Berkeley’s very own vegan restaurant, The Butcher’s Son, was recently awarded for having one of the top 10 vegan steaks in the country.
The Butcher’s Son, a cozy little deli off of University Avenue, is known for its creative takes on vegan food. The restaurant offers a variety of options from gyros to faux steak and fried chicken sandwiches.
The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, awarded The Butcher’s Son the “Cut Above” Vegan Steak Award for its steak banh mi vegan sandwich on June 17.
According to Amber Canavan, the associate director of vegan campaigns at PETA, the steaks were judged based on creativity, presentation, taste, and preparation.
The steak banh mi sandwich at The Butcher’s Son won the award for its interesting presentation, impressive flavor profile, and especially for the creativity of the dish, as it was created as a banh mi sandwich instead of a traditional steak, according to Canavan.
“(The banh mi steak sandwich) was a unique way to do it,” Canavan said. “A lot of the other restaurants that made it on the list were more of the traditional, hunk of meat steak, meat and potatoes type of thing. And those are wonderful, but the banh mi was really neat, and from what we heard from our colleagues, very, very tasty and filling.”
Two employees from The Butcher’s Son, Indigo Ayele and Orion Sehn, said they had no idea that PETA was investigating their restaurant or that they were even in the running for the award.
However, they both expressed how surprised and proud they were when the award plaque was delivered, and when they discovered they had won something they didn’t even know they were a contender for.
“It was a complete surprise for me as an employee,” Sehn said. “Now, what happened behind the scenes that I don’t know about? That’s probably an answer for management or for the owners, but I was completely surprised and excited and very proud.”
Canavan stated that the purpose of PETA conducting these contests is to promote the vegan lifestyle and showcase vegan offerings in restaurants.
Additionally, it hosts these vegan competitions to prevent the slaughter of animals and the cruel treatment they face in slaughterhouses, according to Canavan.
“We’re also, with this ranking, wanting everyone to know that every animal is someone,” Canavan said. “Eating someone else’s flesh, including steaks, supports a violent industry that exploits and kills billions of sentient animals every year.”
Canavan said she also encourages non-vegans to try vegan food or request vegan or vegetarian options at their local deli if they cannot find a local vegan restaurant, such as The Butcher’s Son.
This story originally appeared in The Daily Californian. It was reported as part of the newspaper’s summer journalism intensive training program for high school students, The Berkeley Angle.
