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Vegan Dining Month: Try something new and help animals, too

Updated January 5, 2023 - 10:49 am

It’s Veganuary, Vegas-style.

The first month of 2023 marks Las Vegas Vegan Dining Month. Diana Edelman, creator of the influential Vegans, Baby website, founded the event in 2017 to showcase vegan dining options at Vegas restaurants.

In the six years since then, “vegan dining in Las Vegas has really taken off,” Edelman said. “When I first started Vegan Dining Month, only a handful of restaurants were fully vegan. Now, there are more than 20 that are fully vegan.”

Vegan Dining Month features completely vegan restaurants and those with vegan options, about 25 in all.

On the menu

Barry’s Downtown Prime steakhouse, in Circa, is offering vegan chicken marsala. Black & Blue Diner, on South Decatur Boulevard, is harnessing plant-based eggs for its omelet with plant-based chicken or beef. Border Grill, a participant since year one, is sending out wild mushroom tinga tostadas and tofu scallops with orange cumin glaze.

At Daikon Vegan Sushi, a first-time participant, there are rolls and curry ramen. Housemade meatloaf and grilled onions fill a meatloaf sandwich at Graze Kitchen. Picasso in Bellagio is serving its vegan tasting menu.

Queen of Hearts is throwing a vegan tea party with scones, sweets like cacao panna squares and savory bites like English cucumbers with roasted red pepper hummus. Look for miso cauliflower steak at Honey Salt, birria empanadas at Tacotarian Blue Diamond and vegetarian biryani at Taj Palace.

“The goal is to get people into the restaurants who have never been before or people who have been before to try something new,” Edelman said.

For the animals

At the end of Vegan Dining Month, Edelman said, participants will donate a portion of the sales of their vegan offerings to Animal Help Alliance, a Vegas organization that rescues hard-to-adopt animals and helps find them families.

For a list of participating restaurants (plus sponsors), visit vegansbaby.com/vegan-dining-month.

Contact Johnathan L. Wright at jwright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @ItsJLW on Twitter.

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