Thu 12/2 @ 5-7PM
It’s hard to believe that Cleveland was once a desert as far as vegetarian food is concerned. Until just 25 or 30 years ago, there were at most a handful of outposts to get away from the ubiquitous menu of steaks, hamburgers and kielbasa.
That’s changed in a big way: virtually every restaurant that wants to keep its clientele now offers vegetarian specialties, since most groups of more than three or four people include a vegetarian. And where once a vegan was as common as a unicorn, it’s become a common dietary choice even in Cleveland.
So we’re probably ready for The Rust Belt Vegan Kitchen cookbook, put out by Cleveland-based Belt Publishing, edited and designed by Meredith Pangrace. Contributors include both professional and home chefs living in the Great Lakes aka Rust Belt region.
The description suggests it includes a lot of fake meat “I Can’t Believe It’s Not a Hot Dog” type of stuff, including vegan versions of the Eastern European foods that used to give so much tsuris to longtime vegetarians like me back in the 1970s. And this Chicagoan is going to take a hard look at their “Chicago Deep Dish Pizza” recipe. With more that 60 recipes, there’s sure to be something to appeal to most palettes, whether you’re a vegan, vegetarian or just feel it might be virtuous to eat less meat and more plant-based foods.
Belt Publishing is launching the book with an event at Ready Set Coffee in Gordon Square. You can meet Pangrace and some of the contributors, enjoy some food and drink, and purchase a copy of the book for some of the chefs to sign. Admission is $10. Tickets here.
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