This ain’t your grandma’s veggie burger.

Modern vegetarian living in Hampton Roads is delicious, green, sexy, compassionate, and yes, one of the easiest things you’ll ever do. Through this bi-weekly column, I plan to explore the nitty-gritty details of the local vegetarian scene through tantalizing fare you never knew existed (the vegan egg, cheese, and bacon breakfast sandwich DOES live outside of your fantasies. no?), fabulous cruelty-free shopping (leave the mom jeans at home, we’re goin’ for the good stuff), and kick-butt ways to get involved for every personality type.

First of all, you’ve really lucked out. Hampton Roads is one of the best places to live a rockstar veggie-loving life. I moved here over two years ago from southwest Michigan where even veggie burgers were near impossible to come by at restaurants. I was the person forced to order like, “Can I get the #2 without this, substitute this, add this, and without this?”–something every veg kid in the Midwest can relate to. But after I finished college, I sprinted down to Norfolk to begin my career in online marketing at PETA, and the difficulty in seeking delicious veg food at restaurants became a worry of the past.

Growing up in Michigan, I was the only veg person I knew…a rare breed, I thought. I constantly needed to defend why I didn’t eat animals to those around me. When I moved here and started my job, I felt understood in this way for the first time, and lavished in the fact that people here not only shared my values, but fought for them on a daily basis.

So let’s get right down to it. If you’re already veg and need some local resources, I’m your woman. If you’re not yet veg but are curious to the ways you can make this crucial and fantastic change in your life, I encourage you to check out GoVeg.com where there are ethical, environmental, and practical answers to just about any of your questions.

The list below is just a few suggestions of my most favorite restaurants. In the future, I’ll discuss them one by one in much greater detail, but I wanted to give you a little somethin’ somethin’ on the first go-around to show just how lucky you are to live here with all of this flavorsome fare at your fingertips.

I’m hungry, I’m veg, and I’m fabulous. Where am I supposed to eat?!

• Yorgo’s Bageldashery (Norfolk). They serve one hell of a vegan breakfast sandwich which includes “bacon” or “sausage,” “egg,” and “cheese”–and I always ask to add tomatoes and veganaise (vegan mayonnaise) to it for a little extra oomph. Thank me later. They also have breakfast burritos, barbeque sandwiches, “chicken” salad, “egg” salad, tofurkey Italians, and vegan baked goods that’ll make your head spin.
• Siam21 (Norfolk). In the mood for a little spice in your life? This Thai restaurant has a whole menu that uses no animal products (flip the menu to the back page to see it). Drunken Noodles with tofu, level three spicy, add veggies…it’s spicy heaven on a plate.
• Z Pizza (Virginia Beach). This pizza place has some of the best vegan cheese I’ve ever come across. You can get it as a pizza or even a calzone (I bet you thought vegan calzones were only in fairytales, eh?). They’ve also got spicy “burger” crumbles you can add along with heaps of fresh veggies.
• Red Dog Saloon (Norfolk). I know you miss that fried chicken flavor… Well, your heart will ache no more! Red Dog offers fried chickette sandwiches, chickette salad and chickette nuggets. The batter has a mustard base that will knock your socks off.
• Taste of Culture (Portsmouth). This restaurant has menu items from all parts of the world, and loads of veggie goodness to go along with their creole flair–including barbecue tofu, and a bit of Oriental flavor as well, like several Chinese noodle dishes with tofu and mixed veggies.

Next time, I’ll tell you where you can order vegan beef teriyaki, tempeh club sandwiches, and five-spice tofu that’ll make you wanna dance. Can you handle it?! We’ll also dive into cruelty-free shopping next time around, so don’t miss it!

Live veg and stay proud,

Christine

This week’s tip for getting involved:

Join PETA’s online action team to get e-mails about local events as they come up. You’ll also get messages on ways to take action for animals on and offline. It’s a great way to stay in the know.

Christine Doré is the Marketing Special Projects Coordinator for PETA. Contact her at christined@peta.org.