Chicago’s Kitchen 17 Wins Over Omnivore Critic

Vegan restaurant Kitchen 17 opened its doors in Chicago’s Lakewood neighborhood just four weeks ago, but is already garnering accolades even from devout meat lovers such as the Chicago Tribune’s Kevin Pang. Pang recently penned a glowing review of chef Don Clement’s cruelty-free eatery for opening his eyes to the less intimidating side of veganism, noting “My knee-jerk reaction when assigned to cover a vegan restaurant was a heavy sigh … perhaps the smartest decision I made this month was visiting Kitchen 17.” He describes a conversation on compassionate living with Clement as a “warm embrace” and concedes that eating plant-based is “valid and logical: Even if we spent one day a week meat-free, we’d be much healthier in the long run.”