A plant-based celebration expands to Southern RI

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VEGAN FOR WEEKS

South County restaurants celebrate plant-based dining with special menus

What started as a grassroots vegan movement in Providence has grown to encompass restaurants across the state. PVD Vegan Restaurant Week – which is technically two weeks – is the brainchild of Chris Belanger and wife Karen Krinsky who have more than 50 years of eating plant-based between the two of them. They’re also owners of the popular Like No Udder vegan ice creamery.

Inspiration struck when Belanger learned about vegan chef competitions sprouting up in other regions and wondered why Rhode Island didn’t have one. “I’m not really into competitions and felt that such a program was too complex to manage; I really wanted to make it about the vegan food rather than me and the restaurants essentially managing a popularity contest.” With “Restaurant Weeks” a widespread concept, he took a page from other models but distilled the idea into something simpler and more a ordable for participating eateries.

Participation has spread south with places like Celebrated in Warwick and Rasa in East Greenwich curating plant-based specials that will be posted online closer to the date. BŌL in Wakefield is getting in on the fun, too, with Georgia on my Mind – a colorful coconut cream bowl of peaches, bananas, nutmeg, maca root, and cinnamon. They’ll also be pouring Butterfly Lattes, a stunning blue drink with butterfly pea flower, house-made coconut cashew milk, agave, and wild rose.

Now in year four, PVD Vegan Restaurant Weeks takes place October 28 through November 6 (straddling November 1, which is World Vegan Day) and welcomes five new locations. VegRestaurantWeek.com | By Abbie Lahmers