There’s never been a better time to eat vegan in Dallas. Vegan-focused restaurants are popping up more frequently in Dallas and its suburbs, despite our beefy reputation once as a steakhouse mecca.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, noticed: It named Dallas as its No. 7 best vegan city in a list of 10.
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from eating animal products, including meat and dairy. Part of PETA’s motto is “animals are not ours to eat.”
Tracy Reiman, PETA’s executive vice president, says in a prepared statement that Dallas has “one of the best vegan dining scenes around." Even the Texas Rangers concessions team added vegan items a few years ago. That effort earned Globe Life Park the honor of PETA’s No. 1 vegan-friendly ballpark in 2017.
Dallas’ uptick in vegan restaurants is right on time, as The Economist named 2019 “the year of the vegan.” It noted that 2019 is “the year veganism goes mainstream."
In the description of why Dallas deserves its No. 7 ranking, PETA named more than a dozen Dallas-area restaurants and bakeries selling vegan food. The list included a nod to Tiki Loco, a newish vegan taco shop in Deep Ellum; Da Munchies and V-Eats Modern Vegan, both in West Dallas; El Palote Panaderia in Pleasant Grove and more.
The list also gives credit to Al Biernat’s, a steakhouse in Addison and Highland Park that now has a vegan menu. We’ll continue to see other meat-centric restaurants follow Al Biernat’s lead. Mi Cocina and Blue Sushi Sake Grill just announced vegan menus as well.
As The Economist suggests, the trend is likely to continue: Meat-free options please people eating a plant-based diet, sure, but they also are popular among vegetarians, people with allergies or those focusing on eating meals with less meat. A 2014 report from Harvard Medical School says 2.5 million people ages 55 or older have stopped eating red meat and poultry. A report in the Journal of the American Heart Association says people who eat plant-based diets have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease mortality.
Dallas-Fort Worth has other notable vegan restaurants and shops that didn’t make PETA’s list. A vegan restaurant called Viridescent Kitchen opened in Plano in mid-2019, and a DeSoto resident named James McGee has opened a shop called Peave Love & Eatz in his neighborhood after he lost 100 pounds on a vegan diet.
When pop star Billie Eilish toured in Dallas, she ordered vegan food from a Dallas catering company called Soulgood.
Dallas was the only Texas city on the top 10 list. PETA’s top two vegan-friendly cities were San Francisco and Los Angeles.
According to a news release, Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson has been sent a certificate to commemorate the award. Johnson says in a statement: “I am pleased to learn of this recognition, and I am proud of our city’s diverse dining scene.”
For more food news, follow Sarah Blaskovich on Twitter at @sblaskovich.
Correction at 1:15 p.m. Nov. 18, 2019: This story previously said the mayor’s name is Erin Johnson. Oops.
