The meat-free fare at the new Ayşe Meze Lounge (6 N. East Street) is sure to be gobbled up by food-lovers in the Frederick area, whether veggie or not. From the same folks who brought us Acacia, Isabella’s and Brewer’s Alley, Ayşe brings to Frederick to-notch Mediterranean foods in a warm, vibrant atmosphere and at a reasonable price.

Keeping with the Mediterranean tradition of vegetable-heavy dishes, Ayşe features an entire vegetarian menu packed full of delicious items that put produce at the center of the plate. Just some the tasty meat-free items offered include:

• falafel (chick pea fritters with tahini sauce and cucumber-tomato salsa)
• mantar (sautéed mushrooms with marcona almonds, dates, oregano and brandy)
• osmanli pilavi (saffron rice pilaf tossed with dried fruits and pistachio nuts)
• havuç köftesi (istanbul carrot fritters with dried apricots and toasted pine nuts)
• dev fasulye (giant white beans with garlic in a spiced tomato broth and wilted greens)
• imam bayildi (olive oil roasted eggplant stuffed with tomatoes, onions and bell peppers)
• brüksel lahanasi (crispy brussel sprouts with toasted walnuts, capers, currents, and fried parsley)
• yaprak dolmasi (rice stuffed grape leaves with fennel, pine nuts and currants)

Visit Ayşe on the web at http://aysemeze.com.

Bon Appétit!

From vegan tofu scramble wraps and scones to vegan chocolate cake, Moxie offers up tasty meat-free eats every day. The restaurant also mixes things up by adding new vegan items into the mix on a regular basis. July 4th weekend, for example, they’ll be dishing up BLT sandwiches with tempeh bacon, fried green tomatoes (!!!) and vegan mayonnaise.

Bon Appétit!

Want to learn more? Visit Moxie’s website here: http://www.moxiedesserts.com/

Call it Wegman’s Mania, or The Wegman’s Invasion.  No matter what you call it though, it seems like everyone’s got Wegman’s on the mind these days.

And for good reason! The store (at 7830 Wormans Mill Road) boasts buffet bars that are 100% vegetarian (the second of their kind for Wegman’s, whose only other store that offers veggie bars is the flagship store in upstate New York), a produce section that rivals nature itself and refrigerator and freezer cases packed full of virtually any mock meat or dairy alternative product you could imagine (including some that we at VegFrederick had never even heard of before–and are now officially obsessed with).

We talked with Edd Hite, executive chef of the Frederick Wegman’s (and the mastermind behind the store’s amazing meat-free selections), who explained Wegman’s focus on freshness. “All the items on our vegetarian hot bar are prepared fresh and made-to-order,” said Chef Edd. “From our vegetarian meatloaf with roasted vegetables to our tofu dishes, we know that our customers want fresh, and that’s what we provide.”

Check out the company’s official YouTube video from its Frederick opening: Welcome to the Wegmans family, Frederick!

How local? Well, Mom’s Organic Market is based in Maryland and six of its seven locations are in our humble state. And the selection of vegan products at the Buckeystown Pike location here in Frederick is nothing short of awe-inspiring.

But for now, we’re gonna keep it really local. That’s where The Common Market (5728 Buckeystown Pike) comes in. Things we love about The Common Market include:

• It’s as local as local can be.
• It has a fantastic array of vegetarian and vegan products like mock meats and dairy-free cheeses as well as basically any kind of vegan “milk” you can think of (rice, soy, hemp, almond – you name it!).
• It has a hot bar that is almost always full of vegan items (in fact, it’s often mostly vegan items!).
• It has a plethora of delicious vegan sweets (a critical factor, given our collective sweet tooth).
• And it’s cooperatively-run and community-owned! In fact, the store has more than 3,400 owners! (Read more about how the store is managed here.)

(That’s a lot of stuff to love about a grocery store!)

The Common Market is open 9am – 9pm every day except Sunday (when its open 10am – 8pm). So go get your shopping on and tell ‘em VegFrederick.com sent you!

The products that GPI dreams up, which are called Gardein (a combination of “garden” and “protein,” in case you didn’t catch that!) emulate the taste and texture of real meat to an almost scary degree. Try the BBQ Pulled “Pork” in sandwiches. Or top a bed of rice with the “Chicken” Scallopini. Just want a snack? Try any one of the multiple varieties of battered “chicken” tenders…or maybe the buffalo wings. Garden Protein has it all!

Locally, the products are widely available (Costco, Wegman’s, Mom’s, The Common Market and numerous other stores sell them).

The menu of The Orchard Restaurant, at 45 North Market Street in downtown Frederick, is packed full of delicious meat-free items that vegetarians, vegans and meat-eaters will enjoy.

We at VegFrederick recommend starting with the portabella mushrooms with pita crisps and the vegetable tempura with tamari ginger dip. For your entree, try any one of the eleven different stir fry dishes made with vegetables and/or tofu. If you’re big on olives, try the Creole stiry fry with vegetables and tofu (tossed with The Orchard’s homemade tomato and olive sauce). For an extra kick, ask for a side of homemade hot sauce. If your sweet tooth is present even during dinner, try the Polynesian stir fry, a delicious sweet n sour-style mix of vegetables, tofu and pineapple. Want lunch for tomorrow? Order one of the (very tasty) fried tofu and hummus sandwiches to go.