RI Eats: First-ever Providence Vegan Restaurant Week

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — More than a dozen restaurants in Providence and beyond are taking part in the first-ever Providence Vegan Restaurant Week.

“Ten years ago, people didn’t necessarily know what the word vegan was. Now you’d be hard-pressed to go anywhere and them not know,” said Karen Krinsky, owner of the East Side vegan ice cream shop “Like No Udder.” 

It’s the brainchild of Karen Krinsky and her husband, who own the East Side vegan ice cream shop “Like No Udder.” 

“This is an opportunity for restaurants that either have traditionally served only meat options, or restaurants that have been hip to the veg thing for a long time to showcase something different,” said Krinsky.

Restaurants run the gamut, from Aleppo Sweets’ authentic Syrian desserts in Fox Point, to the regional Indian cuisine of Rasoi in Pawtucket, to veg-based Italian favorites at Angelo’s on Federal Hill.

At Like No Udder, they’ll be offering specials and showcasing their house-made ice cream flavors.

“Depending on what I feel like making seasonally, for example we have pumpkin spice right now. We have some flavors that are always in the case, classics like mint chip, cookies and cream,” said Krinsky.

Across town at AS220, they’re getting their veg-based specials ready.

“I’m going to do a bunch of scratch-made pastas. Usually they have egg in it, but we have our own ways of making them all vegan, and kind of let that shine. I like making stuff handmade and getting stuff people can’t really get anywhere else,” said head chef Chris Collins.

Collins strives to make every dish interchangeable between being meat- and veggie-based.

“I think it’s extremely important because a lot of people come with their partners and some of them will eat meat and some of them will be vegan, but they’ll kind of want the same dish. So it’s like they can actually get the same dishes, and one will be vegan, one will be meat,” said Collins.

For these eateries, the goal during Vegan Restaurant Week is not just to attract hardcore vegans, but to open a few skeptical minds. 

“Hopefully bring in a lot of new clientele that we haven’t had and hopefully expand their horizons of all the vegan restaurants in Providence and Rhode Island in general,” said Collins.

“If the food’s delicious, it doesn’t matter if it’s vegan or not, you have nothing to lose by trying it and everything to gain by opening your mind,” said Krinsky.