The votes are in! Who will be awarded on Friday?
Thanks to the hundreds of people who submitted thousands of votes in the Philly Vegan Awards to finally arrive at a single winner in each of our categories. So who are those winners? That's what we'll be announcing on Friday night, Nov. 10th at the Friends Center, the official Philly Vegan Awards ceremony.
UPDATE 11/8: PRESENTERS AND VEGAN FOOD SAMPLING: OK, now winners have been determined and certificates are being printed. Hope you've already secured your tickets for the Philly Vegan Awards this Friday, Nov. 10. If not, you can still get the advance price through tomorrow at the American Vegan Society site. If you're still on the fence, here are some more particulars:
Our distinguished awards presenters will be:
Jenice Armstrong
Dynise Balcavage
Fran Costigan
Christina Pirello
A large part of the fun of Friday's event will be in naming the winners, but nothing makes the point about tasty, appealing vegan food as well as tasty, appealing vegan food. To that end, attendees will for the first hour of the event be able to sample 100% vegan offerings from these fine vegan-friendly sources:
Aya's Cafe
Atiya Ola's
Christina Cooks
Fran Costigan
Crust Bakery
Dottie's Donuts
Franklin Fountain
Khyber Pass
Love Again Local
Mompops
PS & Co.
Soy Cafe
Uncle Oogies
Vegan Chef Lenka
Additionally, donating non-edible materials to the event are:
MOM's Organic Market
Urban Cabin Soap Company
And of course, don't forget to be there when we honor Rich Landau and Kate Jacoby of Vedge, who have done so much pioneering work in fostering Philadelphia's growing vegan scene. See you Friday!
UPDATE 11/07: VOTING CLOSES, WINNERS DETERMINED!
Thanks to the hundreds of people who submitted thousands of votes in the Philly Vegan Awards to finally arrive at a single winner in each of our categories. So who are those winners?
That's what we'll be announcing on Friday night, Nov. 10th at the Friends Center, the official Philly Vegan Awards ceremony. Be sure to be there to be the first to know who Philly's voters decreed as their favorite vegan-friendly venues and dishes. You'll also get to sample vegan offerings from some of Philadelphia's best vegan chefs (final lineup will be updated here tomorrow).
Also at the event we will be honoring Rich Landau and Kate Jacoby with a special award recognizing their pioneering contribution to Philly's still-growing vegan dining scene. This will be a vegan night like no other. Hope to see you there!
UPDATE 11/01: FINALIST VOTING OPENS
All finalists are invited to join in the vegan-food sampling portion of the evening and in any event, each nominated finalist may have two attendees per category on the guest list. Please inform us as to these details by Monday, Nov. 6.
UPDATE 10/30: Thanks to the more than 500 people who voted to nominate some of the best vegan food and wares in Philadelphia, and congratulations to our finalists! There were many nominations offered and of those that were valid we wound up with an average of 15 per category.
Finalists are listed here alphabetically. In the final ballot each voter will see the nominees in a random order. Update 10/31: Nominations were approved with light vetting, with a more rigorous examination triggered in this interim for those in finalist-level ranking. Upon further review, two slots were changed for reasons noted at end of list.
NEW VEGAN RESTAURANT
Dottie's Donuts
Love Again Local
The Tasty
VEGAN FOOD AT NONVEGAN VENUE
Khyber Pass
Royal Tavern
Tattooed Mom
SANDWICH/BURGER
Heart Beet Kitchen
Love Again Local
Royal Tavern
APPETIZER
Blackbird
Triangle Tavern
Vedge
PIZZA
Blackbird
Triangle Tavern
Uncle Oogie's
DESSERT*
Crust Bakery
Dotties Donuts
Love Again Local
Franklin Fountain
Little Baby's
V Street
BREAKFAST/BRUNCH
Dottie's Donuts
Royal Tavern
The Tasty
SMOOTHIE/MILKSHAKE
Goldie
HipCityVeg
Saxbys (Groothie)
AIRPORT / STATION FOOD
Chick-fil-a
Chipotle
Mi Lah
CHEAP MEAL
Blackbird
HipCityVeg
Triangle Tavern
NON-FOOD BUSINESS**
Compassion Company
Grape Cat
Urban Cabin Soap Company
* Triangle Tavern's Dessert votes were for a dessert item that is neither listed on regular menu nor even available now.
** Lush knocked out of vegan category for use of honey
UPDATE 10/19: Thanks to the more than 200 people who have already voted in the nominating phase of the Philly Vegan Awards! I don't know about you, but I'm learning about new vegan menu items just by going through these.
Tomorrow in this space we'll begin tracking who's leading which categories. For now, just a couple quick reminders about those categories, as we have received more than a few enthusiastic nominations that don't fit.
Details for each category are below. Of special note is that the first category is for NEW vegan restaurant. (Some of you may have missed that word.) Also please note listed exclusions, which include the categories of Sandwich (no cheesesteaks); dessert (no frozen or milkshakes); frozen (no milkshakes); and non-food business (no food sales).
If you made what you think is a legit nomination and you're not seeing it on the appropriate page by now, feel free to let me know.
Thanks again and happy voting!
If you have opinions on the tastiest vegan offerings in Philly, here's the place to let the world know, and help your favorites on the path to a Philly Vegan Award!
Voting is now open: The first, nominating phase is Oct 18-30. (More complete contest info here.) You can nominate in any and all of the 12 categories (you need not fill out all of them, despite the voting-page language), and you can vote for your favorites once per day. Your vote goes to a venue, not an individual item, but feel free to add any appropriate details in the "Favorite" field. Vote here.
Nonimated venues will be located in the Greater Philadelphia area (comprising Philadelphia, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, Bucks, Burlington, Gloucester, and Camden counties). The same goes for voters, though Philadelphians who are temporarily elsewhere may also vote by first alerting us.
Here are the specific rules per category:
* Best New Vegan Restaurant of the Year
Restaurant opened between October 18, 2016 and October 18, 2017.
* Best Vegan Food at Nonvegan Venue
Items appear on regular menu in vegan form; venue is one also serving multiple animal-based items.
* Best Sandwich / Burger
"Sandwich" includes vegan bread/buns; all components must be animal-free. Cheesesteaks excluded.
* Best Appetizer
Item(s) appears under heading "Appetizer" or where a reasonable diner would find an appetizer on the menu
* Best Pizza
Must be part of regular menu and include vegan cheese as an option
* Best Dessert
Item(s) appears under heading "Dessert" or where a reasonable diner would find a dessert on the menu (does not include frozen desserts)
* Best Frozen Treats
Includes vegan ice creams and icy fruit treats but not milkshakes
* Best Breakfast or Brunch
Labeled as Breakfast or Brunch on a separate menu or menu section, or by times served separate from dinner / a la carte items.
* Best Smoothies or Milkshakes
Blended beverage thicker than juice
* Best Airport/Bus/Train Station Food
Airport = PHL. Stations are any within the specified 8-county region. Venue is in or adjacent to facility, not across street
* Best Cheap Vegan Meal (under $12 per person)
$11.99 before tax & tip, so menu prices only apply
* Best Non-Food Vegan Business
All products/services are vegan and cruelty-free, none are food. Company either has a vegan owner or a vegan mission (or both!).
Ready to go? Vote!