Lowell, Massachusetts is a small city with a population of 100,000. Its history is very import to our country. This old mill town with its many factories was a large part of America’s industrial revolution. The Wannalancit Mills gives tours on how the old mills used to operate. Unions first started in the Lawrence/Lowell area. While Lowell still has that milltown feel, it has also developed into a vibrant, modern city with a popular concert arena, community theater, a minor league baseball team, and several multicultural festivals. Vegans will enjoy this city!!
Its dining scene is very diversified including many options for international cuisine and even vegetarian dining.
My favorite vegetarian restaurant is LifeAlive. http://www.lifealive.com/
Most of the items are vegan. I always select the vegan choices myself. Let’s start off with the beverages…They have a daily ice tea created by each of the staff. I highly recommend these! The teas are a combination of herbs and spices with green, black, or herbal tea. You may also purchase a hot tea. There are also several living, fresh juices from which to choose. The menu contains descriptions of the health benefits of these juices. Truly fresh and delicious. Then there are the smoothies! Yummy! They are made with rice milk, almond milk or soymilk. Whether you want something chocolate or fruity, these do not disappoint. I wish I could have one every day! They are scrumptious indeed.
The meals remind me of warm, comfy, homestyle cooking. The various rice dishes contain a combo of healthy, colorful vegetables with “living”, nutritional toppings and dressings such as flax, nutritional yeast, or Bragg’s Liquid Amino Acids. You can even ask the staff to add a side to your meal such as garlic, squash or avocado. My favorite is called The Rebel. It is a brown rice and red quinoa dish with broccoli, carrots, beets, dark greens, tofu, and hijiki. I enjoy the Life Alive juice which is a blend of apple, beet, celery, carrot, dark greens, and wheatgrass. For dessert, they sell the most decadent vegan, chocolate mint cookies!!
Everything is based on health and nutrition. The daily soups are a warm, hearty option for cold winter days. The cafe puts alot of care and thought into the restaurant atmosphere with eye-catching color schemes and patterns, candles, chimes, etc. They even give loving names to the beverages and meals.
The meals and beverages at LifeAlive are worth the visit to Lowell! You’ll want to come back again and again. I also enjoy eating at the two vegan-friendly Indian restaurants Mysore Veggie and Udupi Bhavan. My choices there are usually the scrumptious thali, masala dosas, or the utthapam pancakes with veggies, onions, and chile peppers.
Lowell has become a popular tourist attraction. It boasts to having the largest, free, outdoor international Lowell Folk Festival in the entire country! Tens of thousands attend this July weekend festival every year. There are musicians and singers from all over the world. You can hear southern bluegrass music, Puerto Rican salsa dancers, Throat singers from Tuva, West African performers, and the list goes on. In addition, you can go back in history and tour the old mills. The author Jack Keroac was born here and the city still holds a Keroac festival in the Fall.
This old New England city has much culture and history to offer. I also enjoyed the delicious vegan meals and beverages at LifeAlive, Mysore Veggie, and Udupi Bhavan!
Come to visit Lowell, Massachusetts!