Hawthorne and her family’s journey to plant-based eating started with her lymphoma diagnosis in 2016. Adopting a vegan diet has been part of her path to wellness and the catalyst for Twisted Plants, whose initial food truck model grew into a Cudahy restaurant in 2020. Committed to running a business in Milwaukee, Arielle and husband Brandon have been focused on expansion, with locations on Brady Street and at the Sherman Phoenix, all satisfying the fast-food itch with vegan interpretations of burgers, fries and shakes. One way of looking at the “twist” this restaurant name alludes to is that vegan food can be indulgent and comforting. Arielle’s home cooking arrives at that place called familiar American food. It just happens to be plant-forward. And plants can behave like meat. If you’re into food history, lasagna’s backstory is a little unexpected. The dish is Italian-ish, but historians think that its roots are in Greece, and that when the Romans conquered the Greeks way back when, a precursor to modern lasagna made its way back to Italy. Looking very different from our interpretation of lasagna. The point is lasagna evolves, and Arielle’s vegan version is part of the continuum.