Vegan vs Vegetarian....what's the difference?

Recently I found an interest in finding some vegan restaurants around town.  But then I started thinking, what the heck is the difference between vegan and vegetarian. Well, here it is for those who pondered this as much as I did....

Vegetarian - This is a blanket term that describes those that do not consume meat, poultry or seafood. There are several sub-catergories to this as well. But a Vegetarian typically has less dietary restrictions (i.e. they will eat eggs, cheese, dairy). Some of the sub-catergories refer to a vegetarian who might just consume eggs, but nothing else, or those that might consume milk, but nothing else, etc.  I think you get the picture without me throwing out a bunch of crazy terms you probably won't remember.

Vegan - describes those that do not consume ANY animal-products or by-products. This is the strictest of all the categories.

Some great restaurants to check out in Arizona include Pita Jungle, Fresh Mint, and Nourish.