Vegans and meat eaters alike can enjoy Ethos

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In front of Lake Ivanhoe in downtown Orlando is Ethos Vegan Kitchen, a new restaurant that offers a wide range of hearty meat-free dishes like Sheep's Pie (a meat-free Shepherd's Pie), A Fungus Among Us (Grilled portobello mushrooms) and pecan-encrusted eggplant."I try to come as often as I can. I try to come once a week," Ethos customer Veronica Santiago said. "The people are awesome, they are honest. It's like a big community here." Veganism is a type of vegetarianism in which none of the food products come from animal sources. That eliminates foods such as honey, cheese and eggs.In 2008, Orlando Weekly chose Ethos as the newspaper's pick for the best vegan/vegetarian venue in Orlando, and the newspaper's readers voted the restaurant the No. 1 Orlando vegan venue and their No. 3 pick of the best breakfast in Orlando. After three years of planning, husband and wife owners Kelly and Laina Shockley opened Ethos in 2007

on the day after Christmas. "I've been a vegan for about seven years now, something like that," Kelly Shockley said. "And I always wanted to open up a restaurant, and I owned a vegan hot dog stand downtown for a while, so I saw that there was a demand for this type of cuisine, so we decided to open this up." Kelly said he adapted to the diet for moral, ethical, environmental and health reasons.He stresses that people who come to their restaurant do not have to be vegan or vegetarian to enjoy dining there."I don't necessarily think that people should eat vegan food," Shockley said. "I don't try to tell anybody to do anything. We're just trying to offer an option to people." The restaurant keeps true to its name by operating under what the Shockleys feel to be ethical business practices. In addition to serving vegan food, the restaurant also uses primarily organic foods, uses only sweatshop-free clothing for the

store's uniforms and is a member of the city of Orlando's Green Business Program. They also provide a worker-friendly environment by paying their employees a living wage as opposed to minimum wage and providing a safe, comfortable and equitable workplace for the workers."It's a really good atmosphere," said Jeff McNulty, Ethos's prep cook. "Everyone gets along really well, we are treated well. We all care about the place, so we all work together very well." Ethos Vegan Kitchen is located at 1235 N Orange Ave., Suite 101. They are open Monday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.

 

Peter vv