sour cream.
2. At Cantina Los Cabollitos, 1651 E Passyunk Ave. (corner of East Passyunk and Morris streets), there are many vegan options. Try the seitan wings in three different flavors or the black bean soup without the crema. Their vegan bowl is a regular special throughout the week. You can also make any of the traditional dishes like tacos, nachos, and burritos into a vegan meal. Options include rice and beans, mushroom, vegan beef, vegan chorizo, seitan, smoked tofu, or a combination.
3. P’unk Burger, 1823 East Passyunk Ave. (between Mifflin and Moore streets) offers hearty options to satisfy your vegan appetite. You can replace any meat-based burger on the menu with an impossible burger or a portabella mushroom burger. Or choose your own toppings for the meatless burger of your choice. Last year’s restaurant week special was a real vegan feast: Spicy Vegan BEYOND Bacon Cheeseburger with the vegan Beyond Burger, vegan Daiya Cheese, vegan bacon, bibb lettuce, tomato, pickles, red onion, and vegan spicy mayo. P’unk Burger also offers shakes made with vegan ice cream. Seasonal flavors very. Past options include blueberry and pumpkin, among others.
4. Further down the Avenue, Fuel, 1917 East Passyunk, offers a host of healthy vegan options. Their salads, wraps, sandwiches, and rice bowls can be made with tofu and/or grilled veggies. Some meals might need to be modified (hold the cheese!), but they’ll accommodate.
What are your vegan favorites along East Passyunk Avenue? And which vegan-friendly part of South Philly should we spotlight next?
