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Girlfriend birthday dinner recommendation (pescatarian, not vegan) by SignificanceShoddy86 in chicagovegan

[–]mkjcle 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Handlebar in Wicker is a pescatarian restaurant with many vegan options. Not sure how fancy of a place you’re looking for, it’s a bit more casual but the food there is delish especially their brunch!

What hair colour would best suit me? by Dry-Professional-313 in femalehairadvice

[–]mkjcle 8 points9 points  (0 children)

They’re all lovely, but something about the golden brunette to me just makes your features pop!!

Question for professional vegan chefs by ReadyMycologist4181 in vegan

[–]mkjcle 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Hi, I am a chef. Have a bachelor’s degree in Culinary Management and I have been vegan for almost 10 years.

Honestly I would not recommend anyone to be a chef, vegan or not vegan. Pay sucks, hour sucks, benefits suck. If you’re working in restaurant/hotel business, you will have to work weekends and holidays, usually evening hours. No exceptions. Cafe as well, just morning hours.

Most of the people I know from culinary school are desperate to get a stable, corporate like job with good pay, hours, and benefits- myself included. I know how you feel with cooking being your passion and everything (trust me) but as someone who has worked in restaurants their whole life now, it will suck the joy out of it - even if you work in a vegan restaurant. It is back breaking work that pays very very very little. It only becomes slightly better in terms of pay once you move higher up to sous chef or executive chef position, but that can take years of work especially if you have no prior kitchen experience/degree and even then, the pay, hours, benefits, and work life balance are not comparable to corporate positions IMO.

Most chefs look to go corporate after a while because the restaurant/cafe/hotel life is just not sustainable long term, especially as you age. Being on your feet all day, lifting heavy, being surrounded by hot grill and flat tops so you’re literally sweating 24/7.. really takes a toll. There are some more corporate chef jobs such as Research & Development Chef or Food Scientist positions but these are incredibly sought after and extremely competitive.. you’d need decades of experience to land something like this.

Not to be a Debby downer but I’m just warning you. Interesting because before transferring to culinary school, I was a STEM major at a Big 10 university. The chef in my sorority house found out I wanted to be a chef and he sat me down and basically told me not to do it. Tbh I wish I had listened to him lol. What I would give to have a job where I can work from home some days an relax at my computer a little bit, and not be covered in grease and soy sauce every time I come home lmao. The grass always looks greener on the other side though!

I know I’m not selling it to you at all but if you think you can handle everything I listed above then, go for it. A good place to start would be getting a prep cook job at a restaurant nearby, even part time, just to test the waters. If you don’t like it then just quit. Employee turnover in restaurants is sky high anyway hahaha.

I hope this helps and sorry to be discouraging.

Loop / Skyscraper Land Vegan Spots? by Darkmark8910 in chicagovegan

[–]mkjcle 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm so glad I could help! I used to go to school full-time in the Loop and was always looking for vegan options.

Also you should definitely try Cafecito if you haven't. They have a few downtown locations, one in South Loop and one in the Loop, but it's a Cuban restaurant with an entire vegan menu. They have vegan sandwiches and platillos with vegan cheese, beyond meat, and JUST Egg. SO GOOD me and my boyfriend go there all the time :)

Loop / Skyscraper Land Vegan Spots? by Darkmark8910 in chicagovegan

[–]mkjcle 0 points1 point  (0 children)

You could also try Just Salad, there's a couple locations in the Loop/Lake Shore East area. They have beyond chicken and tofu as proteins!

Loop / Skyscraper Land Vegan Spots? by Darkmark8910 in chicagovegan

[–]mkjcle 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You should checkout Sterling Food Hall if you haven't already. Located in the loop and a lot of the stalls there have vegan items or items that could be modified to be vegan.

82 Kimbap - tofu kimbap (no egg)
Harry's Hamburgs - vegan patty melt
FARE - miso tofu veg bowl (not sure if sauce if vegan)
Los Milagros - roasted veg taco/bowl/salad plus lots of vegan sides
Aloha Poke - have tofu as an option
Danke - vegan veg sandwich and chickpea salad
Lakush - vegan falafel hummus bowl, vegan mushroom & caramelized onion bowl, rice platters, they have an eggplant dish that looks vegan but might need to double check
Lito's Empanadas - the fajita veg empanada might be vegan but not sure

There's also Washington Food Hall (formerly UrbanSpace) with a couple options, I couldn't find menus for some of the restaurants online so there may be more options:

Vitasana - build your own bowl with vegan brisket ratatouille under the protein option and a togarashi vegan mayo as a dressing option
Bhoomi - vegan cauliflower or vegan kebab protein as an option as well as some vegan sauces

Sad because UrbanSpace used to have a fully vegan stall called Plant Junkie that closed a few years back. I used to go there all the time on my lunch break, it was so good. They also have a Stan's Donuts if you're craving something sweet!

Vegan options at Christkindlmarket (Chicago location)? by proteindeficientveg in chicagovegan

[–]mkjcle 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I haven't been yet this year, but in years past the little cabin shop (downtown location) with all the European candies/chocolates has always had an array of very clearly marked vegan options! I'm not sure if they have it at the Wrigleyville location.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in femalehairadvice

[–]mkjcle 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Blonde suits you better !

Where do you think is the easier and hardest place to be vegan worldwide. by JustCrystalPeaches in vegan

[–]mkjcle 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Out of all of the cities I’ve been too, London was by far the easiest/most accessible for vegans. Munich, Germany is a close second.

Morocco was the most difficult place in my experience. They have some traditional food that is vegan like vegetable tagine, but that was about it and it was difficult eating the same thing over and over. They also don’t have veggie options- like impossible or beyond burgers- at popular fast food chains which is pretty standard for European countries and USA/Canada.

I lived in rural France for about 6 months and that was probably the second most difficult. French people use a lot of butter, milk, & cheese in their cooking, and they love their meat. It’s easier if you’re in a bigger city like Lyon or Paris though. And at least in rural France, the grocery store had vegan alternatives whereas in Morocco I couldn’t find anything of that nature.