Bushwick Barbecuers Nab PETA’s National ‘Vegan Roast Boast’ Award

For Immediate Release:
November 10, 2022

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

More people than ever are expected to celebrate a meat-free Thanksgiving this year, and the vegan barbecue experts at Monk’s Meats have won a national Vegan Roast Boast Award from PETA for their 5-pound Smoked Tofu Chickwheat Roast, a proprietary blend of tofu, seitan, and chickpeas that’s filled with chestnut fennel stuffing, wrapped in a yuba skin, rubbed with sage butter, and smoked over hickory hardwood—a succulent solution to 2022’s soaring turkey prices and rampant bird flu outbreaks.

Monk’s Meats owner Chris Kim began creating his own seitan in 2010, started dishing up vegan meats at Smorgasburg in 2013, and took over the kitchen at Starr Bar in 2019. With a motto of “low and slow,” Monk’s Meats specializes in traditional barbecue techniques, and its nightly menu of vegan smokehouse fare includes barbecue seitan, pulled mushrooms, and loaded fries. Its special Thanksgiving menu is now available for pre-order, with pickup at Starr Bar available November 21 through 23.

“Juicy and smoked to perfection, Monk’s Meats’ chestnut-stuffed roast is a show-stopping centerpiece for the holiday table,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “This ‘ThanksVegan,’ PETA is celebrating local businesses that make it easy as dairy-free pumpkin pie to enjoy a bird-friendly feast.”

Not only are vegan roasts free of saturated animal fat and cholesterol, they also spare animals immense suffering: More than 45 million turkeys will be killed for this Thanksgiving alone. During their short lives, they’re forced to stand in their own waste and inhale ammonia-laden air inside dark warehouses. The birds are even genetically manipulated to make them grow unnaturally large, which causes their legs to break beneath them.

The other nine honorees include Green New American Vegetarian in Phoenix; The Herbivorous Butcher in Minneapolis; Grass Fed in Rochester, New York; and Planted Table in Oakland, California. Each eatery will receive a framed certificate from PETA, which offers a “ThanksVegan” guide.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow the group on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.