Patricia Talorico

The News Journal

With a new year on the horizon, so begins thoughts of new beginnings.

One of the most popular New Year's resolutions tends to be making healthier food choices.

In 1993, Abundance Child decided to adopt a vegetarian lifestyle. Soon, she stopped eating animal flesh entirely, along with anything living animals produce, including eggs, milk and cheese.

A plant-based vegan diet worked so well for her – Child says the rewards included weight loss, clearer skin, less irritability and moodiness and more energy – she never looked back and encouraged others in her family to give it a try.

Child raised her children as vegans, began spreading her philosophy and vegan recipes and started catering for friends. For several years, the Hockessin resident has been teaching vegan cooking classes and, since 2012, she has been introducing the cuisine at the Wilmington Riverfront's Molly's Ice Cream Cafe. It's owned by her parents, Maxine and Robert L'Abbee.

Child's business, known as Drop Squad Kitchen, which gets it name from a 1994 Spike Lee movie, seems almost like a secret club, but one a growing number of people are learning about through word-of-mouth and social media.

Don't look for Drop Squad Kitchen signs inside or outside the ice cream cafe in the Shipyard Shops at 928 Justison St.; there aren't any. You might not know it was here unless you knew it.

Menus are available at the front counter. The lactose-free, gluten-free, non-dairy items produced there include salads, smoothies made with "live foods" such as uncooked fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, and plant-based comfort foods like burgers and wraps featuring faux chicken and steak.

Dishes, available Mondays through Saturdays from noon to 5 p.m., can be customized. The staff is very friendly, and Child's cheerful daughter, A'Nanatawa El, 19, walked us through the menu during one visit.

Just be patient. The staff is small at the family-run business, everything is made-to-order and there could be a 25-minute wait if you choose to eat-in at one of the handful of tables available. Calling ahead is encouraged, (302) 984-2773, and take-out is available.

Ask about the "cheezecake" made with raw cashews, the chocolate, walnut and raisin bark, the gluten-free black bean brownies and the other baked goods. These desserts, made with natural sweeteners like Child's homemade date syrup, tend to go fast.

On Saturdays, Child flexes her culinary imagination and makes vegan soul food with a changing menu that can include mock meats such as fried "chicken" and "ribs" as well as "macaroni and cheese" – made with gluten-free pasta and nut butters – and collard greens.

The ice cream cafe does offer non-vegetarian foods like club sandwiches and hot dogs, but they are cooked in a separate area, using separate kitchen equipment, utensils and cutting boards. Child is hoping to expand the vegan menu, and possibly Drop Squad's footprint, within the next few months.

"I want this to be the hub for this kind of thinking," she said.

I heard about Drop Squad Kitchen from Child, who sent me a message on Twitter encouraging a visit to what she called "Delaware's only exclusively vegan restaurant." She offered lunch on the house; however, as is our media organization's policy, The News Journal paid for meals.

Keep an open mind if you're skeptical. I'm not vegetarian, but I brought along two colleagues who are vegetarians – more often vegans – to try Drop Squad Kitchen dishes. They enjoyed what they tried and plan to return.

Still, this is an eatery for anyone, not necessarily those who reject meat for ethical, environmental or health reasons.

Child learned to cook at the side of her mother, aunts and grandmother in "a very soul food-oriented family" that didn't include vegetarian cuisine. The Ursuline Academy graduate was introduced to vegetarian and vegan dishes while attending college at Clark Atlanta University in Georgia. She is not a dietitian, but is self-taught and learned by research – Child has a growing library – and trial-and-error.

Child started offering veggie burgers at Molly's Ice Cream two years ago, and then vegan smoothies. The smoothies proved to be so popular, she burned through five blenders before investing in high-powered commercial-grade versions. Child began gaining followers by posting photos of the food she made on Instagram and other social media sites.

Our meal started with Drop Squad's Refresh tea ($2), a pretty-in-pink, fragrant and lovely blend of hibiscus flowers, ginger and lemon. We got the iced version, which comes in Mason jars, but you can also order hot tea.

Smoothies, made with everything from mango, bananas and Irish moss to goju berries, strawberries and seasonal greens are between $5-$7. Moringa powder, which Child also sells, can be added for an extra energy boost.

The sandwiches, known as fingerlickers, are served with very good, homemade sweet potato crisps and a pickle.

The V-steak ($9.95) features Child's homemade, gluten-free seitan stir-fried with bell peppers and onions. Drop Squad's own "cheeze" can be melted on top, and the sandwich is served on a whole-wheat roll. (The roll is not made in house; rolls mostly come from Amoroso's Baking Co.) The sandwich also can be made gluten-free.

While enthusiastic carnivores might still long for the traditional Philadelphia cheesesteak, this is a very fine substitution, especially if you're avoiding eating anything with a face.

The King Falafel ($9.95) is an excellent and filling quarter-pound patty, made with seasoned chickpeas, served with lettuce, tomatoes, drizzles of a homemade dressing, on a whole-grain pita.

Another good choice is the DSK Delux, ($9.95) a breaded homemade "ChickUN seitan" with a creamy cashew sauce, lettuce, onion and tomato on a whole-grain kaiser bun.

For $2 more, you can add avocado and "cheeze" or get extra dressing or extra sweet potato crisps.

On Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays at 6 p.m., from January to March, Child will hold vegan cooking classes in the cafe. The demonstration classes include a full meal and recipes for dishes like raw vegan apple crisp, vegan meat loaf and vegan lasagna. No meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy or honey is served. The cost is $100 per person, but Child says most participants use Groupon discounts. Class sizes are limited to 10 people.

While meat still dominates restaurant menus, Drop Squad Kitchen has a growing a fan base. And depending on which study you choose to believe, 5 percent to 10 percent of U.S. adults have adopted a vegetarian-inclined lifestyle, and about half as many are vegans.

Last week during a late lunch at Drop Squad Kitchen, a customer sat at a table, enjoying a sandwich and one of DSK's signature smoothies, God ($7), made with apple, avocado, celery, cucumber, greens, a banana and dates. Listening to my chat with Child, the Baltimore-based musician, wearing a baseball cap promoting the Treme Brass Band, a New Orleans marching band, joined the conversation and shared that he frequently travels the country and always looks for vegan restaurants.

He found Child's Drop Squad Kitchen through the website, Happy Cow, The Healthy Eating Guide, which Child describes as sort of "the vegetarian version of Yelp."

The musician told us he was more than happy with his meal.

"I'll be back every time I'm in the area," he said, while sipping a hot cup of Refresh tea.

Contact Patricia Talorico at (302) 324-2861 or ptalorico@delawareonline.com. Read her culinary blog Second Helpings at www.delawareonline.com/blog/secondhelpings and follow her on Twitter @pattytalorico.

IF YOU GO:

WHAT: Drop Squad Kitchen is a vegan eatery run by Abundance Child that operates inside Molly's Ice Cream Cafe. She makes smoothies, salads, sandwiches and vegan desserts.

WHERE: 928 Justison St., Shipyard Shops at the Wilmington Riverfront.

WHEN: It's open noon to 5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. On Saturdays, Child offers a changing menu of vegan soul food dishes. Demonstration vegan cooking classes, beginning in January, will be held at 6 p.m. Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. The cost, $100 per person, includes recipes and a full meal that is 100 percent vegan, gluten-free, and soy-free. Class size is limited to 10 participants. Child says Groupon discounts are often available.

INFORMATION: Visit Drop Squad Kitchen's Facebook page or its website, dropsquadkitchen.com