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The vegan Coney dog is to be among menu items at Chili Mustard Onions, an all-vegan restaurant to open this fall on 3411 Brush Street in Detroit.(Photo: Pete LaCombe)

A wienerloaded with mustard, onion and chili,it looksjust like a coney dog. But there are zero animal parts.

Same goes for the Big Mockburger an homage to the McDonald's Big Macstacked with patties, a cheese substitute,pickles, lettuce and a special sauce.

Pete LaCombe, 47, plans to open Chili Mustard Onions, a 100% vegan, Coney Island-style restaurant, by about September at 3411 Brush Street in Detroit.

He ate the real thing most of his life. But 4 years ago, after seeing a documentary about suffering animals, he and his family decided to stop consuming critters.

"When you see where it comes from, it's crazy," he said of meat.

Pete Lacombe, pictured here with his wife, Shellee, plans to open Chili Mustard Onions, an all-vegan restaurant this fall on 3411 Brush Street in Detroit.(Photo: Pete LaCombe)

Since the Facebook page went up, LaCombe said he's already hearing from angry carnivores.

"People say, 'What the (expletive)'s wrong with you hipsters? Leave the Coney Island alone,'" LaCombe said. "That kind of hate keeps me going. It really does. Because I'm striking a chord with everybody not just the vegans, but everybody."

Coney Island diners, where meat-based chili dogs are among meat-laden menu items,are a beloved part of Detroit life. But LaCombe claims his recipes are good enough to please people used to meat.

"They want something they love, but that they're not going to get heartburn from," he said. "I want to show people you can eat your favorite food but veganized."

So what's in a vegan coney dog? Organic spice and soy crumble, "to give it a little texture," are among the chili ingredients. The wieners areskinless,vegan, gluten-free Smart Dogs (which, according to theirwebsite, contain soy, evaporated cane syrup, pea protein isolate, tapioca starch and more).

The vegan "Big Mock," inspired by the McDonald's "Big Mac," is to be among menu items at Chili Mustard Onions, an all-vegan restaurant to open this fall on 3411 Brush Street in Detroit.(Photo: Pete LaCombe)

LaCombe said the chili recipe is his own, and he'll be using Smart Dogs, a store-bought Lifelight brand,until he starts making his own vegan hot dogs. The Big Mockwill use patties from Beyond Meat (made with pea protein, according to its website), cheesesubstitute fromFollow Your Heart(coconut oil, modified food starch, potato starch and more, according to its website) and a special sauce made with about six ingredients that LaCombe said tastes just likeBig Mac sauce.

The food, while cholesterol-free, isn't super healthy. The Big Mock has about 500 calories, LaCombe said, which is only about 63less than a Big Mac from McDonald's. Vegan desserts such as vegan bumpy cake and Hostess-style cupcakes are also to be served at Chili MustardOnions, where LaCombe will be head chef as well as owner.

LaCombe, of Grosse Pointe Farms,previously worked in automotive design. Inspired by the documentary film "Earthlings," which includes topics of animals suffering for the food industry, hewent vegan with his wife and daughter.

After developing recipes similar to meat foods he used to enjoy, LaCombe said he wants to share them with others.

"What I'm trying to do is eliminate the kale and tofu mess that's what vegans eat. Rabbit food," he said. "For me, it's all about animals first, health benefits and earth benefits second."

Contact Robert Allen: rallen@freepress.com. Follow himon Twitter @rallenMI .

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Detroit eatery to serve vegan Coney dog - Detroit Free Press

Kansas City Star

Vegan bloggers say their diets can stop menstrual 'toxins,' and doctors aren't pleased Kansas City Star Freelee the Banana Girl seemed so excited to tell her YouTube following how she lost her monthly period. It happened when I first came to a 100 percent raw vegan diet, the popular Australian health blogger said in a 2013 video called How I lost my ...

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Vegan bloggers say their diets can stop menstrual 'toxins,' and doctors aren't pleased - Kansas City Star

A popular vegan eatery is opening its second Boston location, and its bringing vegan nachos to the table in the Fenway neighborhood.

By Chloe (stylized as by CHLOE.) is part of a small chainof vegan restaurants started in New York City in 2015. The companys first Boston location opened in the Seaport in February, offering up vegan lobster rolls and clam chowder. The restaurants second Boston location, at the corner of Van Ness and Kilmarnock streets, will open on Thursday.

Though the restaurants menu will have many of the same items as its Seaport sisterincluding a guac burger, cinnamon roll, and mac and cheesefeaturing a sweet potato cashew cheese sauce sprinkled with shitake baconthe newBy Chloewill also offer Fenway Nachos,a secret menu itemin honor of the restaurants baseball-playing neighbor that will only be available at this location.The dish is a plant-based take on the popular ballpark fare, and will feature vegan chorizo, black bean salsa, and jalapeos.

Unlike the Seaport location, the Fenway spotwill also serve beer and wine.

According to a press release, By Chloe Fenway is the restaurants largest location yet, at 3,000 square feet. It will seat 75 inside, 26 outside, and its signature swing chairs will be red and white to fit with the colors of the Red Sox.

We were completely overwhelmed by the warm welcome we received when we opened our first Boston location earlier this year, Co-founder Samantha Wasser said in the release. Boston has been so good to us and we cannot wait to become part of the vibrant and growing Fenway neighborhood [and] experience our first Red Sox season.

The restaurant made waves in April when it separated from its namesake and co-founder, Chloe Coscarelli, a celebrity chefbest known as the first vegan winner of Food NetworksCupcake Wars. According to reports, an independent arbitrator found Coscarelli grossly negligent, and ruled that she actively failed to work inthe self-interest of the restaurant brand bearing her name.

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A vegan restaurant that serves nachos and burgers opens in Boston Thursday - Boston.com

The slow, eastward creep of hipster Portland is pushing past 82nd. For proof of what's happening, which until now has been a sprawl of chain spots and drive-thrus, look no further than two new vegan spots specializing in offers for the dewy after dawn.

Jet Black Coffee Company(11150 NE Weidler St., 503-889-0739, facebook.com/jetblackcoffeecompany)is an all-vegan coffee shop inspired by every punk rock-lifer's least favorite Jawbreaker record. Aside from the bright and woodsy shop's namesake, which is borrowed from a brooding middle track off the East Bay pop-punk legends' 1995 swan song, "Dear You," there's a copy of the album proudly propped against the double-headed La Marzocco, as well as their in-house blend, Dear You, which owners Travis Coe and Karla Nolt dialed in with the help of Water Avenue Coffee.

For playing the role of canary in the coal mine, Jet Black's gambit is paying off handsomely. In spite of the Portland coffee scene's longstanding allergy to any small-batch roast one could construe as being on the dark side, the aforementioned Dear You Blend ($2.50 for a 12 ounce) has a delicately smoky flavor up-front with a familiar tang in the finish that's distinctly the work of Water Ave. On account of being all vegan, the cappuccino selection ($3.50 for an 8 ounce; no traditional 5 ounce size was offered) was a mixed bag. Almond and coconut milk varieties yielded a smoother finish with much less separation between the foam and the espresso, while the hemp and soy were a tad overcooked and heavy on the big, sloppy bubbles that leave an undesirable blob floating on top.

We loved the blueberry danish ($4) from Sweet Pea, which was smooth and sugary on top with a flaky and tender crust that defied logic of being completely butter-free. The tempeh "bacon" and scallion cream cheese croissant ($2) was salty and tender and easily able to get away with being twice the size, but the price was right for a quick, on-the-go savory snack you'd expect from a proper coffee shop. Skip the cinnamon roll from Shoofly ($4), which was dry and dearly suffering of not having a proper substitute for the rich buttery finish of a regular cinnamon roll.

The overall aesthetic of the shop is heavy on unfinished wood and succulents, giving it a very Austin-meets-Etsy chic. This dovetails perfectly with the non-caffeinated beverage selection, which includes four flavors of La Croix and bottles of Topo Chico (all $1). The outside patio is one of the best in the neighborhood, and is likely to be at capacity from now until November. The ambience of the drag of Weidler Jet Black sits on is still a bit too traffic-y to feel charming, but that's how it's gonna be in these parts for the foreseeable future. Either way, getting pushed out of Portland proper is getting more and more bearable thanks to the efforts of owners like Coe and Nolt. PETE COTTELL.

Hard to believe, but Doe Donuts(Doe Donuts, 8201 SE Powell Blvd., 503-333-4404, doedonuts.com) is the city's first vegan donut shop. Located on the corner of Powell and 82nd, the shop's early May debut was met with the sale of 1,000 donuts in a mere four hours. And while Voodoo might have a few vegan options lurking up their sleeve, they've got nothing on Doe's thoughtful, well-balanced creations like "The Oregon Trail" (pecans, kettle chips, strawberries and chocolate chips) and the strawberry-milk flavored namesake, "Doe!"

The love child of dynamic baking duo Carly Sitner and Crystal Wegener, Doe Donuts took shape when the two worked together at an organic grocer.

"My partner and I started making donuts at our last job, and it just became a hit," says Sitner. "We thought, 'Well there's no vegan donut shop in Portland, and there's one in every other major city, so let's do it before someone else does.'"

Two years of word-of-mouth sales and one successful Kickstarter later, and that dream has finally become a reality. The shop itself is a former Pizza Hut, a small space complete with a giant, leering doe and a wooden donut case housing two racks of donuts laid out on cooling sheets.

"We were looking for a second-generation spot, a spot that had already been a restaurant in this neighborhood. It took about six months to just find anything that was open," Sitner adds. "When this was open it used to be a Pizza Hut for 30 years and it did not look anything like thisit was rather terrible. So we just jumped on it."

Pricing ranges between $2.75 and $4 per donut, and ingredients are locally sourced, non-GMO and organic. There are six core flavors on the menu at any given point, and a few seasonal creations that rotate out, with fall flavors beginning in September.

Doe's signature donut, dubbed "The Golden Child," proclaims to be the only chocolate raised donut in the city. It's a chocoholic's wet dream come true complete with chocolate chips, shavings, ganache and golden pearls, and it is sold out for the second day in a row. I console myself with a bite of the "All or Nothing," a donut filled with cookie butter and topped with ganache and cookie dough. The donut itself is springy and aerated, achieving a texture that's a mix between a more traditional cake dough and bread, and far less sugary than your standard donut.

It's a decadent (albeit thrilling) bite compared to the vanilla bean donut whose warm, spiced vanilla flavor is more than just another sugar bomb waiting to go off. The Thai Tea flavor doesn't taste like iced tea, but instead tastes of nutty, faintly toasted coconut, and has a crunchier, more satisfying dough than the rest of the donuts.

If no one told you these were vegan, you'd never be able to tell.

"We're just trying to create a really high-quality product," Sitner says. "You notice you won't see the word 'vegan' anywhere?It shouldn't matter, should it? The vegans already know, so I don't have to tell them. We just want to make a good donut." JANELLE ALBUKHARI.

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East Portland Now Has the City's First Vegan Doughnuts and a Brand-New Vegan Coffee Shop - Willamette Week

Since giving up meat at the age of 21, Alicia Silverstone has been amajor advocate for goingveganand shes raising her 6-year-old son, Bear Blu, to do the same.

In a video for the nonprofitFarm Sanctuarys Compassionate Meals program, the 40-year-oldCluelessstar explains why she is so passionate about this lifestyle.I just have always been really interested in the truth in all areas of life, she saysas they eat veggie burgers and kale salad. And so knowing the truth about where our food comes from is just so disturbing to me. Once you see it, theres no way to go back from that for me.

Additionally, she believes that people inthefood industryare intentionally deceiving the public into eating meat. Our food is being hijacked and theyre telling you lies about what your food is, says Silverstone. Its just constant lies so that youll make choices that go against your nature.

When Bear is asked what his favorite thing about being a vegan is, he responds: That you dont have to eat yucky meat.

FROM PEN:How Alicia Silverstone Maintains a Strict Vegan Diet For Her Son Without Judging Other Moms

Silverstone says she has no trouble feeding her child vegan foods, whipping up dishes like tacos and stir fry at a moments notice.I can make all those things based on whats in the fridge. You always have a bean, you always have a whole grain.

The amazing thing about it is that its turned me into a health nut, because youfeelso good, you feel so different, she adds. So being able to do something that is good for the Earth, good for the animals and good for you all at the same time seems like such a no-brainer. Its like the biggest Duh!'

RELATED: Zendaya Reveals Why She Became a Vegetarian

The actress previously made headlines in 2012 when she posted a video of herself chewing up food and feeding it directly into Bears mouth from her own.Its his favoriteand mine. He literally crawls across the room to attack my mouth if Im eating, she said at the time.

Andeven as some have criticized the idea of feeding children a vegan diet, Silverstone has staunchly defended her familyslifestyle.[Bear] lovesthe food I give him, she told PEOPLE in 2014.Hes not being deprived of anything. For him, having amazing fruit is like candy!

Despite her passion on the subject, Silverstone has beenclear that she doesnt force her eating habits upon others.I totally dont judge anything anyone else does, she recentlysaid on thePeople/Entertainment Weekly Network. Im only interested in helping provide information in case you want to know a piece of this secret Ive found If you dont, all love and peace.

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Alicia Silverstone Says Feeding Her Son a Vegan Diet Is 'Such a No-Brainer' - PEOPLE.com

And that doesn't seem fair, especially when you consider that Detroit is one of the nation's more vegan friendly towns.But, as such, it was only a matter time 'til someone fixed the situation, which is what will happen in August when Chili Mustard Onions - Detroit's first vegan coney shop - opens in Brush Park.

Owner Pete LaCombe, aka "Vegan Chef Pete", says to expect everything one might find your standard coney island, but meat and animal product free. A good portion of the menu will also be organic and non-GMO. So that means meatless and healthy coney dogs, gyros, hamburgers, chicken lemon rice soup, spinach pie, Hani, grape leaves, salads, fries, soups, and weekly or daily specials.

The chili that LaCombe uses on his dogs will be similar to that at National, he says, though slightly thicker and spicier, as it's made with 10 spices and a soy crumble.

LaCombe also highlights his take on the Big Mac, which he calls the Big Mock. It comes complete with two non-beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on sesame seed buns.

"I don't like a ton of different fake meat patties. If I do anything, it's usually more of a veggie patty. But if I taste something that I like and know I can use it, then I'll make something out of it," he says.

For dessert, LaCombe will develop a menu around vegan soft serve ice cream with cones, sundaes, and flurries. He'll also have other treats like doughnuts and a Sanders bumpy cake.

As far as price points go, LaCombe says he is still working out those details, but a coney will run in the $5 range while the Big Mock will be somewhere in the neighborhood of $8.

The restaurant will be among the first businesses in the beautiful Victorian homes under renovation in Brush Park. LaCombe says he fell in love with his space, located at 3411 Brush St., and jumped at it when it became available.

"I fell in love with the food we made, and I've always had a love of cooking," he says. "Different experiences in life brought me back to that passion, except now I'm vegan, and my wife and daughter are vegan. Iwant to make a difference and change world with food - vegan food."

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Detroit's first vegan coney island, Chili Mustard Onions, to open in Brush Park - Detroit Metro Times

Runner's World

I Went Vegan and Didn't PR. WTF? Runner's World I just spent 4 hours and 18 minutes chasing the sub-four marathon my vegan diet was supposed to help deliver. I'd become lighter and faster since the change, and was on pace until mile 19. Then the wheels fell off. My mouth watered as I took a creaky ...

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The owners of Eden Burger will be holding a soft opening in early June. Credit: Sara Stacy

A new restaurant is bringing a vegan alternative to American staples like burgers and milkshakes to Columbus.

Eden Burger set to open in the next two weeks will be serving burgers, milkshakes and fries made from all organic, plant-based ingredients.

A lot of people think that when you go on a plant-based diet you just have to give up some of your favorite things, said Chad Goodwin, one of the restaurants co-founders. The driving factor behind the concept was to offer something thats so fundamentally American: burgers, fries and milkshakes.

Burgers will be crafted using ingredients such as beans, rice, pumpkin seeds and a variety of spices. Eden Burgers owners have also been trying out several milkshake recipes using vegan-friendly items, such as coconut milk, bananas and avocados.

According to Sebastian Kovach, one of the restaurants co-founders, Eden Burgers recipes are the result of trial and error after modifying online recipes.

Were pretty proud to say weve gotten a nice burger feel, consistency, and burger bite that will keep together, he said. Youll find a lot of black bean burgers, vegan burgers, dont keep together. (Burgers) should be something you can hold in one hand with something in the other.

The owners of Eden Burger started out by serving from their home in December 2016. Later on, they had the opportunity to bring their concept to restaurants and bars around the city.

Co-founder Alex Raabe said their first foray into the Columbus restaurant scene was by hosting pop-up events at Barrel on High.

(Barrel on High) gave us our first nod, he said. They were the first ones to believe in us and give us an opportunity to feed the people.

After just a couple of months holding pop-ups, they were able to secure a space on High Street to test out their concept on a larger scale.

The fast-casual restaurant is located directly between campus and the Short North, occupying the space of the former DareDevil Dogs, which closed earlier this year.

With several new apartments and businesses moving into that area, Goodwin said they believe theyll be getting more traffic than the previous tenants.

We have people from campus coming this way, and well have people coming from the Short North. said Goodwin. We can be a quick, easy option for them to fill their bellies and be on their way for a relatively affordable price.

Currently, Eden Burger offers typical burger fare at about $10 for burgers and $6 for milkshakes. Since securing their own restaurant space, however, Goodwin said they plan to lower their prices.

Goodwin said they also plan to collaborate with The Village Idiot bar, which is located next door to Eden Burger. The establishments will share a patio space and will have a window connecting the bar to Eden Burgers kitchen for direct service.

With more and more plant-based menus popping up around Columbus, the owners of Eden Burger said they aim to stand out by being a quick, cheap option for vegans and carnivores alike.

We definitely want to be a vegan restaurant that can appeal to the non-vegans, something for people that maybe just want to eat lighter one day, or maybe want to experiment or try something plant-based, said Kovach.

Goodwin also said he hopes to bring the restaurant to the acclaim of well-known fast food restaurant chains.

From the onset, our version has been that we want to franchise this, we want to make this like the vegan McDonalds or In-N-Out, he said. We dont want to just have one restaurant in Columbus for the rest of our life.

Eden Burger is located on 1437 N. High St., and will debut with a soft opening in early June.

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Miami Herald

Clovermint has it all, except the meat Miami Herald The Place: Clovermint Vegan Caf & Market is in an unnamed plaza with an Express gas station and curbside American and Cuban flags. The spacious and charming room where bell-shaped stained glass lights hang overhead is filled with knickknacks like a ...

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Clovermint has it all, except the meat - Miami Herald

When Jennifer Johnson opened the doors of Misfit Doughnuts and Treats to the public for the first time on May 13, her entire stock of vegan desserts was wiped out in a little under three hours. With doughnut flavors like lemon poppy seed, cannoli, s'mores, and blood orange white chocolate, Johnson is aiming for vegan-friendly decadence, and maybe convince some skeptics along the way.

"People say, 'You can't make that vegan.' And I say, 'Watch me,'" says Johnson, who has been a vegan for the last seven years. "Vegans at heart are just a bunch of foodies."

Before opening Misfit, Johnson was the owner of Pudgy Girl Bakery, which made vegan pastries and desserts largely for wholesale and special orders. After three years, however, Johnson made the hard decision to close the bakery in late 2016. She says she was devastated by the closing, but Misfit Doughnuts was already on her mind. Johnson says a friend pointed out the space at 982 Monroe Avenue and suggested she start a bakery there. Johnson shrugged off the idea until a second friend called her with the same idea.

"OK, that's a sign from the universe," Johnson says she thought at the time. She moved into the space in March, started a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo, and was ready to open by May. Now, she's try to keep pace with demand. Her numerous flavors are constantly rotating, and she hopes to add more menu options as business develops.

Although Misfit sells a variety of desserts, doughnuts are the star. That's clear from the bakery's logo, an anthropomorphized doughnut sporting a mohawk, Chuck Taylors, and thick-rimmed glasses. The name of the bakery itself is a nod to punk band The Misfits. References to other elements of pop culture appear throughout Johnson's creations: the Black Flag doughnut (named for another of Johnson's favorite bands) is filled with strawberry sriracha jam and topped with chocolate ganache; or there's the Twin Peaks doughnut, a cherry pie flavor with crumble topping, which was made to celebrate the revival of the cult-classic 90's crime drama.

Almost all of Misfit's doughnuts are yeast-raised brioche-style, which Johnson appreciates for their rich texture, pillowy softness, and large air pockets. In conventional baking, those desirable attributes are achieved with a healthy amount of butter, eggs, and milk but, of course, this is a vegan bakeshop.

Each new recipe, Johnson says, requires considerable "reverse-engineering" in order to make it compliant with a vegan lifestyle. She usually begins with a conventional recipe and works backward to find a similar-tasting vegan result. At the moment, she favors soy milk in place of cow's milk, Earth Balance in place of butter, and an egg substitute derived from chickpeas. She also has a recipe for vegan bacon that involves coconut chips and soy sauce there's a maple bacon doughnut on the menu and a vegan sausage, egg, and cheese doughnut is in the early stages of development.

Johnson hopes her new bakery will prove to be a guilt-free haven for local vegans as well as an educational opportunity for those who may look skeptically at desserts devoid of butter and eggs. It doesn't hurt that Misfit is capitalizing upon the doughnut's current surge in popularity nationwide. Nowadays, it's more likely than not that you'll be eating a dressed-up doughnut with knife and fork and not just in the morning.

Whether the current public appetite for doughnuts will last remains to be seen, but Johnson has an eye on the future. Asked what she thinks the next big baking trend might be, she pauses thoughtfully: "Churros," she says.

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Vegan doughnut shop Misfit opens on Monroe Ave - Rochester City Newspaper