Wheeler's Frozen Dessert Co. Takes On Anthony Bourdain! (No Reservations)

. . . Really?





(BOSTON HERALD)- "CHEF COOKS UP VEGGIES TALES."
Ice cream shop adds cafe
By Donna Goodison

Wheeler Del Torro is expanding his vegan ice cream shop into a full-service cafe serving vegan sandwiches, salads, soups, baked goods and teas.

The 30-seat Wheeler’s Cafe & Ice Cream Bar, at 334 Massachusetts Ave. in Boston, will celebrate its grand-opening Dec. 15.

Those who eschew animal products can thank chef/author Anthony Bourdain, host of the Travel Channel’s “Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations,” for the inspiration.

“Anthony talks a lot of (expletive) about vegans and all this (expletive) about how vegan food sucks,” Del Torro said. “This was sort of my giving him and other people who have that perception the finger. We’re not sitting around eating dirt and twigs.”

Del Torro, 31, says he’s not the stereotypical vegan. He has a little belly, wears custom-made suits and shoes, goes to clubs, gets drunk and does a lot of “naughty” things, including hosting “no clothes” dining-in-the-dark events.

He said he noticed a void in vegan dining options since moving to Boston.

With the success of “Skinny Bitch,” a book that advocates a strictly vegan diet, he says many people are starting to understand that “eating healthy is OK.”

“So many people are suffering from diabetes and high cholesterol because of crappy diets,” he said. “I want to give people a different option than getting fast food.”

Del Torro had been using the Massachusetts Avenue space as home for Wheeler’s Frozen Dessert Co., his vegan ice cream line launched 10 years ago. Its offerings include flavors modeled after such popular alcoholic drinks as Dom Perignon, Black Russian Chocolate Chip and the Snake Bite with Yukon Jack.





Thanks everyone! See you this weekend at the Boston Bazaar Bizarre & Cultural Survival!