Baltimore is among the top cities not just in Maryland but all throughout the country. As a matter of fact, Baltimore is dubbed as the world’s crab capital, and its seafood is definitely world-class. However, while the entire state of Maryland is known for its wide array of seafood selection, the vegan community is also gaining some followings in Maryland. The proof of this is the increasing number of vegan restaurants in Maryland and in Baltimore as well.
Because of this increasing demand for vegan food and restaurants, an awesome event is being organized in Maryland for vegan lovers. Jack Tien-Dana wrote about the very first Maryland Vegan Restaurant week. Learn more about this one of a kind event below.
The First Maryland Vegan Restaurant Week Kicks Off
Local vegan advocates promote healthy lifestyle and inclusive community.
Image Source: The Baltimore Magazine
Although the term veganism was first coined in 1944, its place in the recent cultural zeitgeist has largely been relegated to that one-month phase your worst friend went through three years ago and hasn’t stopped talking—bragging?—about since. Of course, veganism is an honorable commitment with a raft of documented health and environmental benefits, but it’s hard to imagine life without cheeseburgers. In the court of public opinion, the vegan lifestyle has always seemed undeniably noble, but carried the weight of certain stigmas.
This is changing.
For the first time ever, Maryland Vegan Restaurant Week will demonstrate that vegan food can be delicious and satisfying. From February 8 to the 18, more than 30 restaurants in Baltimore and the surrounding areas will offer special vegan menus (while Charm City has been celebrating a veganism week for the past three years, this is the first time the rest of the state is getting in on the fun). Venerable omnivorous—that’s vegan-speak for “non-vegan”—institutions such as Miss Shirley’s, R. House, and Gertrude’s will try their hand at plant-based cuisine, demonstrating how this event has permeated the mainstream and is working to reshape it.
“When I go out with my husband or my daughter, we’d like to see more on the menu than just a salad,” said Naijha Wright-Brown, the event’s co-founder and owner of The Land of Kush, a vegan soul-food restaurant in Mt. Vernon. “Part of this event is showing how creative you can be with vegan dishes.”
So, where should a curious meat-lover start on their journey to vegan-dom?
“Start with sweets, something you know you like,” advised Wright-Brown, “and the only difference you’ll notice is that you feel better afterwards.”
Luckily, there are plenty of places to sample your first vegan brownie, since Baltimore’s vegan scene is by no means a small niche. While veganism has gained traction all over the country, it has especially resonated in Baltimore. Click here to read the rest of this post…
The main goal of this event is to showcase that vegan food can be very delicious and satisfying. Only a few would know that there are over 30 vegan restaurants in Baltimore and surrounding areas that offer sumptuous special vegan menus. This event is among the most looked-forward-to event by a lot of vegans surrounding Baltimore and Maryland areas.
Because of the event’s increasing popularity, the organizers decided to expand its scope from Baltimore to entire Maryland. Carley Milligan published an article in Bizjournals about this wonderful annual holiday.
Vegan Restaurant Week returns, expands scope beyond Baltimore City
Image Courtesy of Amanda Yeager
Baltimore City’s vegan-friendly dining promotion is back again, this time with a new name and an expanded reach into nearby counties.
Now called Maryland Vegan Restaurant Week, the week-long event returns Feb. 8 to Feb. 17 at about 30 participating area restaurants. The promotion, now in its second year, takes place bi-annually in the summer and winter when traffic at restaurants is typically slower.
The promotion is designed to educate chefs and diners on veganism and vegan cooking, regardless of what kind of diet they keep themselves. Restaurants are also challenged to reach a new market of customers by creating vegan dishes that are more than “just another freaking salad,” according to a news release.
This year Vegan Restaurant Week will add another new twist, a competition among eateries to create the best dish in several categories — appetizer, entree, brunch, dessert and best overall. Diners will vote on their favorite to select a winner. Several events will also take place throughout the week such as a “Run + Brunch” at Red Emma’s Bookstore Coffeehouse.
Adding a voting component is also a way to engage diners and collect information on who is actually participating in the promotion, co-founder of the event Naijha Wright-Brown said. Wright-Brown is also the co-owner of vegan eatery Land of Kush in Baltimore’s Seton Hill neighborhood.
She said it’s important to know if the individuals dining out during the week are vegans, non-vegans, flex-vegans or otherwise. Collecting that data will help the group putting on the promotion better market it in the future.
So far primarily Baltimore City restaurants have signed up to participate in the growing event, according to the Vegan Restaurant Week website. However, the website does list three Baltimore County restaurants, as well as one in Anne Arundel County. Restaurants interested in participating have until Feb. 7 to sign up.
Organizers of the event had always planned to expand it to any restaurant in Maryland interested in participating, Wright-Brown said. They used Baltimore City as a testing ground to see how people responded.
Over the past few months Wright-Brown said the group has been meeting with state and county chambers of commerce to explain the importance of having more vegan options in Baltimore and Maryland. She believes that by the time Summer Vegan Restaurant Week rolls around, there will be a lot more county restaurants involved. See full post here…
Historically, vegan restaurant week has been very successful in its roots in Baltimore. The vegan week usually comes after the Meatless Monday event. After eating lots of meats, they become very excited for some plant-based goodness. Check out this post below about this very successful event.
Baltimore’s Vegan Restaurant Week
Image Courtesy of Meatless Monday
After a successful Meatless Monday event, Baltimore is now getting ready for an entire week of plant-based goodness! From August 18-26, Baltimore will hold its first ever Vegan Restaurant Week with dozens of restaurants participating. In addition to bringing together its celebrated diverse community, the event aims to “increase the awareness, benefits and accessibility of a plant-based diet through a fun, innovative and community-based experience across multiple neighborhoods.”Vegan Restaurant Week is making its mission one of wellness for not just existing vegans, vegetarians, and curious omnivores but for Baltimore’s communities that have limited dining options. Diseases that have disproportionate effects on the African-American community – including high blood pressure, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes – may be remedied by healthier, plant-based diets. The event, which is partly sponsored by the Black Vegetarian Society of Maryland, seeks to raise awareness of the benefits of plant-based foods in the black community while debunking some stereotypes about people who follow vegan and vegetarian diets.
Naijha Wright-Brown, executive director of BVSMD and co-owner (with her husband Greg Brown) of vegan restaurant Land of Kush, said back in May: “Our goal is for people to connect with their inner compassion, their soul, when eating and to understand the important decisions they are making when choosing the foods they eat.”
What will set Baltimore’s Vegan Restaurant Week apart from other restaurant weeks is its approach to new food offerings; instead of coming up with prix fixe meals, the participating restaurants will have new menu items that promise to be more affordable for consumers who are new to meatless eating. Wright-Brown partnered with Shannon Light Hadley of Golden West Café to recruit local restaurants to participate, aiming to get 40 on board. In addition to Meatless Monday and BVSMD, Vegan Restaurant Week is also being sponsored by Yelp, the Restaurant Association of Maryland, and A Well-Fed World. Read the entire post here…
Vegan restaurants and vegan foods have become very popular not just in Baltimore, but in entire Maryland as well. This is the main reason why vegan restaurant week has become very successful in its first year of inauguration, thus organizers expanding its scope to the entire state of Maryland. This is an event to look forward to every year, especially for vegans for there are over 30 restaurants preparing a special menu that is participating in the event.
Vegan restaurant week is just one of the many awesome activities in Baltimore all year round. There are still a hundred more you can attend to. To know more about the different food events in Baltimore, Dependable Homebuyers can help you know more about Baltimore and Maryland. Visit us on https://www.dependablehomebuyers.com/maryland/baltimore to learn more.
