So what makes a good veggie burger?
Its the sauce, says Clay DAltroy, co-owner of Loving Hut Express, a bright yellow food truck based in Yaletown that specializes in vegan and vegetarian sandwiches and burgers. You need a good alternative protein, but its all about the sauces and we do all of our sauces from scratch. We make a vegan mayo, a chipotle mayo, a vegan cheese sauce its a lot healthier than all of the cholesterol you get from dairy products.
The is one of about 30 businesses and groups taking part in the 2nd annual , an outdoor festival promoting vegan, vegetarian and animal-friendly lifestyles that takes place Aug. 4 from 11am to 7pm on Granville Street (between Georgia and Robson streets).
The goal is to get veganism and vegetarianism in the public view to let people see what its all about, says festival coordinator Johnathan Skinner. A lot of people ask questions like, Is it healthy to be vegetarian? or Is there good vegetarian food? We want to answer those questions.
DAltroy says it was an easy decision to become involved with the festival.
We just want to support the awareness that Veg Fest is trying to promote the vegetarian, vegan lifestyle, he says. Theyre doing a great thing, educating the public on the benefits of a vegan lifestyle for ones health, the environment and the economy and the well-being of animals worldwide.
And thats what were all about, he adds. Were a Veg Fest every single day of the year. Were Veg Fest on the street.
In addition to Loving Hut Express, Veg Fest will host a wide range of local vegan-friendly food vendors, clothing brands and animal advocacy groups including Zimpt Artisan Chocolate, Nice Shoes and Liberation BC.
The sophomore year of the festival is the result of a successful turnout during the first Veg Fest in 2011 in which attending vegan bakers sold out of all of their product half way through the day.
Ive seen it grow so much, says Skinner who has been vegan for 12 years. Especially in the past couple of years, theres been a huge boom in new businesses and food. Being vegan used to be a taboo subject, but theres been so many celebrities and public figures who are now vegan its become more mainstream, more accepted. These days, a lot of people are just curious and want to try it.
DAltroy says the Loving Hut food has fooled many carnivores with their Bacon Cheese Burger and Crispy Chickn Burger.
People have come, seven or eight times and they didnt even know it was vegan, DAltroy says with a laugh. We just want people to know that you can have all of the flavours and all of emotional ties to the food you grew up with and just sub the meat for an alternative protein.
For more information on the festival, visit .
