Baltimore offers a vegetarian scene with tasty choices

When the dining hall's butter drowned vegetables almost drive you to swear off food altogether, you know it's time to take the initia-tive to look beyond the Homewood Campus walls. With organic food stores popping up left and right, vegetarian-focused restaurants throwing "Yes, We're Open" signs on every other street corner and community groups begging you to join in on the trend, the meat-eaters and meat-defeaters alike can coexist in Baltimore, and better yet, on and around Hopkins campus.

With the vegetarian population growing and the demand for easier access to groceries increasing, stores such as Whole Foods Market are coming out of the woodwork in droves.

Whole Foods Market, on Falls Rd. and Fresh Fields, at the intersection of Fleet and Exeter roads, are the more well-known chain establishments.

The stores offer a wide variety of organic fruits and vegetables, Teriyaki tofu, roti and countless more products. The smaller neighborhood stores are also joining the trend. OK Natural Food Store is located at 11 W. Preston St., and the Village Market Natural Grocery is a hub for vegetarian and vegan shoppers at 7006 Reistertown Rd.

Sure, you can shop for the food somewhat close to home now, but what about those days when you just don't feel like cooking? Liquid Earth, at 1626 Aliceanna St., is a popular place for vegetarians to sit back together, grab something to eat, and enjoy the atmosphere. But what about the Hopkins vegetarians? Surprisingly, a few restaurants are located within walking distance of campus.

A new addition to the vegetarian scene is the Yabba Pot CafZ, which declares itself as "destined to be Baltimore's premiere vegetarian hot spot." Yabba Pot offers a vegetarian and vegan menu, and also houses the Roots and Fruits Juice Bar, where organic fruits and vegetables are blended to your liking. To cater to vegetarians of all skill levels, "herbal and protein additives will also be available for the intermediate and beginning juicer."

One World CafZ, located on University Pkwy. across from Homewood Field, has been praised as the best place for vegetarians every year since they came to Baltimore. Isabel Fabara, the owner, says that she designed One World to be not only a place to eat but also a place to come and enjoy the atmosphere.

"Liquid Earth is more like a cafZ. One World also offers a bar and more of a nightlife." The cafZ serves both vegetarian and vegan dishes, and also added a tuna steak sandwich for meat-eaters. Usually, however, non-vegetarians find plenty to eat from the menu.

"People think vegetarian means beans and rice, basically plain food," says Fabara. "Here, they realize that [the food] is actually filling and tasty."

The restaurant gets their food from a whole foods supplier, which charges 2 times the price of regular suppliers. According to Fabara, however, vegetarians don't mind the extra cost of buying organic foods. "You're paying for quality," she says.

So you know where to go to buy the necessities and where the restaurant and nightlife is happening, but what about a sense of community? Where are the other vegans in Baltimore? They're all having a blast at the monthly Vegetarian Meetup -get-togethers.

Taking place on the second Wednesday of every month, the meet-ups are informal and are simply a bunch of vegetarians eating and talking together. According to Myles Weissleder, the VP of Communications for Vegetarian Matchup, the group has grown to 1300 "veggies" worldwide. The Baltimore community, however, is still in the works at 12 members. "That only means that word hasn't gotten out yet," says Weissleder. To find the meeting places in Baltimore, go to http://vegetarian.meetup.com and log on, and meet up with other "veggies" in the area. "All it is people's common interest coming together," says Weissleder. "Share a meal, make new friends. Who knows what could happen."

The Vegetarian Resource Group (http://www.vrg.org) provides tons of information and events for those who are vegetarian and those who just want to learn more about vegetarians. John Cunningham, the Consumer Product Research Manager, said that the group is mainly educational, but members do get together three or four times a year to have fun.

The group hosts a pre-Thanksgiving potluck every year and also has festivities to celebrate the National Meat-Out Day on March 20, where they encourage everyone to sustain from eating meat for a day.

Being a member also means an automatic subscription to the Vegetarian magazine, but it's "just one of the services we provide," says Cunningham. "Basically, we try to be as reliable a source as possible for the public."

With the vegetarian population growing around Hopkins campus and beyond, grocery stores and restaurants are answering the demand for meatless tastes. Community groups are calling vegetarians to unite and finally feel at home in Baltimore.