VEGAN TOURISTS' EXPERIENCE IN NEW YORK

June 24th, 2018

Jane Zhao, a lawyer from Beijing, has been a vegan for eleven years and finds it difficult to follow that lifestyle in China. So before a recent trip to New York, she was excited to check Tripadvisor and make a list of the best vegan places including By Chloe, Herbivore, Dr. Martens, and ABCV.  “New York is a paradise for vegans like me," Zhao said.

New York is the third most vegan-friendly city in the USA; Portland won the first place, and Los Angeles won the second, according to PETA (People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals) website. New York boasts more than 140 vegan restaurants and welcomes more than 80,000 vegan tourists from all around the world. The vegan lifestyle not only excludes food products from animals, but also avoids using animal ingredient in cosmetics, clothing, and accessories such as shoes and purses.

For her trip in early June, the first stop on Mrs. Zhao's list was By Chloe, a quick-serve vegan restaurant at 60 W. 22nd St. "My colleague recommended me this place when he went to New York during a business trip," Zhao said. "I mean, even a non-vegan says it's good, so I'm interested in it."

Everything in By Chloe is designed to be adorable and vegan-friendly. Outside the restaurant, the awning is covered by black and white strips. The menu is colored with pictures of cartoon kale, juicy grapes, hot tea, a line of bolded words: Let's Guac Till We Drop, and the puns  "drop us a beet."

After ordering a whiskey BBQ vegan burger (grilled pineapple, onion marmalade, sauteed kale, smoky portobello, and seitan), Mrs. Zhao sat next to Julia Andrade, 29, a vegan tourist from Italy, who pointed to the beet ketchup. "You really should try the ketchup," Andrade said.  "It tastes better than tomato ketchup." By Chloe's ketchup is made of beet, pineapple, and other fruit sauce; it’s a pink color, not red.

Andrade became a vegan for two years due to kidney problems. "To be honest, I sometimes miss beef and chicken, especially when my family gets together during Thanksgiving," Andrade said.  She substitutes vegan sausages and meatballs made of mushroom and soybeans. “It tastes like real meat."

After lunch, the next stop for Mrs. Zhao was the Dr. Martens store at 868 Broadway. She decided to buy two pairs of vegan boots. One for herself, and one for her sister, who is not a vegan. "My sister wears leather shoes a lot, but I think it's time for her to try something different,"  she said. Dr. Martens Vegan boots look exactly the same as regular boots; the only difference is that vegan boot is made of 100% non-leather material.

Another tourist, Lisa Choi, 24, was also shopping for Vegan 1460 boots at Dr. Martens. She works at an animal protection center in South Korea and has been a vegan for two years. For Choi, choosing a vegan lifestyle is about both food and protecting animals. “From a moral perspective, I can't use animal products when I'm working eight hours a day protecting them."

That evening, Mrs. Zhao wrapped up her day meeting friends at  Ichiran Ramen, a famous Japanese Ramen brand in Midtown. She was disappointed that the chef offered only a meat-based broth, no vegan choices. Still, "At least no one looks at me as a strange person here, “ she said. “In a restaurant in Beijing, when I told the waiter I'm a vegan, he asked me if I was going to be a Buddhist nun!"

Source list:

Andrade, Julia: juliaandrade@gmail.com

Choi, Lisa: lisachoi1@sina.com

PETA: https://www.peta.org/features/top-ten-vegan-friendly-cities-2016/

Vegan Tourists NYC: http://www.vegantourist.com/

Tripadvisor: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurants-g60763-zfz10697-New_York_City_New_York.html

Veganbits: http://veganbits.com/vegan-demographics-2017/

Zhao, Jane: 3271243159@qq.com