This Awesome Vegan Soul Food Restaurant in Baltimore Will Nourish Your Spirit!

For many people, the concept of soul food — food that nourishes and elevates the spirit — necessarily demands the liberal usage of fat (usually animal-derived) and sugar. Traditional dishes, such as collard greens, feel incomplete without the ham hocks; there’s no such thing as mac without a generous heap of butter and cheese; and fried chicken minus the vat of oil and key component — the chicken — seems impossible; laughable, even. Ask Greg and Naijha Wright-Brown, however, and they’ll tell you that soul food without the meat and dairy isn’t only possible, it’s delicious — and will nourish your body along with your soul, too.

Chef Greg Brown gave up meat in the late 1990s and found himself craving soul food — the food of his heritage — constantly. However, he wanted the freedom to indulge in the food of his community without putting his body and health at risk for the curable diseases which African American communities often face, such as diabetes — which is why he decided to open up a vegan soul food restaurant called Land of Kush in Baltimore, Maryland with his wife, Naijha.

‘I was born to eat healthy,’ Chef Greg writes on the Land of Kush website.

Land of Kush

Unwilling to settle for flavorless food (or pale imitations of his former favorites), Greg and Naijha birthed the vegan soul food concept for The Land of Kush. Together with their co-creator Darius Waters, the trio offers a dynamic menu that features plant-based versions of all your favorites. We’re talking vegan barbecue rib tips, baked vegan mac and cheese, collard greens, vegan crab cakes, and more.

Just check out those veggies!

Land of Kush

You can visit Land of Kush at 840 N. Eutaw St, Baltimore, MD 21201.

Make Your Own Vegan Soul Food at Home

If you aren’t in Maryland but want to taste the magic of vegan soul food for yourself, go ahead and whip up one of these delicious and elevating recipes at home, courtesy of the Food Monster App.

Take a trip to Baltimore through these vegan crab cakes.

Hearts of Baltimore Crab Cakes by Ayinde Howell are gluten-free. Maryland crab cakes are traditionally oversized, these are recreated using hearts of palm and traditional seasonings. Pair them with a garlicky dill vegan aïoli, and use a soy-free mayo to make this soy-free.

You won’t miss the ham in these collard greens!

These Smoky Southern Collard Greens by Molly Patrick are spicy, healthy, oil-free, and absolutely delicious.

Extra-vegan-cheesy mac n’ cheese is the best.

This Extra Creamy Mac and Cheese by Molly Patrick holds its own among non-vegan Mac and Cheese recipes. Straight up.

Make sure to read up on 25 of Your Favorite Classic Southern Comfort Foods Made Vegan for more inspiration, as well as this health feature on Important Nutrients for Healthy Blood Sugar Levels, and Especially for Diabetics.

We also highly recommend downloading our Food Monster App, which is available for both Android and iPhone, and can also be found on Instagram and Facebook. The app has more than 8,000 plant-based, allergy-friendly recipes, and subscribers gain access to ten new recipes per day. Check it out!

Lead image source: Land of Kush