Vegan, Vegetarian Dining in Wilmington, North Carolina

A Guide to Dining Out or Finding a Quick Vegan or Vegetarian Meal on the Go!

Mavyn McDaniels, Yahoo! Contributor Network
May 1, 2008 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."

To my knowledge (and believe me, I've looked!), there are no vegan or vegetarian restaurants anywhere near Wilmington, North Carolina. However, this doesn't mean that all of us living in this beautiful part of the Care Fear region are destined to dine at home and fore-go the fun and convenience of dining out with our friends and family.

Before I moved to Wilmington, I did a number of Internet searches for vegan restaurants and natural foods stores, and - while I did find a few helpful resources online - I immediately recognized that being vegan in Wilmington could be a challenge.

Of course, eating at home isn't a problem - generally speaking, vegans and vegetarians can find most of the groceries they need for a healthy, varied diet even when living in a small, not-so-vegan-friendly town. Grocery shopping for foods that are natural, vegan, organic, gluten-free and the like is also much easier now that knowledge of, and partaking in, healthier living has become much more popular.

However, finding a quick, prepared meal on the go or a dine-in restaurant for an evening out can be considerably more difficult.

After living in Wilmington for a year, I have been fortunate to find that there actually are many more options than one would assume from the lack of local comprehensive vegan and/or vegetarian resources online. I hope this article will assist vegans and vegetarians living in the Wilmington area to find and enjoy some of the many yummy options available to us.

Here is a partial listing of restaurants and delis that offer vegan and vegetarian options, or that have menu items that can be made vegan and/or vegetarian.

Flaming Amy's Burrito Barn

402 Oleander Drive - 910.799.2919

Menu available online

Dine in, take out and catering available

Vegetarian and vegan options

Tidal Creek Food Co-op

4406 Wrightsville Avenue - 910.799.2667

Salad bar, sandwiches and wraps at in-store café or for take out

Vegetarian and vegan options

Lovey's Natural Foods & Café

1319 Military Cutoff Road, Suite H (Landfall Shopping Center) - 910.509.0331

Food bar with hot and cold options, juice bar, café seating or take out