April 19th 2008
Jeff D. just left me a voice mail about my pipe-dream of having a vegan diner in Worcester. He’s psyched about the idea and knows just what we should call it.
You’ll have to listen to his voice mail to hear what it is.
[audio:http://vegworcester.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/vegworcester-danger-phone-message-about-diner.mp3]
April 18th 2008
Yesterday we sent out copies of the Spring 2008 Veg Dining Guide to the 20 or so businesses that were listed in the guide. Just making sure they know that people are noticing all their great veg options!
Thanks for all the help, Cody.
Comment below if you want to order copies of the guide to distribute.
April 8th 2008
New research from researchers at the University of Illinois and the Instituto de Fermentaciones Industriales (CSIC) in Madrid, Spain suggests that allergen-free soy products could be nearer than previously thought, simply by fermenting the beans with a number of microorganisms.
Now, I think it’s silly that some people believe eating soy is such an important part of a healthy vegan diet. Soy is just one kind of bean. There are thousands of different varieties of grains, beans, fruits, vegetables, and legumes. There’s an infinite combination of those ingredients. If you’re allergic to soy you can definitely still be vegan. But it’s still good news that scientists are discovering that we can have allergen-free soy.
Actually for the seriously soy-allergic in Worcester who want to get some mock meat dishes, check out Red Lantern at 235 Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, phone number: 508-795-0500. They have an extensive vegetarian section on their menu that includes homemade red-bean veg chicken, made with not a single soy bean. Their General Tso’s Veg Chicken is fantastic! They even deliver.
[study via VegCast]
April 7th 2008
Alright, this is super exciting. Here is the Spring 2008 Guide to Vegetarian Dining in Worcester (pdf). It’s a one-page guide to some of the best veg-friendly restaurants in the Worcester area.
By no means does this list cover every single place to get quality veg food in Worcester. In fact, you can get good veg food at nearly every restaurant in Worcester (even Burger King has a veggie burger). This mini-guide lists local places that are either all-vegetarian or who have a very good vegetarian selection. Leave a comment if you think I left out a really good one.
So print it out. And hang this baby on your fridge!
April 4th 2008
This Sunday is April’s vegan meet-up and eat-up. It’ll be at the Moe’s Southwest Grill near Webster Square, where Main Street and Park Ave intersect.
From Steve on meetup.com:
Hi again, this next Meetup will be at Moe’s right near Webster Square (end of Main Street and Park Ave). They have lots of tasty vegan options at a good price and the frozen margaritas are good too.
CARPOOLING IS AVAILABLE!!!!!!!!!
For help with directions or if you have questions, call Stephen at (508) 410-3172. Thanks!
- When?
- Sunday, Apr 6, 2008, 1:00 PM
- Where?
- Moe’s Southwest Grill
3 Stafford Street
Worcester, MA 01603
508-459-6060
March 30th 2008
Don’t forget! Tomorrow is the last day of the Grand Opening at Buddha Hut, Worcester’s newest all-vegan Chinese restaurant. You’ll get 10% off your order and some free pound cake.
I’ll be going there with a bunch of people for dinner at 7. See you there!
March 27th 2008
In the style section of today’s New York Times there’s an article on Casa Diablo, a vegan strip club in Portland, Oregon: The Carrot Some Vegans Deplore. FYI there aren’t any nudie-pictures in the article but there are on their myspace page.
From the New York Times:
TWO things that you can find a lot of in Portland, Ore., are vegans and strip clubs. Johnny Diablo decided to open a business to combine both. At his Casa Diablo Gentlemen’s Club, soy protein replaces beef in the tacos and chimichangas; the dancers wear pleather, not leather. Many are vegans or vegetarians themselves.
via Boing-boing
March 24th 2008
I recently posted a long-winded review of Buddha Hut, the new all-vegan Chinese restaurant in Worcester. I mentioned that there’ll be 10% taken off your order during the Grand Opening on Monday, March 31. But rumor has it that all of this week Buddha Hut is offering 10% off your order and some free pound cake.
So if you can manage to eat there 10 times before March 31, that adds up to one 100% free meal and probably an entire free pound cake. Quick, post that baby on slickdeals.
March 22nd 2008
Woah! There’s a new vegan Chinese restaurant opening in Worcester! Buddha Hut has great food, a quaint atmosphere, it’s inexpensive, and it’s in a pretty good location. Definitely worth a visit!
Buddha Hut
415 Chandler Street
phone: 508-459-0367
Monday-Thursday: 11am - 9pm
Friday-Saturday: 11am-10pm
Closed Sundays
With vegetarian mock-meat entrées like kung pao chicken, sesame beef, and heavenly chicken, even the most meat-loving among us will be able find something they like. Add some fried chicken drumsticks, spring rolls or wonton soup as an appetizer and you’ve got yourself a solid meal. This all-vegetarian restaurant is a nice place to grab a quick lunch or sit down with the family for a nice dinner.
Entrées are reasonably priced at around $7 or $8, but with appetizers and drinks your meal will likely come out closer to $10. If you’re really pinching pennies, try their lunch specials. The portions are the same size, but only costs 5 bucks. Each lunch special comes with rice, a spring roll and a fried wonton. Hard to beat for 5 bucks!In addition to the deep-fried goodness of their mock-meat dishes, they also have a good selection of fancy-pants fruit smoothies. I was impressed by the strawberry and coconut milk smoothie. It made for a nice desert.
The people behind Buddha Hut are the same folks who created Quan Yin, one of Central Mass’ top veg restaurants. Quan Yin is located at 56 Hamilton St in Worcester and has a similar menu, but slightly cheaper prices and a different atmosphere. Buddha Hut is larger and more geared towards formal dining than Quan Yin. Despite the similarities, the two restaurants don’t see each other as competitors. I’m certainly of the opinion that there is room enough for both places here in the heart of Massachusetts.
Give it a try! The grand opening is on March 31. You’ll get 10% off your order and you’ll even get some free pound cake to boot! The place will be open everyday until then, but they’re still working out some kinks. When I went on Friday, they were processing credit cards by hand and they’re still figuring out how to efficiently accommodate big parties (8+). Anyway, hope to see you at the grand opening!
Join the grand opening event on facebook.
March 20th 2008
SuperVegan just blogged about a Dunkin’ Donuts down in NYC adding soymilk. I only recently started drinking coffee, but this is exciting! Looks like they might be testing the market before they launch it nationally.
Andrea from SuperVegan says that Dunkin’ Donuts CEO Jon Luther has offered to add soymilk to some locations based on customer requests. I wonder if we could get Worcester Dunkin’ Donuts to add soymilk. Starbucks has been offering soymilk for a long time already. Maybe they just need a little nudge? You could send them a quick note about it.
In the meantime, Worcester has a few independent coffee shops that already offer soymilk. Try the Bean Counter on 113 Highland Street. They also have offer great vegan cookies and cakes!
