Top 6: Vegan spots in Philadelphia area Part 2

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Don't listen to what you've heard, eating vegan doesn't have to be boring...but it sure can be shocking! Here is Part Two of the top vegan restaurants in our area!

Miss Rachel's Pantry is just what they call it, a sweet little vegan restaurant in South Philly.

Rachel is the namesake, creator, and chef. She caters private parties in addition to booking reservations for an exclusive dining experience that she sets up with a preselected menu, which means all you have to do is show up! The pasta dish she gave me is her version of carbonara. (FYI, carbonara is basically bacon and egg pasta, and also my favorite dish on the entire planet!)

Rachel's recipe is a creamy coconut sauce base with roasted beet pancetta, and it was unbelievable.

Next up was a chilled peach and tomato soup with tempura jalapeno, ceviche, and pumpkin seeds, and a hearts of palm oyster mushroom cake topped with trumpet mushroom calamari on a bed of potato salad.

For dessert, a blueberry buttercream cake with lemon ice cream.

There's an unexpected texture and flavor balance in each dish that is well worth the full experience. Don't forget another great part about this restaurant, it's BYOB!

In Center City, Monster Vegan serves up a huge menu of comfort food, and honestly, it's scary good. Husband and wife, Ron and Lauren, and sister Jenny created the concept by combining their love for scary movies and plant-based eating.

The decor is right out of a Halloween store, and there are scary movies being projected onto the walls. The cocktails are sweet and spooky. My favorite was the "Zombie Beach Party" and even though I was drinking out of a skull shaped glass, it took me right to a happy island.

The sandwiches measure up to Philly bread standards and there are varieties like meatball subs topped with grilled onions and ricotta cheese, and classic chicken cutlets with broccoli rabe and a smear of aioli.

They make pasta too! I almost couldn't believe that the truffle mushroom alfredo didn't have dairy in it, and that the spaghetti and meatballs didn't have an ounce of beef. I loved them so much that I took them both home, and they were just as good heated up the next day!

Stay tuned for Part 3 next Friday on Action News Mornings and check out Part 1 here.