Arizona: A Vegan Deli Just Popped Up in This Legendary Restaurant and We’re Obsessed

From vegnews.com

By Charlotte Pointing

Arizona restaurateur Damon Brasch draws on his Midwest roots at Mother Board Analog Meats, a new vegan deli reinventing classic Italian subs

The Midwest is known for its meat. The region is home to hundreds of thousands of farms, and many of its most famous dishes centre on animal products. Think Wisconsin beer brats, Kansas City barbecue, Chicago-style hot dogs. 

Damon Brasch grew up in this culture, in a large Italian family, where meat was always served at the centre of the plate. Now based in Arizona, he still feels nostalgic about the food that played such a huge role in his upbringing. 

“There’s really nothing quite like an Italian hoagie,” he told VegNews. “It’s the crunch of the bread, the yield of the meat and cheese against your teeth, and that perfect combination of fresh lettuce, tomato, and onion.”

Today, though, Brasch doesn’t eat meat at all. In fact, he’s an established plant-based restaurateur in Arizona—the founder of the 20-year-old vegan restaurant Green New American, which has locations in Tempe and Phoenix, and the Phoenix coffee-and-ice-cream shop Nami.

Green New American is beloved for its creative, plant-based twists on traditional comfort foods, such as wings, cheesy nachos, quesadillas, and po’ boys. But Brasch wanted to take things further. That’s why he has just opened a whole new venture, inspired by that meaty upbringing in the Midwest: Mother Board Analog Meats.

“The one thing we won’t compromise on is serving animal products, and we think we’ve done a pretty good job proving over the years that you don’t need to. Whether it’s green New American Vegetarian, Nami, or now Mother Board, we’re incredibly proud to serve our community.”

The new Arizona go-to for hearty vegan Italian sandwiches

Analog Vegan

The vegan deli, located in Tempe’s Green New American, has been in the making for more than a year. “We’re so excited to finally introduce our meats to the world,” said Brasch. “We feel like now is the right time because, really, who doesn’t love a delicious sandwich filled with the best handmade vegan deli cuts we’ve ever tasted? We took our time developing something we were genuinely proud of, and now we’re ready for people to experience it.”

The results of that extensive research and development include the Mother Teresa sandwich, with the deli’s own vegan turkey seitan and provolone cheese; the Uncle Alan, with sliced salami, capicola, and mortadeli; and the Jersey Boss, with sliced ham, turkey, and cheddar cheese.

Most of the sandwiches come with The Fix, the deli’s signature combination of lettuce, tomato, onions, mayonnaise, sweets and hots, red and sherry wine sauce, and a 12-inch hoagie roll.

“We wanted to recreate the entire experience without sacrificing anything that makes an Italian sub so satisfying,” added Brasch. “And nobody has to die, be killed, or suffer for it. To us, it’s a no-brainer.”

“Our hope is that people won’t come to our restaurants because they’re great vegan restaurants, but because they’re great restaurants. Delicious food, a cool experience, affordable prices, and amazing customer service are what we want to deliver.”

The choice of the word “analog” in the deli’s name might seem unconventional, but it’s entirely deliberate. In basic terms, it means “something that is similar or comparable to something else,” per Merriam-Webster, and for Brasch and his team, this feels more accurate than words like “plant-based” or “alternative.”

“‘Plant-based’ has become such a broad category that it doesn’t really describe what we’re doing,” he explained. “We aren’t simply removing meat from a dish or substituting it with vegetables. We’re creating food that’s meant to occupy the same space as traditional meats, with its own texture, flavour, preparation, and personality.”

https://vegnews.com/mother-board-analog-meats

Vegan Sandwiches In LA Are Beating Meat At This Award-Winning Deli

From plantbasednews.org

Here's proof that great sandwiches do not require meat 

Vegan sandwiches in LA are giving traditional meat-filled delis serious competition, and one Highland Park spot now has the ranking to prove it.

Maciel’s Plant-Based Butcher Shop was recently named the best sandwich shop in California and the fifth best in the United States by Only In Your State. The ranking is notable for one simple reason: Maciel’s makes everything without animal products.

Eunice Reyes, known for her YouTube channel Rated V for Vegan, recently visited the Los Angeles deli to try several of its sandwiches and learn how the shop makes its plant-based meats. Reyes has built her platform around vegan food and travel, showing viewers that plant-based eating can fit into different cultures, cities, and food traditions. Her mission is not just to review restaurants, but to show how vegan food can be exciting, accessible, and rooted in real culinary experiences.

In the video, Reyes frames Maciel’s as more than a vegan novelty. The shop is not trying to serve a small niche or make food that only appeals to long-time vegans. Instead, it takes the structure of a classic deli and reworks it with seitan, tofu, jackfruit, beans, beets, and spices. The result is a menu built around sandwiches that look familiar, taste rich, and still align with the owners’ ethics.

“Most people believe the perfect sandwich requires meat,” Reyes says at the start of the video. Maciel’s, however, makes the opposite case.

A plant-based butcher built around flavour and ethics

Maciel’s Plant-Based Butcher Shop in Los Angeles has been named the best sandwich shop in California and the fifth best in the United States - Media Credit: YouTube / Rated V for Vegan

Maciel, the chef and co-owner of Maciel’s, opened the shop with her husband in 2022. She says the idea came from three priorities: animal welfare, the planet, and healthy eating.

The deli concept started while the couple lived in New York, where traditional delis are part of everyday food culture. Maciel was already making plant-based meats at home because she wanted food that still resembled meat, but matched her vegan values and nutritional goals.

“I wanted to eat something that still resembles meat, but I wanted to be vegan and also nutritious,” Maciel says.

That balance matters throughout the video. Maciel explains that the shop makes its meats in-house using ingredients such as seitan, tofu, jackfruit, beans, beets, and spices. The team also considers protein, fibre, and flavour. For Maciel, a plant-based deli should not ask people to choose between ethics and pleasure.

She says the shop was designed to be inclusive, not just for vegans. “This is not just a restaurant for vegans,” Maciel says. “Everybody’s welcome to come and to try.”

That approach runs through Reyes’ reaction to the food. She points out that many people still view plant-based meats as overly processed, but argues that the word itself is often misunderstood. Pasta, she notes, is processed too. The real question is what ingredients go into the food.

At Maciel’s, the central protein is often seitan. Reyes explains that seitan is made with vital wheat gluten, the isolated protein from wheat. Most of the starch has been washed away, leaving a high-protein base with very few carbs. At the deli, the seitan is mixed with legumes and spices, seasoned, and cooked in-house to create different textures and flavours.

The scale is also impressive. Reyes says Maciel’s uses about 750 pounds of wheat gluten and 1,200 pounds of tofu each month. That gives viewers a sense of just how much demand there is for vegan sandwiches in LA when the food is made with care.

The Californian and the smoky lead the menu

YouTube / Rated V for VeganAt Maciel’s Plant-Based Butcher Shop in Los Angeles, seitan is made in-house from wheat gluten seasoned with legumes and spices

Reyes begins her tasting with two of Maciel’s most popular sandwiches: the Californian and the smoky.

The Californian is one of the deli’s top sellers and Maciel’s own favourite. Reyes describes it as simple and fresh, but stresses that its appeal comes from the way the ingredients work together. The sandwich includes plant-based turkey, mayo, alfalfa sprouts, tomato, and avocado.

“This is so good,” Reyes says after trying it.

She notes that Maciel’s uses avocado in several menu items, which gives the sandwiches a creamy texture without making them feel heavy. The sprouts add freshness, while the turkey-style protein gives the sandwich a deli-style centre. On paper, Reyes says, it may look like a basic sandwich with sprouts, but the combination is what makes it stand out.

Next comes the smoky, another top contender. Reyes opens the sandwich to show the plant protein inside and reacts to the grilled onions, avocado, cheese, and toasted bread. The smoky has a richer profile than the Californian, with caramelized onions playing a major role.

“Oh, wow. These grilled onions make this sandwich,” Reyes says.

She also praises the bread, which is grilled until crisp. That detail matters because a good deli sandwich depends on structure as much as filling. The bread needs to hold everything together, offer contrast, and add flavour of its own. Reyes says she understands why the smoky has become one of the shop’s most popular options.

Breakfast burritos, chorizo, and a nod to Maciel’s roots

Maciel’s is not only known for deli sandwiches. Reyes also tries one of its breakfast burritos, which she orders extra grilled.

The burrito stands out because of its chorizo-style flavour. Reyes explains that one of the first proteins Maciel developed was chorizo, influenced by her Mexican background. Even though the deli menu does not lean heavily into Mexican flavours overall, the chorizo gives this breakfast option a personal connection to Maciel’s culinary roots.

Reyes says she usually likes crispy potatoes inside her burritos, and this one does not include them. Still, she wanted to try it because of the chorizo flavour. She describes the flavour as delicious and highlights how the grilled exterior improves the texture.

The burrito also shows how Maciel’s applies the same approach beyond sandwiches. The shop is not simply swapping meat for a single vegan protein. It is building a full deli and breakfast menu around plant-based ingredients that can carry different styles, textures, and cuisines.

Deli nostalgia: Pastrami, French dip, and chicken parmesan

One of the most striking items Reyes tries is the pastrami French dip. She dips the sandwich into the gravy and reacts immediately.

“Oh my gosh, that gravy tastes like Thanksgiving,” Reyes says. “This is delicious.”

The pastrami flavour also impresses her. Reyes explains that when Maciel and her husband Joe were developing the proteins, they asked non-vegan friends to taste them. Some came from Kansas City, a place closely associated with meat-heavy food culture. Reyes jokes that if those friends approved, the protein must be good.

The pastrami French dip captures one of the main themes of the video: plant-based food can keep the comfort, ritual, and nostalgia of meat-based meals without relying on animals. It gives people the dip, gravy, bread, and rich seasoning they expect from a deli sandwich, but in a vegan format.

Reyes then tries the chicken parmesan sandwich, which includes breaded plant-based chicken, marinara, cheese, and pesto. She says she has had it before and already knows it is good, but she tries it again to show another protein on the menu.

This section leads into one of Reyes’ clearest explanations of why vegan meat exists. She pushes back on the common criticism that vegans should not eat food that resembles meat.

“Just because you’re vegan doesn’t mean you didn’t like the taste of meat,” Reyes says.

She adds that she ate meat for many years because she liked the taste. For many people, the decision to go vegan is not about rejecting familiar flavours. It is about rejecting the harm tied to animal agriculture. Plant-based meats can act as a bridge, a comfort food, or simply a way to enjoy familiar textures with different ingredients.

Reyes says animal meat itself is often a blank canvas that depends on seasoning. Plant-based proteins can work the same way. With the right spices, marinades, and cooking methods, ingredients such as seitan and tofu can carry the same flavours people grew up enjoying.

The Tuscan is Reyes’ favourite

Reyes saves the Tuscan for last and makes it clear that this is the sandwich she recommends most often.

“When I tell people to come to Maciel’s, I always tell them, ‘Get the Tuscan,’” Reyes says.

She describes it as her favourite and notes that Joe, Maciel’s husband, also loves it. While she does not break down every ingredient in the same detail as the other sandwiches, her reaction makes the point. The Tuscan is the kind of menu item that builds loyalty. It is the one she tells people to order first and the one she clearly plans to finish.

Maciel’s also sells vegan cheeses, including Rebel Cheese, along with its own deli meats. Reyes says West Coast customers may soon be able to order the shop’s products directly, which would allow people outside Los Angeles to try the meats at home.

For a deli built around vegan sandwiches in LA, that expansion suggests something bigger than local hype. The demand is not only coming from vegans looking for safe menu options. It is also coming from people who want a better sandwich.

A plant-forward meal can be climate action

Toward the end of the video, Reyes connects the meal back to climate action. She praises restaurants like Maciel’s for helping make plant-based eating feel approachable, especially for people who do not identify as vegan.

She says many people know the meat industry contributes to carbon emissions, but do not always know where to start. A restaurant like Maciel’s gives them an easy entry point. They can order one plant-based meal a week, or one a day, and still eat something flavourful and familiar.

“It’s all about just delicious, flavourful food,” Reyes says.

That idea is also at the heart of Maciel’s story. Maciel and Reyes both make clear that they liked the taste of meat before going vegan. Their shift was not driven by a lack of interest in deli sandwiches, chorizo, turkey, pastrami, or chicken parmesan. It came from a desire to stop contributing to animal suffering and environmental harm while still eating food they enjoyed.

Maciel’s answers that challenge with sandwiches that are meant to be healthy, delicious, and ethical. Its ranking shows that plant-based food no longer needs to be treated as a compromise. When made well, it can compete with the most celebrated sandwich shops in the country.

For Reyes, Maciel’s is proof that vegan sandwiches in LA can do more than imitate meat. They can beat it on flavour, creativity, and purpose.

https://plantbasednews.org/lifestyle/food/award-winning-vegan-sandwiches-in-la/

Why Isa Chandra Moskowitz Is Done With Restaurants—and Turning Focus to Sandwiches and Tim Robinson

From vegnews.com

By Charlotte Pointing

Isa Chandra Moskowitz is back with The 29-Minute Vegan. The cookbook icon opens up about quick recipes, fresh starts, and life after restaurants

For Isa Chandra Moskowitz, there’s nothing quite like cooking. “As a kid, flipping through a box of recipe cards was just as fun as rollerskating,” she writes on her vegan recipe blog, Post Punk Kitchen.

Cooking has long been Moskowitz’s love language, and her passion for veganism and food has taken her in many directions. She hosted her own cooking show in the early 2000s and opened two vegan restaurants under the Modern Love banner—one in her native Brooklyn and another in Nebraska—but sharing food through the written word may be her truest calling. Alongside her blog, Moskowitz has authored multiple cookbooks. In fact, the vegan chef is now on her 12th title: The 29-Minute Vegan: Real Food, Real Vibes, Anytime.

For Moskowitz, the new cookbook is about more than quick, easy, and delicious plant-based recipes (though it certainly delivers plenty of those). It also reflects a new chapter in her life. Like many restaurant owners, the vegan chef has faced challenges in recent years. Modern Love’s Nebraska location closed in 2024, followed by the Brooklyn restaurant in 2025.

                                     The 29-Minute Vegan: Real Food, Real Vibes, Anytime is out and available to purchase now

Moskowitz had seen the signs for some time. Before the closures, she joined other vegan business owners in speaking with VegNews about the difficulties of keeping a vegan restaurant afloat in the current economic climate. “I don’t think the storm is over,” she said at the time. “What are these tariffs going to do to us? Where does the avocado come from? Where does the tofu come from? Will we have to raise prices?”

Modern Love isn’t alone. Oakland’s Millennium recently announced its closure after more than three decades in business, while Brooklyn favourite Toad Style shuttered suddenly in May.

But Moskowitz isn’t dwelling on the past. Quite the opposite, in fact. She’s embracing a newfound freedom away from restaurant ownership and focusing on The 29-Minute Vegan. Below, she shares more about the new book, including the recipes she makes on repeat, why she wants to cook for Tim Robinson, and why she’s feeling content in this latest chapter of her life.

                                                                 Moskowitz’s new cookbook is full of easy, quick recipes

VegNews: What inspired you to focus on quick, under-30-minute meals for this book?

Isa Chandra Moskowitz: It was basically life deciding for me. I had a very busy and stressful few years (was I the only one?), and I still wanted really delicious food, so it was this natural process of figuring out how to get there. It happened very naturally, and I hope that it’s what makes the book really work, because it worked for me. 

VegNews: Do you have a personal favourite recipe from the book right now? 

Moskowitz: I am loving the sandwich section, maybe it’s this transitional spring weather, but a sandwich manages to be both warm-weather and cold-weather food. So I love the first recipe in the book, the Stacked Tofu Deli Sammy, with all the thinly sliced tofu slices and balsamic mayo and the usual sandwich suspects. I also make the Chickpea Salad BLT a lot because it has tons of protein and my favourite flavours: dilly chickpea salad and smoky tempeh bacon. 

Okay, and just one last thing, the Pad Thai from the Pasta & Noodles chapter. I know I have Pad Thai in every book, but somehow this is my favourite yet. I have been on a yuba kick.

VegNews: Many people associate vegan cooking with time or complexity. How does this book challenge that perception?

Moskowitz: As Yoda said, there is no try, there is only do. Once you make the recipes, you will understand that it’s not that deep. Vegan cooking can be as easy as you let it be. I think vegans like to have fun and make seitan roasts and cashew cheese sometimes, but these are not for those times. Even though there are a few quick cashew cheeses in the book. 

VegNews: If you could cook a 29-minute meal for anyone (past or present), who would it be and what would you make?

Moskowitz: Well, off the top of my head, and if I am being totally honest, it would be Tim Robinson (I Think You Should Leave). First of all, it seems like he has been leaning vegan lately, and maybe that will be the final straw. He will say, “It’s simply TOO GOOD.” But also, I just need to laugh. And if I were able to make him laugh without making it look fake, that would just carry me through the rest of my life.

VegNews: Since the closure of Modern Love, how has your day-to-day life and creative focus shifted?

Moskowitz: Well, I mean, how hasn’t it?

It’s night and day. It’s kind of impossible to explain, but I am able to be a person again. 

VegNews: What have you learned from stepping away from the restaurant world?

Moskowitz: That there are sunsets, and I can call my mother and spend time with my cats, and go to the movies, and that it’s okay to just breathe and exist. 

                                                                               Moskowitz’s go-to? The sandwich section

VegNews: Do you see yourself returning to restaurants in the future, or are you excited to focus on other avenues?

Moskowitz: I don’t see myself returning to restaurants in the future. It would have to be the exact right situation, and I don’t see that happening in our current climate. I’m excited to focus on other things. I am still healing from the psychological trauma of the whole situation. 

VegNews: How does this new cookbook reflect where you are in your life right now?

Moskowitz: I think it’s bright and happy, and I hope that my future is that way, too. I am in my fifties now and starting everything over, so that is a pretty wild place to be. I think a lot of women are in that same position. I hope that these quick, yummy meals help everyone get a little more time back in their day to do what they want with the time we have. And have fun doing it.

Want more of Moskowitz’s recipes? Find some of our favourites below:

• Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s Irish Stout Stew With Fluffy Potato Biscuits
• Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s Famous Banana French Toast
• Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s Tempeh and Broccoli Stir-Fry
• Vegan Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies
• Crispy Baked Vegan Fish Sticks With Tartar Sauce

https://vegnews.com/why-isa-chandra-moskowitz-is-done-with-restaurants 

The Best Bacon, Egg And Cheese Is In Brooklyn. It’s Vegan.

From forbes.com

Eggs. Bacon. American cheese. Two pieces of soft, toasted, buttery bread. Maybe a dash of hot sauce, not too much, just enough to give it a little zip while still tasting that wonderfully melted cheese.

​There is no better way to start the day than with the perfect bacon, egg and cheese (BEC), and no breakfast more synonymous with life in New York City. It’s the reliable grab-and-go sunrise feast found at every corner bodega, the routine morning repast of the 9-5 subway straphanger and a key ingredient of any tried and true hangover cure.

​The sandwich’s history is ambiguous. Its ties to Industrial Revolution London street vendors, 19th-century Chinese rail workers and Basque immigrants who worked as miners and shepherds in the Nevada Territory make its heritage as diverse as the country that birthed it and as cosmopolitan as the city that made it an iconic, daily ritual.

Every person has their favourite spot to order one, and many restaurants, delis, bakeries and coffee shops throughout Manhattan have been touted as making some of the best.

So, when Romeo Regalli, chef and co-owner of RAS Plant Based, a popular Ethiopian-inspired restaurant in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, decided to add his own plant-based interpretation to the table, he did so with that heritage firmly in mind.

“When you’re working with such a classic dish, that people know so well, you have to be very careful,” Regalli says in a phone interview.

​“My goal was to make something that wasn’t gimmicky, that respected the classic aspects of a bacon, egg and cheese.”

And the work behind any good sandwich starts with bread.

                                                   The best bacon, egg and cheese in NYC.    Photo Courtesy of RAS Plant Based

Bread and Butter

The bread used for a BEC can be anything from the standard sandwich roll found at most bodegas to the browned pretzel roll or fluffy brioche bun often preferred by restaurants and coffee shops.

​Picking bread is a seemingly simple decision that shapes the entire first-bite experience of any sandwich. If it’s too dry, too flimsy, too soft or too crisp, bread can ruin texture, scrape the inside of someone’s mouth or just turn into a soggy mess on the plate or in someone’s lap. If it’s too dense, it will affect the important bread-to-filling ratio, and if it has too much flavour on its own, it will overpower the other ingredients entirely.

At RAS, Regalli keeps things simple, choosing a traditional whole-wheat bread that is then brushed with a house-made vegan take on Niter Kibbeh, a traditional Ethiopian clarified butter mixed with cardamom and an herb called koseret. Lightly toasted, the bread is perfectly crunchy and warm, with a rich, buttery aroma and flavour reminiscent of a favourite neighbourhood diner.

​The koseret, with its minty, herbal taste and hints of sweet basil and oregano, adds a layer of savoury sweetness to every bite. Regalli then adds a spread of rich, creamy plant-based aioli, mixed with berebere, a fiery, Ethiopian spice blend featuring chili peppers, garlic, ginger, basil, and a myriad of other spices, for a subtle yet delightful pop of relishing heat.

​It is an exceptional and delectable union, then scaffolded by the crisp, chewy, and wholly comforting texture and flavour of bacon.

Bacon Me Crazy

​Good plant-based bacon has long been considered an oxymoron within the diet. Too often, when chefs and restaurants attempt to replicate the pork protein, they fail to capture that specific, complex, and crispy texture of rendered animal fat, resulting in replicas that are either soggy, rubbery or overly dry, and also taste inauthentic or even chemical. Thus, most plant-based bacon alternatives fail to meet the standards that bacon lovers, i.e., most people, have come to expect.

​Regalli’s bacon exceeds those expectations. Built on a plant-based protein prepared and seasoned in-house, he uses a measured ratio of liquid smoke, berbere for warmth and depth and korerima (Ethiopian cardamom) for a more aromatic, slightly floral note. The plant-based bacon excellently balances smokiness with savouriness, while delivering a texture that is a perfectly rendered crispy-chewy combo.

​“We spent a lot of time refining how the bacon cooks, so that it has that balance people expect: a bit of crisp on the edges, some chew in the centre, and enough richness to carry through the whole sandwich,” says Regalli.

​The end product is nearly indistinguishable from the real thing. Ordering an additional side is almost mandatory. Meanwhile, Regalli’s pursuit of near-perfect mimicry through painstaking manipulation of flavour is further expressed in the eggs.

As Sure As Eggs Is Eggs

​Made from pureed and seasoned mung beans, a protein-rich legume that condenses and stiffens when cooked, these plant-based eggs look strikingly similar to their real counterparts thanks to the generous use of turmeric, which gives them a natural and pleasantly golden colour. And although many BECs often come with their eggs scrambled, Regalli wanted to provide his guests with a tidy, less messy dining experience and instead chose a delicately folded omelette for his sandwich.

​The plant-based omelette is firm and fluffy, providing a pillow for the delicious, crispy bacon, which is blanketed with a silky, rich, melted plant-based American-style cheese, made from potato protein, and finally topped with thin wedges of tender avocado and bright, fresh arugula and served with a side of house-spiced fries.

The flavours are vibrant, complex, bright, subtly sweet, gently smoky and warm, and they all work together. Regalli has created not only a uniquely delicious breakfast sandwich but also one of the city’s best, and captured the familiar, craveable experience of a New York staple—without meat, eggs, or dairy.

​“New York runs on bacon, egg and cheese,” Regalli says.

​“I wanted to deliver the same simple satisfaction and nostalgia of that sandwich, while using plant-based ingredients and Ethiopian flavours to make it RAS.”

https://www.forbes.com/sites/isidororodriguez/2026/04/21/the-best-bacon-egg-and-cheese-is-in-brooklyn-and-its-vegan/