Restaurant's Spaghetti and Meatballs Beat Out Other Restaurants' Fare  

For Immediate Release:
November 18, 2009

Contact:
Kate Brindle 757-622-7382

Portland, Ore. -- If you're one of the growing number of Americans who are looking for tasty, healthy, and humane alternatives to a traditional favorite, you're in luck. That's because delicious, 100 percent meat-free meatballs are springing up at restaurants everywhere. So PETA set out to find the finest of the faux, and Portobello Vegan Trattoria in Portland has made the group's top 10 list.

Portobello Vegan Trattoria's spaghetti and meatballs feature zucchini noodles in a tomato-basil sauce with a giant faux-meatball on top. Bursting with flavor, the restaurant's faux meatballs have a truly "meaty" texture or "mouth feel."

"The delicious faux meatballs at Portobello Vegan Trattoria are the real deal because they offer all the flavor of traditional meatballs but are associated with none of the cruelty or cholesterol," says PETA vegan campaign coordinator Kate Brindle. "This eatery is a great example of the growing number of restaurants that are satisfying America's hunger for healthy and humane cuisine."

Taking the crown was San Francisco's Ike's Place for its Vegan Meatless Mike with spicy marinara and soy cheese and its Not So Sloppy Ike with tangy barbecue sauce. Coming in second was The Greenery Raw Food Cafe in Encinitas, Calif., for its faux meatballs, which are made from finely ground organic walnuts and served on fresh, spaghetti-like zucchini noodles with marinara sauce. Philadelphia's famous Gianna's Grille captured third place with its "Haastile" meatball sub with sauteed onions, green peppers, and mushrooms. Rounding out the top five are the almond-Brazil nut meatballs at New York City's Caravan of Dreams and the baked tofu meatball wrap at Twisted Tree Cafe in Asbury Park, N.J. All winners will receive a framed certificate to display on the wall.

For more information on all the winners, please click here.