Cannonball Café principals Karen Matalon, Laura Matalon-Chandley and her husband Ian Chandley have added vegan menu offerings in all four locations: Loshusan, Sovereign North, Manor Park and New Kingston.

As more people have dietary needs or are trying to change their lifestyle by eating cleaner, more restaurants are jumping on the bandwagon and creating vegan options. Vegans typically eat a lot of plant-based foods — such as lentils, chickpeas, tofu, peas, spinach and kale.They may eat rice and whole wheat bread but avoid meat, dairy and eggs.

“It’s a global trend,” said Matalon-Chandley. “Restaurants are offering vegan options as more people are discovering they have a gluten intolerance and other allergies that are forcing them to eat a more plant-based diet. We wanted to offer more choices to our patrons.”

The menu includes a breakfast option: chickpea waffles. The lunch options are the black bean wrap, black bean chickpea waffle sandwich, curried chickpea stew, garden salad with jerk tofu slices, rosemary lentil stew and pepperpot soup.

Long-standing vegans, producer Carleene Samuels, film-maker Simon Mais and non-vegans Garfield “Bucka” Taylor and Lecia-Gaye Taylor and their daughter Jordan stopped by to try the new menu.

Vegan for over 25 years, Samuels tried the black bean chickpea waffle sandwich. The sandwich, made of chickpeas, is filled with two black bean patties and topped with a sorrel chutney sauce. “I eat a plant-based diet and am happy to see Cannonball introducing vegan options on their menu. It’s something I think people should try, even if it’s once a week,” Samuels said. She enjoyed her black bean patty chickpea waffle sandwich and felt it was a full, hearty meal. The sorrel chutney was an added kick.

Documentary film-maker and a strict vegan for eight years Simon Mais also had the black bean chickpea waffle sandwich. He said, “As a former pro-football player, I suffered several injuries and eating a plant-based diet helped me recover faster. I’m happier and more energetic and my body handles stressful situations better. I’ve also watched a lot of documentaries about how eating a plant-based diet, even if it’s once a week, is better for the environment,” he noted.

“I like that the owners of Cannonball are forward-thinking enough to incorporate a vegan menu, and the diversity of the dishes is also a plus,” he added.

Mommy blogger Lecia-Gaye pointed out that although she was not vegan she liked to incorporate vegan options into her diet as much as possible. Eating healthy also helps boost her energy and has been instrumental in her bouncing back after the birth of her daughter two years ago. She tried the pepperpot soup, which her daughter also enjoyed.

Her husband, Garfield “Bucka” Taylor, mentioned that during her pregnancy Lecia-Gaye ate a lot of callaloo omelettes at Cannonball for breakfast, so it was nice to now be able to have pepperpot soup as well.

Taylor opted for the black bean wrap.