Veggiest: A Very Vegan Thanksgiving

To continue our Thanksgiving series, we bring you a scintillating suggestion for a vegetarian—nay, vegan (and raw!)—Thanksgiving. Grezzo Restaurant (69 Prince Street), which serves locally grown vegan raw food—basically everything that Thanksgiving isn't—is offering a special Thanksgiving dinner menu for those who want to get out of the kitchen and into raw food.

The menu is available for pick-up between November 5 and 26; just order (by calling 857-362-7288) a day or two ahead of time to make sure you'll get your goods. Featured items are Thanksgiving Napoleon with "stuffing," apples, greens, and cheese (made from cashews, not milk); Pumpkin Ravioli; and Cucumber Cannelloni... with dehydraded "bolognese." Tasty sides include root vegetable puree, Cape Cod cranberry and apple sauce, more nut cheeses, and the requisite green bean casserole. Pumpkin "cheese"cake, chocolate torte, and gelatos are available for dessert. These unheated and unmeated items will set you back anywhere from $10 (for sides) to $23 (for entrees) apiece.

If you're not as thrilled about a raw food Thanksgiving as the raw foodies are, but would still like to try Grezzo sometime, check out their regular menu (changes weekly) and to go options.

Another vegan turkey day option—other than the dreaded Tofurky— is the Boston Vegetarian Society's vegan (pre-)Thanksgiving dinner. Offered from 4:30-10pm on both November 25 and 26 (so you've got no excuse for missing out!), the all-vegan extravaganza includes include a choice of pumpkin, squash, or tofu entrees, each accented with plenty of other veggies. There will also be a sweet potato and tapioca dessert that sounds intriguing. The dinners take place at My Thai Cafe Vegetarian & Bubble Tea Bistro (404 Harvard Street, Brookline).

More veggie Thanksgiving ideas after the jump. Photo from eye of einstein a reminder of the Martha's Vineyard Turkey Attack.

Everyone thinks Thanksgiving is all about the turkey (and the tryptophan), but there are actually tons of options for vegetarians as well—more than on most nights, really. From mashed potatoes to apple cider to chestnuts and squash, Thanksgiving is a veritable cornucopia (for real) of vegetarian treats. If you don't want your root vegetables pureed, as at Grezzo, try our wine-glazed root vegetable recipe from last year. Any vegetarian should be able to make the most of a spread containing potatoes (sweet and regular), cranberries, and of course the all-important roll. You'll want to check how the stuffing was made, and maybe look into making your own gravy, but other than that vegetarians are pretty well off at Thanksgiving. Vegans may need to avoid buttery bounty, but as long as you cook some vegetables yourself, you should be fine and dandy.

And all that veggie goodness is not counting the pies. Your grandma probably isn't bringing over vegan pies, but you can make your own vegan pumpkin pie (or pumpkin pie brownie), vegan pecan pie (with coconut-oil crust, if you like), or vegan apple pie. Surprise people by not telling them what's vegan and what's not, and see if they can tell the different. In our experience, vegan desserts are often even awesomer than regular ones.

So buck up, veggies—you have a lot to enjoy this Thanksgiving. And you won't be the ones tryptophan'ed out on the couch after the meal. Which probably means you'll have to do the dishes. Shoot.