Looking for a Nice Restaurant that is Vegan Friendly in NE Ohio?

We were looking for a special restaurant for our whole family to go to celebrate a dear family member’s 85th birthday.  I spoke with two that were very vegan friendly.

The Leopard, a 4 Diamond fine dining restaurant in the Bertram Inn in Aurora, OH http://www.theleopardrestaurant.com/ was extremely welcoming.  I called and asked if they could accomodate vegans. I felt that due to them being a 4 Diamond rating, that this would be no problem; however, I have learned to give  advance notice.  What impressed me was that they immediately put me through to the kitchen where I spoke to Chef Zack!  He informed me that vegans are not only accommodated, but welcomed and that they frequently serve vegan meals and have several regulars that are vegans.

The Welshfield Inn and Banquet Center, voted a Top 10 Cleveland restaurant in 2010, in Burton, OH  http://www.welshfielddining.com/index.html was also very accommodating.  I had several emails back and forth with the General Manager, Bob Petersen and he said that certainly their chef’s can and have accommodated vegan dietary requests.

How Do I Stay Plant-Based and Still Be Able to Attend Family/Friend Celebrations? Or Will I EVER Be Able to Eat Out Again?

Welshfield Inn, Burton, Ohio  A Wonderful Restaurant for Vegans and Carnivores Alike

Do you ever think about becoming a vegetarian or vegan but think that there’s no way you could ever eat anywhere other than your own kitchen, becoming a hermit in the process?

Don’t worry.  It does take planning, but it can be done.

We recently had a family celebration for a milestone birthday – 85 years young.  When we were considering what restaurant to hold it at, I emailed ahead and contacted the General Manager, Bob Petersen, of the Welshfield Inn in Burton, OH.  I asked if he would accomodate vegans.  He said no problem!  He said they usually do some kind of pasta and vegetable dish.  I asked if the pasta was whole wheat.  He said he would have it for us.

Welshfield Inn was built during the 1840’s and is gorgeous!  We sat on the patio on nice Sunday evening in August.  The landscaping was beautiful.  The breeze was cool, too cool for the 85 year old birthday girl, but they brought out 3 heaters and placed them around our table.  We were comfortable for the entire evening.  Our pasta was delicious!  It was whole wheat with fresh tomatoes and asparagus.  Since restaurants are notorious for having too large of servings, I had already allotted for 2 cups of whole wheat pasta in my Weight Watcher tracker, but I was served about 4 cups!  I was able to stop at approximately 2 cups and had them box up the rest.  My son ate it later that night.  All the carnivores at the table raved about their food also.

The Welshfield Story

Jacob Welsh and his daughter traveled from Boston, Massachusetts in 1811 to the Western Reserve area of Northeast Ohio. Mr. Welsh donated fifty acres of his land on which to build a church, parsonage and cemetery. In addition, he agreed to provide the nails and glass for the church if his neighbors would call the area Welshfield, in honor of his family.

The Inn was built during the 1840’s by Alden Nash and was named the Nash Hotel. This original structure still stands as the center portion of the building, with various additions throughout the years. It served as a stagecoach stop on the two-day trip from Youngstown to Cleveland and offered overnight lodging to visitors.

During the Civil War, the Inn was part of the Underground Railroad, caring for escaped slaves on their way to Canada. There are written accounts from the time detailing how the slaves were hidden in the hotel barn and fed baskets of food prepared from the kitchen. During the ensuing years, the Inn was the social center of the Welshfield area, at various times housing a school, a barber shop, a jewelry shop and the Post Office. Additions to the building were made over time, including a ballroom, guest rooms and the signature front porch.

Until 1946, the Inn went through several owners, each adding history and personal touches to the building. In August, 1946, the Inn was purchased by Brian and Pauline Holmes of Akron, who created and nurtured the family style restaurant known as the Welshfield Inn. The Holmes’ owned the Inn for over forty-five years, residing and raising their family in the upstairs living quarters and growing and harvesting much of the produce featured seasonally on their menu. Upon their retirement in 1992, The Inn was sold to Drs. Arthur and William Steffee and their sister Susan. The Steffee’s added on the garden room dining area and undertook other major renovations and improvements throughout the historic building. During their ownership, the Inn developed its reputation as a family-style restaurant, drawing visitors and families from all over Northeastern Ohio.

In 2007, the Inn was purchased by the SKHM group, proprietors of restaurants and inns, including 87 West at Crocker Park, Washington Place Bistro and Inn (formerly Baricelli Inn), and the Allegheny Grille located in Foxburg, Pennsylvania. After extensive renovation and restoration, The Welshfield Inn reopened in November of 2007. In 2010, the neighboring church was purchased and underwent renovation to become a banquet facility to help serve greater demand for private functions. Our goal at The Welshfield Inn is to exceed our guests expectations while providing friendly and attentive service, consistently excellent food, in one of the regions most historic establishments.

If you’re in the area, Welshfield Inn is truly deserving of your visit.  They could not have been any more accomodating to us.  It was excellent.

14001 Main Market Road
Burton, Ohio 44021
440-834-0190

http://welshfielddining.com/index.html

Me, Give Up Meat? Vegan Diets Surging in Popularity US News

While I don’t agree with the cons, I do agree that you must plan to be sure you are getting all the nutrients needed. Laura

The Pros (and a Few Cons) of Choosing a Vegan Diet

by Angela Haupt

Former President Bill Clinton had a legendary appetite: Hamburgers and steaks. Barbeque. Chicken enchiladas. But after having two stents inserted in 2010—on top of quadruple bypass surgery six years earlier—he radically changed his diet in the name of saving his health. Now a vegan, the strictest type of vegetarian, he has cut out meat, dairy, eggs, and most oils in favor of a super-low-fat diet that revolves around whole grains, fruits, vegetables, beans, and nuts. It appears to be working: He has said he’s dropped more than 20 pounds and has never been healthier. In a televised interview with film producer Harvey Weinstein in June, Clinton explained that he’d decided he wanted to live to be a grandfather. “So I just went all the way. Getting rid of the dairy was great, getting rid of the meat was—I just don’t miss it.”

Vegan diets have lately been surging in popularity, thanks in part to the example of celebrities who are publicly forswearing all animal products (Michelle Pfeiffer, Carrie Underwood, Russell Brand, and Ozzy Osbourne, to name a few others). Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi have announced plans to open a vegan restaurant in Los Angeles. Vegan-centric books have been flying off the shelf, including Alicia Silverstone’s The Kind Diet and The Engine 2 Diet by Texas firefighter and triathlete Rip Esselstyn, son of retired Cleveland Clinic physician Caldwell Esselstyn, whose research on the merits of plant-based eating inspired Bill Clinton. Vegan food trucks are making the rounds, schools are instituting meat-free days, and colleges are opening vegan dining halls.

While many vegans still take the stand because they believe in animal rights, a growing number are swayed by mounting research showing a profound impact on health. “It’s dramatic,” says Neal Barnard, a nutrition researcher and adjunct professor of medicine at the George Washington University School of Medicine in Washington, D.C., and president of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, a nonprofit group that promotes preventive medicine. “We’ve seen people whose chest pain has gone away within weeks, while their weight melts off, blood pressure goes down, and cholesterol plummets.” Barnard’s 2011 book 21-Day Weight Loss Kickstart is a three-week introduction to the case for and how-tos of the vegan life. The panel of 22 experts who analyzed 25 diets forU.S. News’s ratings of the best eating plans overall—as well as the best for weight loss, heart health, and diabetes management and prevention—are not universally sold on absolute meatlessness. But without a doubt, the heavily plant-based plans tend to rise to the top of the U.S. News lists.

Exactly how you shape a vegan meal plan is up to you, but you’ll typically aim for six servings of grains from bread and calcium-fortified cereal, for example; five servings of protein-rich foods such as legumes, nuts, peanut butter, chickpeas, tofu, potatoes, and soy milk; and four servings of veggies, two of fruit, and two of healthy fats like avocado, coconut oil, and olive oil. (Both of the Esselstyns advocate avoiding all oils, too.) There’s no need to give up dessert, although you’ll be baking without butter or eggs.

It should come as no surprise that becoming a serious vegan is apt to help you lose weight. By loading up on fruits, veggies, and whole grains, vegans tend to feel full on fewer calories, and indeed they tend to weigh less and have a lower body mass index than their meat-eating peers. In a 2006 study coauthored by Barnard, 99 people with type 2 diabetes followed either a vegan diet or a standard diet based on American Diabetes Association guidelines. After 22 weeks, the vegans lost an average of 13 pounds, compared to 9 in the ADA group. Both groups’ control of their blood sugar levels also improved.

The cardiac case. A meatless diet’s power against heart disease also is well documented. “It’s an exceptionally healthy diet, especially when it comes to cardiac health,” says Michael Davidson, director of preventive cardiology at the University of Chicago Medical Center. He notes that cutting way back on saturated fat and eliminating cholesterol is just part of the equation; also key is piling on “cardiac protective” fruits, vegetables, and grains, packed with antioxidants and other phytochemicals that protect cells from damage caused by free radicals. The soluble fiber found in plant protein also helps to lower cholesterol. In the 2006 Diabetes Care report, LDL cholesterol dropped 21.2 percent in the vegan group after 22 weeks, compared with 10.7 percent in the group following the meat-allowing guidelines. Triglycerides fell from 140.3 mg/dL to 118.2. In an earlier 12-year study that compared 6,000 vegetarians and vegans with 5,000 meat-eaters, researchers found that vegans had a 57 percent lower risk of ischemic heart disease—reduced heart pumping due to coronary artery disease, which often leads to heart failure—than the meat-eaters. Vegetarians had a 24 percent lower risk.

Read the rest at:  http://health.usnews.com/health-news/articles/2012/07/24/me-give-up-meat-vegan-diets-surging-in-popularity?page=2