From award-winning barbecue to all-you-can-eat fried chicken, there's no shortage of meat and fried food options on the menus of St. Louis restaurants. Those looking for vegan or plant-based meal options, however, may often find themselves confined to the proverbial corner of a menu, choosing from a limited offering of vegetable sides or basic salads. (At the same time, though, plant-based foods are on the rise nationally, with retail sales up 27 percent in 2020, according to recent data from the Plant Based Food Association.)
Enter STL Plant-Based Restaurant Week. It aims to add more plants to plates and bring people together in doing so. The inaugural event invites Kirkwood and Webster Groves restaurants to feature several fully plant-based (vegan) meals on their menus from May 1–May 7.
Restaurants on board so far include the Kirkwood and Webster Groves locations of Crushed Red, Mission Taco Joint, and Mike Duffy's Pub & Grill, with more to be confirmed. (Click here for details and registration information.)
“When someone in a group of friends or family decides to go plant-based, it kind of stresses everyone out when you go out to eat,” says Caryn Dugan, who's spearheading the event. “You have the one plant-based or vegan person who may feel like a burden to the group, then everyone else feels like their options are limited.” STL Plant-Based Restaurant Week aims to create a space at the table for everyone.
Courtesy STLVegGirl
Known to many on social media as STLVegGirl, Dugan founded the Center for Plant Based Living in 2019. The center is based in Kirkwood and offers support, resources, and community to those who are looking to add more plants to their diets. Dr. Jim Loomis, a former team doctor for the St. Louis Cardinals, serves as medical director for the center.
To participate in the week, restaurants must pay a fee of $45 (which goes toward the event’s printing and marketing costs). There are two rules: The menu items must be fully plant-based (vegan), and they must not be deep-fried, as the word “plant-based” is used to indicate a healthy vegan option.
While the inaugural event will be limited to Kirkwood and Webster Groves restaurants, Dugan has ambitions to expand the concept to the entire region one day. “The goal of this whole thing is to get everyone around the table together,” says Dugan. “At its core, that’s what this week is all about.”
