Yam Chops

“What’s a vegetarian butcher?” is usually the first question Jess Abramson gets asked when someone learns about YamChops. “We have made a lot of people wonder,” she says.

And a lot of the people doing the wondering aren’t vegetarians. “About half of our customers are still eating meat,” explains Jess. “They just want to reduce the amount of meat they eat without sacrificing taste and texture.”

YamChops accomplishes this in some pretty creative ways. Tunaless-Tuna is made from specially prepared chickpeas and Mongolian Beef is made from soy and wheat protein. The store is also known for its Carrot Lox, a smoked salmon served in the traditional way, sans the salmon. The taste is so convincing some may be fooled into thinking there is fish in the dish. “It’s a fun take on traditional meat dishes.”

While the goal is to provide a “centre-of-plate plant-based protein alternative” it’s not always an imitation of meat. YamChops offers salads, house-made veggie burgers and more.