Grub Street Podcast Focuses on Veganism

Last week, New York’s food news outlet Grub Street dedicated its weekly podcast to discussing the rise of vegetable-centric eating and veganism. The 20-minute podcast was hosted by Alan Sytsma and food critic Adam Platt, who revealed that although he ate piles of hamburgers, Oscar Meyer wieners, and Pillsbury dough biscuits as a child, he thinks that veggie burgers are “pretty dang good.” Platt described the New York dining scene of 2005 as “a roaming army of carnivores full of pork belly and steaks,” but then stated that “now the vegan army is with us.” Sytsma opines that people got tired of going out to this “gout fest with beef larded-up with foie gras,” to which Platt added that “there has been a cyclical shift away from carnivores and to veggie-avores.” The pair agreed “vegetables are hot” and discussed how 2015 was undoubtedly the year of the veggie burger before heading to wildly popular vegan restaurant by CHLOE in the West Village, where they were met with an impressive crowd waiting in sub-zero temperatures on a weekday. Sytsma noted that JG Melon, a classic New York burger joint, stood empty across the street. The men ordered two Classic Burgers, a Guac Burger, Smashed Avocado Toast, a seitan-based Whiskey BBQ sandwich, a Quinoa Taco, a Kale Caesar with shiitake bacon, and a beer. Platt stated, “The vegetarian thing is not really a trend but more of a lifestyle that’s taking hold amongst people that are younger and more sensible than myself.” He gave by CHLOE three out of five stars, stating that “nobody goes to Per Se any more; they’re all eating veggie burgers, my friend.” At the closing of their excursion, a waiting customer—who the pair decided looked like a “real burger lover” and was “a bit out of place”—chimed in that “it’s a new age.”