Vegan Victory
By Naperville Magazine
Appears in the March 2025 issue.
By Peter Gianopulos
Manna Kitchen makes national list
One morning last fall, Markus Schramm was clicking his way through his inbox, when a subject line froze his trigger finger in mid-flight. It was an email from Food + Wine magazine informing Schramm and his wife, Shanti, that their restaurant, Manna Kitchen (2801 Ogden Ave. in Lisle), had cracked a list of the top 100 vegan restaurants in America as compiled by Yelp. “I remember immediately calling someone else who was also on the list,” Markus recalls, “and asking, ‘How did this happen?’ ”
Manna’s regulars weren’t as surprised as Markus. Their response: What took everyone so long to discover this hidden gem? After years of selling nut butters and specialty breads at Lisle’s Veggie Fest, the Schramms decided to roll the dice and open Manna in 2019, introducing one of the first all-vegan restaurant in the western suburbs. Fortunately, Shanti possessed the experience to make it work. Back in the mid-1960s, her family opened the Golden Lotus in Vancouver, which is often credited with being one of the first vegan restaurants—if not the first—in Canada.
With each passing month, Manna’s small cross-cultural menu grew larger and more ambitious. Now, Shanti makes her own mung bean burgers using rice, mushroom, onion, and garlic, as well as the restaurant’s signature vegan seitan chorizo, the centerpiece of her vegan tacos.
“We want our dishes to taste like a flavor explosion,” she says. Which is why she also makes her own cashew-based vegan cheeses (feta, mozzarella, and goat cheese) as well as vegan delicacies you’re unlikely to find anywhere else. This St. Patty’s Day, consider ordering a Righteous Reuben made with “corned beef seitan.” (Hint: It’s brined in pickle juice.) Or if you’re looking for something to warm both your body and soul, try the chana masala curry, an Indian dish that simmers chickpeas and organic tofu in a coconut curry broth. Other twists on comfort food classics include the Mac Attack burger, Mushroom Moz flatbread, and Mac and Cheeze.
“The most rewarding thing for me,” Markus says, “is when someone who looks dubious leaves the restaurant and says, ‘I never knew vegan food could taste this good.’ ”
Photos: Bianca Schramm (reuben, curry); Jen Banowetz (burger, bowl, mac)
