• Field Report: Ethos Vegan Kitchen in Orlando

    21
    March 21st, 2011quarrygirlmore restaurants (not LA)

    hey everyone! time for another field report by JL goes vegan. this one comes to us all the way from orlando, florida where she visited ethos vegan kitchen. ch-ch-check it:

    A few months ago I sent out a tweet, requesting recommendations for a vegan restaurant in Orlando, Florida. The resounding recommendation was Ethos Vegan Kitchen.

    It was me—the lone vegan—one vegetarian and three omnivores. Two of the omnivores, my parents, had never dined at a vegan restaurant and, err, were a bit suspicious. I, however, was delighted and couldn’t wait!

    I loved the vibe of Ethos the moment I walked in the door. It’s super-casual and has a crunch-granola feel. Simply walk to the counter and place your order.

    Ethos offers beer and wine so once you’ve ordered you are handed your drink and a number to take to the table of your choice—the server will find you. They found us outside because after a brutal New York winter I could not resist eating dinner outside in 80+ degrees.

    And then the food started coming. The omnivores all opted for pizza. My husband ate one pizza…

    and my parents split a pizza.

    My husband, who eats lots of vegan food, said he loved the pizza. My parents, one of whom doesn’t really like vegetables (I’m talking about you, Mom), liked the crust and liked the “toppings” but were not at all impressed with the cheese.

    My aunt, the vegetarian opted for the black bean burger, on a lightly fried spinach wrap.

    Samson Burger (Soy Free) Grilled black bean burger served with lettuce, tomato, red onion, pickles, sprouts, spicy mustard, ketchup, and veganaise. $7.50

    She loved the burger and, I would like to think, may be one step closer to going vegan.

    And me, the lone vegan in a vegan kitchen, deferred to the staff. I asked “What’s your signature dish?”

    What's the Dilly, Philly? Sautéed marinated seitan with onions, red and green peppers, mozzarella cheese, and veganaise. $7.95

    Oh yes I did! This sandwich was succulent, hearty and absolutely delicious. I would fly to Orlando just to get this sandwich. And don’t get me started on how happy I was to eat coleslaw. Yep, my first vegan coleslaw!

    My mother couldn’t help but notice the vegan cookies when we first walked in…

    and I’m so glad she did! We took home two gingersnaps, two snickerdoodles and two double chocolate & macadamia nut cookies. And when I say took home I mean we ate them on the walk to the car. They were that good.

    Ethos Vegan Kitchen
    1235 N Orange Ave, Suite 101
    Orlando, FL 32804
    407-228-3898 phone
    407-228-3899 phone
    407-228-3896 fax

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19 responses to “Field Report: Ethos Vegan Kitchen in Orlando” RSS icon

  • Ooh, that Philly looks DELICIOUS!! Well, everything looks great, but especially that.

  • I see that EVEN two of their SANDWICHES can be prepared gluten-free! Yay!!!!!!

  • Gauri Radha गौरी राधा

    Thanks for the review, the pizzas, wrap, sandwich and cookies look terrific.

  • Best black bean sandwich there ever! looks like the same blackbean mix in that wrap! I detest orlando, but when stuck there for various reasons Ethos is the place!

  • I visited Orlando a few months ago and this is the only vegan place I could find other than the whole foods salad bar. The food at Ethos was great! My favorite dish is the Sheep’s Pie. Yummy!

  • Great review JL! This place looks like a great spot even for non-vegans.

  • What?!!! Are there no vegan places at Walt Disney World?!!! I’m shocked! SHOCKED, I tell you! ; )

  • Orlando is sadly lacking in vegan options. Luckily, the options we have are pretty darn tasty 😉

    Currently we have:
    Ethos Vegan Kitchen
    Raphsodic Cooperative Company – a vegan bakery which occasionally has meals
    Cafe 118 a raw vegan restaurant which is pricey but worth it
    and of course
    Loving Hut

    There are other places like:
    Stardust Coffee & Video – omnivore cafe/bar with vegan options
    Dandelion Communitea Cafe – vegetarian teahouse
    Garden Cafe – vegetarian chinese food with vegan options
    S.E.A. Thai – omnivore thai restaurant but will happily make anything vegan for you
    and
    Mellow Mushroom – they use a spring water dough which is vegan and you can bring the non dairy cheese of your choice for them to use, though they sometimes have daiya on hand (whole foods is walking distance if you need to get some). Just be sure to remind them “no butter, no cheese” as they normally finish the crust with butter and parm after pulling it from the oven.

    Also, If you are ever at Animal Kingdom try Boma. I was there last year for my birthday, told the waiter I was vegan, and a chef came to talk to me personally; He walked me around the buffet and through the menu showing me my options and offered lots of delicious substitutions.

    Hope that helps 🙂

  • I haven’t been to Ethos yet, but there is a Loving Hut in Orlando with a huge menu and a buffet on the weekends. Also, Disney World has a Babycakes in the Marketplace area with all vegan baked goods. There were more vegan options on my trip to Orlanda that I thought there would be. Thanks for the Ethos review!

  • My mother-in-law always picks us up food from Ethos when we visit her in Orlando. Good stuff!

  • At least Orlando has more vegan/vegetarian restaurants than Beverly Hills, CA does! Unlike its neighbor, West Hollywood, Beverly Hills has NONE! Ha HA! Makes me laugh every time I think of this! : )

  • I would love to try Cafe 118! Thanks for the suggestions! I may have to go without my parents on that trip. 😉

  • What kind of cheese is on that pizza?

  • That black bean burger and philly sandwich look so good! Great review!

  • They use FYH. I talked to the owner about Daiya, and he does not like it.

  • Have you tried their brunch? I think they do a pretty good biscuits and gravy. I go there when ever I’m back in my hometown and fill myself.

    JL, did you make it up the street (Orange Ave), towards the Science Center? There is a little vegan convenience store, Artichoke Red, that opened about a year and a half ago. It’s small, but a little oasis in Orlando. Sam is an interesting sort of fellow but very nice. Some say the prices are a little higher then Whole Foods but for me, I am willing to pay a 5% increase to support a vegan business.

    http://www.artichokered.com/

  • I wrote to Ethos yesterday and got the following reply:

    “We use Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet – here is a link to their website: http://www.followyourheart.com/product-family.php?id=2 Here in Orlando, it is available at Whole Foods or Chamberlins.”

  • No, I didn’t but I will check it out next time!

  • You can get Vegan choices at Disney World, but like everywhere you’ve gotta’ think. Get spaghetti, hold the meatballs (the sauce is separate). And you can definitely get vegetarian. There’s a little cart in the Magic Kingdom that sells veggie egg rolls. Cheap & not too bad of a cheat, if you ask me! 🙂

    I’m more aggravated at the national chain restaurants! TGI FRIDAYS: Green Bean Fries. That’s it! And most other restaurants are the same: if they offer vegetarian, it’s smothered in cheese!


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