Plant-Based Dining Grows Up in Columbus

Plant-based dining is growing up in Columbus, as a new crop of vegetable-forward restaurants wins over omnivores by competing on flavor rather than virtue. The pitch has shifted from what these dishes lack to what they offer, and the food is better for it.

For years, meatless dining leaned on substitution and a faint sense of sacrifice. The restaurants gaining traction now treat vegetables as the point, coaxing depth and craft from ingredients that were once relegated to the side of the plate.

Chefs in the space say the audience has broadened well beyond vegetarians to anyone who simply wants a great meal that happens to be plant-based. Framing it as delicious first, they say, is what finally moved the category into the mainstream.