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There is hope for Central Florida’s dining scene after all – a late night vegan option on a Sunday! We were driving through the streets of Winter Park at 10:00 PM on a Sunday, scouring Yelp for something yummy, healthy and OPEN. When finally I stumbled upon Ethos Vegan Kitchen, I knew instantly that we had to try it. Ethos Vegan Kitchen has been in Central Florida since 2007, although recently moving to Winter Park from Downtown Orlando. They have a large, welcoming dining area and are open seven days a week until 11:00 PM. They also serve brunch on Saturdays and Sundays – which I’m excited to try the next time I’m in Orlando.
If you are vegan, you must try this restaurant. If you are not vegan, you must try this restaurant. If you are a beer drinking, steak devouring man, you must try this restaurant. Ethos Vegan Kitchen is the epitome of vegan-conversion restaurants. Bring your whole family here, they will be amazed that there are absolutely no animal products in the dishes. Ethos has a great FAQ section on their website, where they explain that they aren’t interested in converting you. Believe me, you won’t need to be persuaded with food this delicious.
According to the reviews online, and Ethos’ menu, the most popular menu items are their “What’s the Dilly, Philly?”, a philly cheese-seitan sandwich, and the Pecan Encrusted Eggplant, which we tried cheerfully. We opted for the garlic knots as an appetizer and a vegan beer to drink. The biggest compliment my longtime boyfriend gave was that he couldn’t even tell the food was vegan. Coming from a big meat-rice-and-beans guy, that is a huge accomplishment for Ethos.
Oh, the garlic knots ($3.95) – I will be dreaming of you. Who cares if I had to down a pack of Altoids after, every bite was worth it. A great opening dish, the garlic knots are fluffy, garlicky rolls served with a simple butter sauce.
The “What’s the Dilly, Philly?” ($8.75), a crusty roll filled with grilled onions, red and green peppers, mozzarella cheese, veganaise and succulent marinated seitan. Absolutely, deliciously addictive. We took half home and it was even better the next morning for breakfast. Just pop it in the toaster oven, it gets gooey all over again.
Skip the Tofurky next Thanksgiving and go to Ethos – the Pecan Encrusted Eggplant ($12.95) tasted like Thanksgiving on a plate. Crispy eggplant drizzled with a sweet red wine reduction, served with the daily vegetable (I got asparagus) and mashed potatoes. I’ll ask for a bit more red wine sauce next time, which was my only complaint. The sauce was so good, I wanted every bite of eggplant to have some.
I’m really excited to come back for brunch – and a few more times for lunch/dinner to try some of the other menu items. You just cannot beat the price compared to the quality of the food, coupled with the amazing ambience and location. I also loved reading Ethos’ website, seeing how dedicated the owners Laina and Kelly are to their business and their employees. Please, Laina and Kelly, bring your amazing food to Miami – we need an affordable vegan restaurant down here!
Ethos Vegan Kitchen
601-B New York Avenue, Winter Park, FL 32789
Veg On The Run 