Recently I visited Philadelphia to take a peek at what's happening with their red hot vegan dining scene. That scene only being second to the volume and variety of new spots Los Angeles and Orange Counties offer. Anchoring this daytrip to Philly was a pre-arranged chat with local journalist, author and cartoonist Vance Lehmkuhl.

Vance is one of the very few known vegan journalists in the world. More so, he covers a great range of vegan concerns - whether local, regional, national and/or global. Nearly half the vegan columns he's written this decade make up his new book, V for Veg: The Best of Philly's Vegan Food Column.

This title is terrific for foodies, historians, non-fiction readers, vegan scholars and more. As a long time vegan and avid diner, I appreciated (re-)reading and reflecting on the truly incredible acceleration veganism is amidst in this decade of the 2010s - and counting!

As long-time veg people, Vance and I both marveled at how far veganism has come. So far this decade, we've seen many people come to know what vegan is, frequent mainstream media coverage of vegan stories, a constant influx of vegan specific movies at the cinema and otherwise online, restaurants offering and labeling more vegan options, the astounding and odd discovery and use of aquafaba (chickpea brine that whip into something like egg whites), and the list goes on.

Specific to Philly, Vance hugely credits award-winning chefs Rich Landau and Kate Jacoby with leading the charge of growing the vegan dining scene locally. You may know of these two by way of their renowned restaurants: Horizons Cafe, Horizons, Vedge and/or V-Street. Or indirectly through their former employees' successful eateries: Sprig & Vine (New Hope), Miss Rachel's Pantry, Blackbird Pizzeria, Screamers Pizzeria (NYC), Hip City Veg, Charlie was a sinner, and Bar Bombón. All quite worthy of another article, and chat, themselves.

And yet, veganism has further to go also. While almond and other plant based milk consumption is high, we need to see veggie meats follow suit and thus an even bigger decrease in the animal-based versions. It's time for both the green and sustainability movements to connect the dots on how veganism propels their agendas. And we need to continue the steady acceptance of the idea, word and choice that is vegan as the stigma of it steadily fades away.

Besides Vedge, touted by many as the world's best vegan restaurant, Vance also recommends eating at its sibling restaurant V-Street, enjoying brunch at Miss Rachel's Pantry, or grabbing some award-winning vegan Philly cheesesteak at late night favorite Blackbird Pizzeria.

Pre-chat, I was taken with a few new discoveries in Front Street Cafe, in particular their Buffalo Cauliflower and Mushroom Bacon (shown here) and their enormous and beautiful rustic space.

Afterwards, I was able to bop by three more spots, all new. The first, The Tasty, is a wonderful retro diner. Philly's first all vegan diner serves breakfast and lunch comfort food plates. No dinner service, for now.

Dottie's Donuts, west of U Penn Campus, now has a storefront with a sort of throwback feel from a few different eras. They do have a good few seats, a variety of hot and cold drinks, and certainly their yeast/raised donuts, which are quite BIG and inventively flavored.

The interview began at the emerging fast casual concept Beefsteak from renowned chef José Andrés. This vegan-friendly spot emphasizes vegetables unlike no other fast casual, or dare I say any, chain restaurant in this country.

Enormous appreciation goes to vegan Philly 'mayor' Char Nolan for her special support and insights of this time in Philly.

You can watch the full interview with Vance here.

Demetrius Bagley is VegDining's City Ambassador for New York City. He's an award-winning movie producer of the documentary Vegucated and godfathered Vegan Street Fair, SoCal VegFest, Veggie Conquest, and many other vegan endeavors.