June 2020 — A Note from Hope: Angela Means Kaaya is one of those women with so many talents, it’s hard to pigeonhole her. While this actress, model and stand-up comic from Southern California is known for playing Felisha in the classic 1990s movie Friday, in this phase of her evolution this truly amazing woman is gaining notoriety as one of LA’s top vegan soul food chefs. She’s putting her money where her mouth is, literally, as the owner of a popular downtown eatery called Jackfruit Cafe.
Her timing is spot on. As we feature Angela in this month’s “My Corona” issue, America is in the midst of shutdowns of meat packing plants around the country. The potential shortage in the meat supply chain is causing rising prices — ad food and economic experts are are suggesting, The End of Meat Is Here. “If you care about the working poor, about racial justice, and about climate change, you have to stop eating animals,” writes Jonathan Safran Foer, author of Eating Animals and We Are the Weather in a May 21, 2020 Opinion column in the New York Times.
What does Angela think? “I wake up and go to sleep thinking about Jackfruit Cafe,” explains Angela, who has set up shop as an elevated vegan Chipotle.
Pointing to her offerings that include two types of beans, jasmine rice, and two seasoned jackfruits, Angela says diners can take away pasta, wraps, tacos, burritos, or bowls.
Is the future … vegan?
- Angela offers an emphatic: “Yes!” — and believes that shifting to a vegan diet save your life: Check out her appearance on KTLA5.
- She also was invited to talk about the power of eating vegan with her friend, professional basketball player TV persoanlity John Salley on a November 2019 episode of the The Tammy Mac Late Show.
- And, in March 2020 she became one of the top Ten Black Chefs VegNews Is Obsessed With!
Learn more about Angela and Jackfruit Cafe at jackfruitcafe.com. And stay tuned for our interview with Angela, coming soon!