Raise a Stein! Milwaukee’s Vanguard Nabs National Top 10 Vegan Sausage Award During Oktoberfest 

For Immediate Release:
September 28, 2026

Contact:
Alex Payne 202-483-7382

Prost to that! A vegan sausage is stealing the spotlight this Oktoberfest—Milwaukee’s own The Vanguard has landed a spot on PETA’s Top Ten list of restaurants serving up the best vegan sausages in the country. The Downtown Bay View restaurant and bar offers a mouthwatering Vegan Brat made with house-made seitan and topped with sauerkraut and onions. Diners can also indulge in a variety of other vegan options, including Vegan Chorizo made with house seitan, smoked paprika, chipotle, and oregano, topped with tomato, onion, and jalapeño—as well as tasty vegan ranch and vegan cheese dipping sauces.

“The Vanguard is serving up scrumptious, sizzling sausages that give pigs and cows something to celebrate, too, and burst with bold, plant-powered flavor,” says PETA Founder Ingrid Newkirk. “Every vegan sausage on PETA’s Top Ten list is worth raising a glass to, as it’s perfect for Oktoberfest and leaves animals in peace.”

There’s a health bonus in every bite, too: The World Health Organization classifies processed meat as “carcinogenic to humans”—the same group as tobacco smoking and asbestos—based on evidence that eating processed meat, such as sausages, causes colorectal cancer.

Pigs are soothed by music, and cows mourn when a loved one dies or when they’re separated from each other. Yet in the meat industry, workers cut off pigs’ tails and teeth and castrate the males—all without any pain relief—and confine cows to cramped, filthy feedlots before sending both to slaughter at a fraction of their natural lifespan. PETA’s free vegan starter kit can help anyone looking to make the switch.

The Vanguard will receive a framed award certificate from PETA along with bragging rights. Other winning restaurants include Hollerbach’s German Restaurant in Sanford, Florida; Dat Dog in New Orleans, Louisiana; and Fassler Hall in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

The Vanguard is located at 2659 S. Kinnickinnic Ave. in Milwaukee, and the kitchen is open from 11 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Thursday, and 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Friday and Saturday.  

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.