Faux Meats and Dairy-Free Desserts Could Net Popular Eatery a Libby
For Immediate Release:
December 19, 2011
Contact:
Adam Miller 202-483-7382
Salt Lake City -- Where can you get a great burger, a devilish dessert, the freshest salads, and the best coffee and tea in town without worrying about saturated fats, cholesterol, unhealthy dairy products, or the abused animals your meal was made from? If you live in Salt Lake City, the answer is at Vertical Diner, which has been named as a finalist for a Libby Award for Best Local Restaurant by peta2, PETA's youth division. The sixth annual Libby Awards ("Libby" is for "liberation") honor animal-friendly people and products. Visitors to peta2.com can vote for their favorites in each category, and peta2 will choose the winners.
"Vertical Diner shows how real food lovers can indulge themselves without harming animals or their own health," says peta2 Division Manager Marta Holmberg. "More and more people are demanding vegan options, and Vertical Diner is answering the call in the most delicious ways imaginable."
It's no accident that Vertical Diner was named first runner-up in City Weekly's Best of Utah competition. The restaurant is 100 percent vegetarian and buys local and organic ingredients whenever possible. Favorites include mock-chicken tenders with dairy-free ranch dressing, an array of original salads, Boca and Sunshine burgers, and brownie sundaes. For breakfast, the biscuits and gravy can't be beat. Delicious beverages abound, including fair-trade and organic coffee, tea, and cocoa; microbrewed sodas; and gourmet beers and wines.
Twenty-nine Libby Awards will be given out this year, recognizing everything from the best cruelty-free cosmetics company to Street Teamer of the Year to peta2's favorite animal-friendly celebrity. Each winner will receive a framed certificate and be featured on peta2.com.
For more information about all the nominees, please visit peta2.com.
Voting ends on December 23, and the winners will be announced on January 17. The winners will be chosen by peta2 based on equal consideration of three factors: the number of votes received, the quality of the animal-friendly product or the nominees' enthusiasm for being animal-friendly, and feedback from the nominees' fans.