Support. If you wish to continue to be plant-based and have things more accessible to you then we need to support our small businesses. Blah blah blah. Ultimately, if you have a vegan restaurant in your town you should be supporting it. Hey, if you aren’t plant-based but wish to be supportive than try out your local vegan restaurant as well. I believe that these will be the cornerstones of acceptance and other restaurants to become more accommodating. I am not a stickler and tell restaurants how to run their company. However, if we support these local vegan restaurants more than the ones that only have a “portabella burger”, we might actually start seeing some real items come to fruition. Okay, enough about how we can make change and should support our local vegan restaurants. I want to talk to you about these vegan restaurants themselves. I am new to this plant-based lifestyle and really began to get into it during COVID. So, I never really could compare it to anything else since I was always at home eating. However, the first time I walked into one I got a sense of relief. I knew exactly what I ordered was going to be within my dietary restrictions. I felt a sense of safety. Honestly, it felt like a normal restaurant. I am not allergic to anything so any time I would go into any restaurant anything was on the table, I could order whatever. That is the same feeling I got when I entered a vegan restaurant. Now, I have been to other restaurants since then and have only had the option to order one thing on their menu that was vegan or just order a salad hold the cheese and meat (could’ve saved $10 & been fuller). So, now anytime I walk into a vegan restaurant I am thankful for that, but still nothing feels like your first time walking in somewhere that is for you. That “somewhere” a place that almost makes you feel accepted. I recall my girlfriend tearing up and almost crying our first time at our local vegan restaurant. She finally could read an entire menu and order whatever she wanted. So, thank you Paisley’s Vegan Kitchen for being a cornerstone and restaurant that I can rely on and will always be happy to visit.
