Vegan Dining in Connecticut

(G-MONKEY PHOTOS BY LISA NICHOLS)

Eating a plant-based diet is one of the best things we can do for ourselves and our planet. There are so many good reasons to make this choice: improving our health, reducing our carbon footprint to slow climate change, preserving natural resources (water, land, indigenous species), creating a sustainable food supply for all humans, not eating our fellow creatures, and more. If experts are correct, eating plants will lengthen our lifespans and possibly save the world. That is no exaggeration. Another good reason is simply that plants taste great! When a plant-based diet is sourced, prepared and served with thoughtfulness and creativity, and it tastes delicious, the choice is very easy.

Vegan and vegetarian dining options are too few and far between in eastern Connecticut, but the restaurants in this story all feature delicious plant-based menus with individual flair and focus. If you are on the fence about plant-based eating, visit one or all of them and then decide.

Chef/owner KC Ward is all in with plants at Flora Plant Food + Drink, which opened at Blue Back Square in West Hartford five years ago. Flora’s slogan is “as vegan as you want to be.” KC is trying to make plant-based dining accessible for everyone, even just to try it out. Self-described as “not exclusively vegan,” KC feels the term “vegan” has negative connotations and that there’s a stigma that plant-based food is not tasty. He learned early on in cooking that, no matter the fancy ingredients or complicated techniques, what good chefs do at the end of the day is make delicious meals. “Our food is really great!” he chuckles. He wants plant-based food to be something people crave.

KC feels that plant-based eating should not be political or make a statement, but he agrees the American food system is unsustainable. “I think the current U.S. food model is a Ponzi scheme for future generations,” KC states. “Giving a vegan option is important to help balance everything out.”

“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”
—Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food: An Eater's Manifesto

To please veggie believers and entice reluctant carnivores, Flora offers a “hybrid” experience. Already vegan? You don’t have to ask…everything is safe for you to eat. Even the bar is carefully curated to exclude wine or beer that might be filtered with egg whites or fish bladders. Dining with omnivores? Yes, they will be happy too. Flora offers a sidebar to their menu with “viable fauna,” which might include grass-fed beef, organic chicken and wild-caught seafood. “Giving a hybrid option is a way for everyone to break bread at the same table,” KC says, “It’s great to see people trying something as a novelty or sharing an appetizer with vegan friends and be impressed and want more. That’s when the magic works.”

Flora does it all: breakfast, lunch, dinner, brunch on Sunday, full bar with daily happy hour. “We offer tasty food and a completely vegan experience at the restaurant,” says KC. “After that, it’s up to you.”

Also located in the dining mecca of West Hartford, G-Monkey Plant-Fueled Fast Food is changing the definition of fast food. With a 30-year history in plant-based dining and nutrition, Ami Beach (author, holistic nutritionist, raw foods educator) and her husband, celebrated vegan chef Mark Shadle (OG chef/ co-owner of Middletown’s It’s Only Natural and Branford’s G-Zen restaurants) believe the future is vegan. Using a wealth of expertise in vegan dining and “cult classic” recipes, they are helping plant-based eating zoom into the present so we can save the future.

With the opening of G-Monkey in West Hartford, “fast food” no longer is a dirty word. As “CT's first 100% plant-based vegan fast-food restaurant,” G-Monkey has co-opted the term by offering “plant-fueled” fast food. “We wanted to make plant-based eating more available to the community,” says Ami. “We believe true vitality and longevity—from anti-aging, anti-inflammatory, heart-healthy eating--comes from consuming a diet that’s predominantly plant based.”

Ami emphasizes that G-Monkey uses only whole, unprocessed foods, never anything manufactured or even meat-like products. “We make everything in-house, right down to the condiments, the veggie burger, the bread. That is the G-Monkey difference. Just because it’s labeled vegetarian or vegan doesn’t mean it’s healthy. We use the highest quality ingredients that you would get in a farm-to-table restaurant but in a fast-food setting.”

Convenience is king in our fast-moving world. Knowing people don’t always have time for a long meal, Ami and Mark wanted to offer a better option for human health and the environment. “We are redefining fast food on every level,” says Ami. Rather than typical fast-food Styrofoam, they use compostable, biodegradable packaging. Rather than frozen, warmed-up food sitting under a heat lamp, they offer quick but fresh meals that are “hand-crafted daily.” Ami says GMonkey offers “real food with real ingredients,” similar in quality to the delicious vegan dining they offered for 12 years at G-Zen but at a quick-service restaurant. And customers are flocking there in droves.

Wendy Garosshen, owner of Heirloom Food Company in Danielson, knew when they opened in 2012, that many Quiet Corner residents would not be into plant-based eating. “We would go to area restaurants and see only one or two vegetarian options,” says Wendy. “When we opened Heirloom, we wanted to turn that on its head.”

Heirloom does offer turkey and tuna—their perennial best seller is a turkey veggie avocado sandwich--but the rest of the menu is plant-based, and everything is available vegan and gluten free. “Every sandwich comes with six-plus different veggies,” says Wendy. “You can get meat, but you will get pumped full of veggies. It’s like sneaking veggies into your child’s food. We want to encourage people to eat that way more often. When people read the menu, they might be hesitant but when they taste the flavors it surprises people on a regular basis.”

Wendy knows that in the U.S. we eat too much food but don’t get enough nutrients. “Studies show there are nutrients in plants you can’t get from anything else. Whether you go all plant based or just one or two meals, you’ll improve your nutrition. I don’t like to really push a complete plant-based diet, but if you are adding more plants into your diet, that’s a great thing for your health.”

People travel to Heirloom for their recipes, ingredients, and fresh taste. “We have taken flavor up a notch,” says Wendy. “Also, we work with farmers that are just a few miles away. We get lettuce that is picked, processed, and eaten an hour and a half later. There’s no way to get better flavor than fresh, fresh veggies.” While not every farm they use is certified, they carefully source only from farms that use organic practices, with no pesticides and no synthetic fertilizers.

Heirloom’s vibe is community oriented--with local artwork for sale on the walls, landscape and potted plants from nearby Logee’s Greenhouse, a chalkboard with handwritten shout-outs to local farm and artisan sources. Farmers call them with what’s available and the seasonal menu reflects that. Heirloom is also known for desserts, with two managers who trained at Johnson & Wales baking program. “Our baked goods are above and beyond,” says Wendy. “Our bakers are completely jazzed creating amazing desserts that are gluten-free, dairy-free and vegan. We get people saying, I can’t get this anywhere else. People who deal with food allergies and restrictions appreciate it; it’s a real treat for them.”

Wendy is proud to provide a locally “different” option. Along with offering a healthy abundance of veggies, she wants to take people out of their food routines. “Our claim to fame is our Veggie Rueben, which tastes like pastrami with a secret sauce that creates a smokey, salty delicious taste, as good as with meat.” Open Tuesday to Saturday from 10AM to 5PM, Heirloom offers lunch, several breakfast specials, and amazing smoothies. This fall, they will host special events with vegan, gluten-free and regular pizza made in a portable pizza oven (built and operated by her very supportive father-in-law). Wendy recommends a road trip to savor Heirloom’s food, then a visit to Logee’s (a tropical paradise in winter!) to see their remarkable century+-old lemon tree in a historic greenhouse or visit the beautiful Cat Hollow Park waterfall, all just around the Quiet Corner.

• Flora Plant Food & Drink is located at 45 Raymond Rd in West Hartford – more at floraweha.net
• G-Monkey is located at 625 New Park Ave, Suite G, in West Hartford – more at gmonkeyglobal.com
• Heirloom Food Company is located at 630 N. Main St in Danielson – more at eatheirloomfood.com

Heirloom's “Monkey Business" smoothie paired with the Veggie Reuben adn an Oatmeal Cream Pie 

WORTH THE TRIP: TWO OTHER DELICIOUS EASTERN CT PLANT-BASED RESTAURANTS
 

NOT ONLY JUICE MARKETPLACE & KITCHEN

Owner Sarah Cook Colgan: “Many people are overwhelmed by the idea of eating plant-based or whole-food-based because they feel it’s difficult and necessitates a drastic change in lifestyle. By adding more minimally processed fruits, vegetables, legumes, nuts, and whole grains you can slowly remove processed foods from your diet and not feel deprived without a radical change. Plant-based diets are filled with abundance.”

For 7 years, NOJ has served great food and fresh juice “from seed to plate.” Her husband’s Colgan Farm (Lebanon, CT) provides most of the produce in season. NOJ offers a fast-casual menu plus a cooler and freezer of prepared items and freshly made provisions such as pickles, relishes, sauces, dips and more.

Located at 790 Main Street in Willimantic – more at facebook.com/NOJMarketplace/

RIGHT PATH ORGANIC CAFÉ

Chef/owner Rob Bernardo: “Living a plant-based lifestyle creates so many positives, from mental clarity, weight loss, disease reduction, environmental health, the feeling of knowing that you're doing the best for your body, and the future of the planet.”

In a 2,200sf café with WiFi and space to work, Right Path’s plant-based menu is made fresh, in-house, and mostly gluten-free. They offer daily specials designed to appeal to people new to a plant-based lifestyle (taco Tuesday, sushi rolls, BLTs with eggplant bacon), plus desserts and familiar items like lasagna, meatless loaf, and mashed potatoes, crabless cakes, and more, all available in a grab-and-go freezer.

Located at 147 Bank Street in New London – more at facebook.com/rightpathorganiccafe/