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.

Worcester Magazine just published the newest article in the Soy de Worcester column: Vegan On The Cheap. Last week, I asked: Where can you get a good vegan meal in Worcester for under $5? There were a ton of comments on facebook. Thanks, everyone! After going through all the wonderful recommendations, this is the result. Definitely pick up a print copy, but since WoMag doens’t have the story online yet, here it is:

Vegan On the Cheap

Worcester is a city of deal-hunters and do-it-yourselfers. It’s called “The Spag’s Mentality” and it means that Worcesterites will come out in droves to get in on a good deal. The vegetarian population of Worcester is no different. There are a handful of stellar deals in Worcester vegan food scene. Here are 5 spots where you can get a good vegan meal for under five bucks:

The Pickle Barrel

Don’t want to pay $10 for a veggie burger? Don’t. At The Pickle Barrel on Pleasant Street, you can get a wicked good, Worcester-style veggie patty grinder and a bottomless cup of coffee for under five bucks. The grinder is a half-sub filled with a hearty vegetable patty, topped with onion, tomato, and greens. You can add spicy fries to your order, but it will take you a little over the $5 line. The down side? Excluding the usual side dishes, there is not much else in the way of vegan fare.

Veggie Corner

Veggie Corner is Worcester’s newest vegan restaurant. When Quan Yin closed it’s doors back in June, the folks at Veggie Corner decided to open up in its on Hamilton Street. Thankfully Veggie Corner has stuck to Quan Yin’s model: cheap and delicious vegan food. For $4.50 you can choose between one of five lunch specials, which include a mock-meat or tofu entrée, a soup, hot tea, and a side of white rice. They are not the largest portions, but it is certainly enough to leave you feeling satisfied. Take-out available.

Fantastic’s

Some people are surprised that this small pizza place on Main Street offers falafel, but their falafel is so amazing that I am surprised anyone would even bother with their pizza. (Maybe I would reconsider if they offered soy cheese.) With fresh-baked Syrian bread from Bay State Bakery on Water Street, Fantastic’s falafel is by far the best item on their menu. For $4.75 you’ll get a falafel wrap with crisp vegetables and creamy tahini. If you’re not the fried food type, try the baba ganoush or the homemade hummus. Both are under $5.

George’s Bakery

Located on Grafton Street, George’s Bakery is a Mediterranean market with plentiful options for the penny-pinching vegetarian. For $2 and some change you can get a star-shaped, golden-brown spinach pie. Get two for a quick lunch. Or get a spinach pie and an order of fresh hummus and to dip it in. They also have a tasty falafel sandwich for five dollars even.

Tortilla Sams

This American Tex-Mex joint on Highland Street is well-known for its veg selection. Worcester punk and hardcore bands like Four Year Strong and Bane have patronized the place for years. If you’re looking for the best deal, order off the take-out menu. The burritos-to-go are a dollar or so cheaper. The “unchicken” is the most impressive dish and price at under $4. The tofu buffalo wings are definitely their most well-known menu item, but don’t be surprised to find that they are nothing like buffalo wings. You can always stick to the basics with a simple black bean burrito. Beware of the “health-nut” burrito. It is exactly as appetizing as it sounds.

Big thanks to Flo, CJ, Marilyn, Dylan, Alex, Pat, Ashley, Jenna, Jesslyn, Allicia, Melissa, and Eileen! You guys rock!

So what do you think? Which is your favorite? Did I miss any big ones?

This week’s Worcester Mag featured a review of Veggie Corner, which is located up on 56 Hamilton Street, Worcester. Veggie Corner is a vegan Asian  restaurant with many Vietnamese dishes. In September 2009, Veggie Corner took the place of Quan Yin. It’s super cheap and the food is great. Worcester Magazine seems to agree. Zeke Williams (presumably a psuedonym) rated the food at 4/5 star, the ambiance at 2.5/5 stars, service at 4/5 and value at 4/5. That’s a pretty admirable score.

From WoMag’s review:

In between sips of some hot tea that warmed us on this wintry day, our server brought us our entrées. Lola honed in on the stir fry with veggie “beef” and vegetables. Delicate strands of pasta shared a plate with baby mushrooms, broccoli, pea pods, and crispy red peppers. Lola could tell the veggies were fresher than fresh and perfectly cooked alongside delicious portions of tender veggie “beef.” They were tossed in a sauce that boasted a faint yet savory kick.

I settled up next to an order of crispy fried veggie half “chicken” that was served in a curry-coconut milk-enlivened sauce. Bravo. The faux meat was tender and bursting with flavor. Select cuts of the veggie “chicken” swam in the spicy sauce that had a nice slow burn, though the chefs at Veggie Corner made sure the flavors did not hide behind the heat.

The plate was also well-balanced. Slivers of pineapple and flower-shaped carrots decorating the outskirts made the palate dance smoothly between spicy and sweet.

What do you think about Veggie Corner? How does it compare to Quan Yin?

photo by Paul Keleher

There are a few interesting stories that happened in the past few days of Worcester’s continually blossoming vegetarian renaissance. Let’s do a brief overview of them all:

• Today Veggie Corner received some good coverage from the Telegram & Gazette: “Vegan cafe offers meals for a penny“
• Photos from last weekend’s “feed-in” at the McDonalds on Main Street are now online. It was inspiring to have two groups of neighborhood kids join in our demonstration, holding signs and giving out flyers. It’s a total bummer that we didn’t get any photos with our big banner. The banner read: “Try some yummy FREE VEGAN FOOD, VegWorcester.com”. It was he center-piece of our feed-in until it fell apart. It was just paper and the wind tore it apart. We’ll definitely have a sturdy vinyl or cloth banner for our next feed-in.
• Buddha Hut’s October buffet/fundraiser was a huge success. The food was wonderful (as always) and Buddha Hut raised a couple hundred dollars for VegWorcester. Heads up: looks like Buddha Hut will be holding the buffet/fundraisers monthly on the second Saturday. That means the November buffet is on Saturday, Nov 14 and in December it is on Saturday the 12th. Sweet! (Thanks Annie for drawing the flyer.)
• I’ve recently been posting about the demonstrations that have been happening at the DCU center. Ringling Brothers has now left town, so the protests are over. Charlene posted some good photos from the Thursday demonstration, and there some photos from Saturday’s big demonstration were just uploaded to the VegWorcester flickr page. Saturday was a big success. With somewhere around 35 to 40 people out there holding signs and giving out flyers, I would be surprised to hear that someone got into the show without seeing a sign or getting a brochure about Ringling’s long history of animal mistreatment.

Let’s keep this party going.

When Quan Yin closed, Veggie Corner quickly set up shop in its old location. Well, TJ’s house of vegan pizza just recently closed, but now Peace ‘O Pie is opening in its place.

Their website says they have new owners, a new look, new recipes, and a new attitude. Personally, I liked the old attitude. Peace O’ Pie is calling themselves a gourmet pizza place, but I hope the new attitude isn’t snooty.

There aren’t many details out yet, but they have a website up: http://PeaceOPie.com and you can find them on twitter too: @VeganPizza.

It should be opening sometime in September, but I haven’t heard a particular opening date yet. Hopefully there’ll be more details soon.

What do you think? Did you like the old TJ’s? Are you pysched about this new vegan place place?

The food is much like Quan Yin, but it is more Vietnamese cuisine than Chinese. They make fantastic Pho–traditional Vietnamese soup. With prices close to $5 ot $6, Veggie Corner is very inexpensive. It’s a good place to stop in for lunch.

Traditional Vietnamese Pho

Check them out. They are definitely worth supporting. Veggie Corner is located at 56 Hamliton Street, Worcester–exactly where Quan Yin used to be.

(Photos coming soon.)

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!