Boston Vegan Restaurants

With the extensive array of local area colleges bringing in students and professors from all over the world, Boston has a host of dining options, including several vegan restaurants. Vegan restaurants are largely defined as in addition to vegetarian no meat standards, a vegan diet also holds to no dairy, eggs or honey. These Boston, Massachusetts restaurants have committed to serving vegan menu items, but in varying degrees of severity - some have some non-vegan items, another is almost all raw foods. A surprising number of college students quickly tire of burgers and fries or campus fare (even Ivy League eats) and often look for alternative eating establishments - some popular vegan restaurants including the following eateries.

The first vegan restaurant is the Grasshopper on North Beacon Street. Grasshopper serves all vegan Asian cuisine and has an extensive menu. Some of Grasshopper's recipes are from Vietnamese Buddhist temples. Grasshopper has generous portions for pretty good prices. The best aspect of Grasshoppers in my opinion is their "faux meats" even please most avid meat eaters. They also have flavorful appetizers that are, well, more appetizing than one might expect. Some examples are the Fresh Spring Rolls, Bean Cakes, and Sesame Buckwheat Noodles with Peanut Sauce.

The Grasshopper Supreme is a hearty enough meal for those who fear a vegan restaurant will leave them feeling less than full. They take skinless eggplant in a chili-basil sauce, and serve it with asparagus and portabella mushrooms. They also have vegan desserts, including a pretty good vegan cheesecake with fruit on top.

The second is a very unusual restaurant that requires a town like Boston to really appreciate it. We can probably easily find a vegan meal with simple fare and atmosphere, but if you need to find vegan fare for a special occasion or to take a special client to lunch, that is another story. Grezzo Restaurant in the North End of Boston is the haute cuisine of vegan. Grezzo dishes are largely raw, but they do many dishes that are something of homage to their cooked, non-vegan counterparts. Grezzo serves all vegan, organic, gourmet raw living foods. The concept is a very upscale vegan and green. The menu changes daily based on what high quality organic foods are available.

This restaurant is for your hard core vegan, because no heat above a very low temperature is permitted, the only cooking appliance is a dehydrator. Cold is allowed, so there is gelato and an ice cream made from cold sauces and nut milk. To meet these restrictions and still make meals enjoyable and visually appealing is a chef who uses top of the line veggies and is very inventive in ideas, textures and presentation. The chef has come up with all sorts of beautiful looking and tasty dehydrator cooked items. There are lots of menu items that you would never see in vegan fare which makes this restaurant very interesting.

Grezzo is a pricey vegan trattoria type place. Very romantic color scheme on the walls and the paintings (of veggies of course) there is a bar, copper tables and lots of candles everywhere. It is a romantic "impress your vegan date" type of restaurant.

There are vegan style mock cocktails including a mojito (heavy mint and lime, no alcohol), or a cucumber martini. They use a fermented tea to make drinks seems "fizzy". Wines and organic zinfandel are also available.

Foods are very tasty, largely due to a high nut substitution for commonplace non-vegan ingredients or to evoke flavors like curry and smoky flavors frequently found in sauces or meats. While tasty and helpful to overcome standard "fatty" tastes and sauce accompaniments we are used to, this is not the place for someone with nut allergies. That being said, these menu items are very ambitious and seem to deliver some unexpected vegan treats.

The cold bisques have a nice texture and contrast and are naturally very colorful. Other appetizers are using nuts to attempt to substitute for smooth or smoked flavors. Edible flowers were in a few meals on the table, which made for a very pretty meal.

If you are not strictly vegan, then keep in mind when you order what would normally be cooked at higher temperatures to make the entrée appealing to you. A good example of this is the lasagna dishes - if you love cheesy piping hot lasagna, then remember this not just having vegetable in lieu of meat in this dish. In a true vegan lasagna, there is not cheese, it is not actual pasta, the tomato sauce is not cooked or simmered into a sauce like you are likely used to, and the lasagna is not served very hot and it is not gooey cheesy melty. However, if you are strict vegan, (such as someone who might be for dietary or health reasons who might crave non-vegan tasting foods) then this lasagna is nothing short of a vegan miracle.

Original Buddha's Delight in Chinatown, Boston is an all vegan restaurant except milk in some menu items as noted (mainly beverages, not in entrees). It is Asian cuisine, its' menu features faux meat dishes, soups, Japanese sushi, Thai curry and coconut dishes, vermicelli bowls, and an egg free crepe filled "Vietnamese Pizza" Lunch is a real bargain.

T.J. Scallywaggle's Vegan House of Pizza and Subs is located in Union Square. No matter what kind of diet you normally hold to, sometimes you just crave a pizza. This is a vegan friendly pizza place. They serve Vegan fare but they have most of the menu items of your corner pizza place. They have pretty good vegan substitutes for cheese, chicken, bologna, sausage and meatballs, which allows for some of the traditional pizza joint fare but all meet vegan standards such as Calzones, "cheesecake", chicken nuggets, chicken strips, chicken cutlets, sausage grinders, and meatballs - garlic bread with cheese.

Many vegan restaurants are also a good choice for those with gluten issues. Not all restaurants are open everyday, call or visit the website for hours.