Got Any Veg-Friendly Restaurant Tips?
It’s time to revamp our popular veg dining guide. Got any tips on good restaurants?
Finding tasty vegan food at restaurants is rarely a problem, especially in Worcester. These days nearly every restaurant has good veg options on their menu. Last Spring VegWorcester printed a large number of veg dining guides and distributed them to curious Worcesterites. We are now on the third annual printing of the Guide to Vegetarian Dining in Worcester. Want to help? Look through our online listing at VegWorcester.com/restaurants and see if there are any good spots missing. Send any tips to info@VegWorcester.com or comment below.
2009 Edition: A Huge Success
Last year’s print edition featured 26 listings and a handful of events. We distributed a total of 8,000 copies–5,000 full color copies and 3,000 black and white copies.В These guides are a great tool for showing Worcesterites that being vegan is an easy way to help animals and the reduce our ecological impact. It’s also a great way to send some love to local biz that feature vegan items on their menus.
Over the course of a year, we handed out the 8k guides while tabling at community events, at shows, on college campuses, in Worcester highschools, at our vegan feed-in’s, and at lots of other events. You can download a pdf of last year’s guide.
Going bigger, going bolder
This year we’re going bigger with the guide. To start, we’re going to double our color printing to 10,000 copies. That means that as we get closer to publishing it, we’re going to need to ask more of y’all to step up and volunteer to distribute it. Look out for more details soon.
Post your tips!
So if you know any solid, veg-friendly restaurants, cafes, bakeries or other spots in the Worcester area, post them here. Or send an email to info@VegWorcester.com.
August 30, 2010
Tags: community, east asian, Worcester Posted in: 2009 Vegetarian Dining Guide, Grocery Stores, Restaurants & Businesses, Veg Advocacy, Vegetarian Dining Guide 2008 
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The Vegan Bus is Coming to Worcester this Sunday [Event]
“The vegan bus is a vehicle of transformation.”
The Vegan Bus crew is coming to Worcester this Sunday, August 29 to give away free samples of vegan baked goods in Elm Park, play some music, then go to Loving Hut for a special lunch and short presentation. You should come out for the fun. Meet them in Elm Park at 11am or swing by Loving Hut on Chandler at Noon for a presentation and lunch. (See schedule below.)
Based out of Northampton, MA, The Vegan Bus is a big old school bus that drives around to community events, advocating veganism. They giving out free sample of tasty food (much like our vegan “feed-ins” in Worcester) and encourage people to think of the animals confined in factory farms. The bus itself runs on waste vegetable oil, collected from local restaurants.
What’s the Vegan Bus All About?
If you’ve been to Loving Hut in Worcester, you’ve no doubt caught a glimpse of Supreme Master TV (SMTV). With two giant flat-screens playing it all the time, it’s hard to miss. SMTV recently did a short film about the vegan bus that explains what the project is all about. They’ll be showing it at the Sunday event, but you can also check out the video on the TheVeganBus.com.
Coming to Worcester This Sunday
Loving Hut on Chandler is celebrating by having a a vegan feast, featuring special items that don’t normally appear on their menu. The meal will be buffet style. The bus crew will be giving a short presentation on their work and Loving Hut will be presenting the vegan bus with a $1,500 donation. Hopefully, this event will include a comically large check.
Schedule
- 9:00 AM: Leave Northampton
- 11:00 AM: Vegan Bus Activity at Elm Park with vegan treats, performances & leafleting.
- 12:00PM: Vegan Bus showing in front of Loving Hut
- 12:30PM: Lunch at Loving Hut
- 1:00PM: Donation presentation
- 1:15PM: Speech from the Vegan Bus
- 2-3 PM: Leave Worcester
Facebook event
RSVP to the facebook event, and invite your friends.
August 24, 2010
Tags: Vegan Feed-in Posted in: Activism, Buddha Hut, Events, Leafleting, Tabling & Outreach, Restaurants & Businesses, Veg Advocacy No Comments
Massive National Egg Recall
This past week saw a huge egg recall in the US. News reports estimate the number of salmonella-contaminated eggs somewhere around 228 million. The tainted eggs originated in Iowa, but cases of related illnesses have appeared in Minnesota, Colorado, and California. There are 13 brands involved, including store-brands from leading national supermarkets. The FDA is conducting an investigation into the Iowa firm, but it’s unlikely that this will deal with the root of the problem.
What is Salmonella?
Salmonella is a disease spread largely by contact with feces. Symptoms include fever, cramps, diarrhea, and more serious consequences in people with compromised immune systems. Wikipedia says:
About 142,000 Americans are infected each year with Salmonella enteritidis from chicken eggs, and about 30 die.[18] The shell of the egg may be contaminated by feces or environment, or its interior (yolk) may be contaminated from the shell or from a hen whose infected ovaries contaiminate the egg. [19][20], but the rate of egg yolk contamination is theoretically unlikely [21] [22] [23] [24] and in natural conditions was found to be very small (0.6% in a study of naturally externally infected eggs[25] and 3.0% in artificially and heavily infected hens[26]).
The Root of the Problem: Factory-farming
Every year, millions of hens are crammed into tiny metal cages. These factory-farms are filthy and overcrowded. It should come as no surprise that the eggs that these birds are laying are contaminated with diseases. In addition to being cruel to animals, animal agri-business poses a serious risk to human health.
August 21, 2010
Tags: battery cages, eggs Posted in: News No Comments
Where do you get a vegan wedding cake?
Are you a vegan who got married in Massachusetts? Where’d you get your cake?
Ashley Lane from One Sweet Slice in Salt Lake City, UT recently wrote to VegWorcester to ask if we know where Massachusetts vegans get their wedding cakes. She is putting together a national resource for people looking for vegan wedding cakes.В She’s asking folks to submit info about about local bakeries and pastry chefs who make beautiful wedding cakes, sans eggs and dairy.
From Ashley:
There are thousands of vegans getting married in the US every year, who must have similar difficulty finding a vegan wedding cake. I was hoping you might know of some vendors in Massachussets who can bake vegan wedding cakes?
…
I’d soo like to make sure this becomes a complete resource for vegans in every state in the US to find their vegan wedding cakes..but this is A LOT more work than i thought it’d be, so I’d truly appreciate if you could do this to help us out..
So if you were having a wedding this Fall, where would you get your cake? Comment below.
August 19, 2010
Tags: baked goods Posted in: Misc 4 Comments
Loving Hut Buffet this Saturday [Event]
This Saturday Loving Hut on Chandler Street is having their monthly vegan buffet fundraiser for VegWorcester. Same deal as always, $10 for all you can eat. Noon-7pm.
Download a printable flyer (pdf).
August 11, 2010
Posted in: Buddha Hut, Events No Comments
City ordinance causes tension with shelter
By Chris Warren (of Food Not Bombs)
Worcester Animal Rescue League is threatening to stop accepting dogs from Worcester if they pass new restrictive ordinances targeting Pit bulls. Being a Pit bull fan myself I consider this a very bold but necessary move by the Animal Rescue League. WhileВ I recognize it will hurt stray dogs within the city, a boycott is the only tool the Animal Rescue League can use.
“The dedicated staff and supporters have worked too hard and advanced the organization too far in the quality of care given to its animals to suddenly reverse our no-kill, limited-intake policies,” Ms. Simone said in the release. “This ordinance would be asking us to take a giant step backwards, becoming once again a kill shelter. We wish to be very clear: The Worcester Animal Rescue League will have no part in euthanizing dogs or any other animal due to breed discrimination.”
There will be a public hearing for the ordinance at 6 p.m. Aug. 10 in the Esther Howland Chamber at City Hall.
Do you think this is a helpful or harmful move by the city and Animal Rescue League? Share your comments below.
Also, don’t forget about our friends at To Hell and back Pit Bull Rescue
July 25, 2010
Posted in: Animal Rights, News 2 Comments
PETA names Worcester seventh most veg-friendly small city
by Mike Benedetti
WE BEAT PROVIDENCE
PETA recently ranked US cities with less than 300,000 people in terms of veg-friendly places to eat, and placed Worcester seventh. Last year they highlighted the meatball soup at Buddha Hut on Chandler Street, so this isn’t a big surprise.
I’ve lived in Worcester for eight years now, and been vegan for almost nine. What with the opening of Belmont Veg a year or two back, it does feel like the city’s restaurant scene is at a vegetarian high water mark. This PETA thing is a nice tip-o-the-hat.
Local restaurants Belmont Vegetarian Restaurant, Nancy Chang, and Loving Hut helped Worcester grab seventh place among small cities in PETA’s 2010 survey of the most vegetarian- and vegan-friendly cities in North America.
[...]
Olympia, Wash., took first-place honors among small cites, and Burlington, Vt., came in second. Rounding out the top 10 are Bloomington, Ind.; Boise, Idaho; Iowa City, Iowa; Lincoln, Neb.; Providence, R.I.; Syracuse, N.Y.; and Topeka, Kan. The winner among big cities was Washington, D.C.
Cross-posted at Worcesterite
July 20, 2010
Posted in: Belmont Veg, Buddha Hut, Restaurants & Businesses No Comments
New Kid on the Blog: Worcester Vegan Eats
VegWorcester isn’t the only veg blog in Worcester. Back in April,В Worcester Vegan Eats popped up on the intertubes. Blogger Heather uses the site to share her vegan food excursions in the Worcester area. She occasionally writes about local veg-friendly restaurants in the Worcester area, but the best thing about her blog is definitely the homemade food.
Check it out: Worcester Vegan Eats
July 12, 2010
Posted in: Misc 5 Comments
Loving Hut Double Whammy [Event]
This weekend Worcester will see two events at two different Loving Huts. Pretty rad, huh?
This Saturday, July 10, Loving Hut on Chandler Street is having their July buffet fundraiser for VegWorester (facebook event). Stop by between noon and 7pm for a $10 buffet. 10% will automatically be donated to VegWorcester.
Then on Sunday, July 11, at 1pm Loving Hut on Hamilton Street (formerly Veggie Corner, formerly Quan Yin) will be having a grand re-opening.
July 9, 2010
Posted in: Buddha Hut, Events, Restaurants & Businesses, Veggie Corner No Comments
July Vegan Buffet at Loving Hut [Event]
This Saturday, Loving Hut on Chandler Street in Worcester is holding their monthly vegan buffet fundraiser for us at VegWorcester. Noon-7pm. Ten bucks and 10% is donated to VegWorcester.
This monthly event has quickly become a cornerstone of the vegetarian community in Worcester. The food is always impressive and it’s great to see so many like-minded people get together for lunch (and sometimes stick around all the way until dinner).
July 6, 2010
Posted in: Buddha Hut, Events No Comments
