Govinda’s Restaurant, located near the Palace of Gold in New Vrindaban, offers the Ohio Valley vegan food options.
NEW VRINDABAN, W.Va. – Govinda’s Restaurant, the Ohio Valley’s only all-vegan and vegetarian restaurant, recently opened for the summer tourist season to feed the nearly 30,000 visitors that will travel to the Palace of Gold this year.
Communications Director Vrindavan Das and Vice President of Guest Services Vasudeva Das said the eatery’s organic food reflects the principles of Hare Krishna, as its purpose is to nourish and satisfy others. They also said the restaurant’s menu, an eclectic mix of traditional Indian cuisine and American standards, is meant to welcome all and represent Hare Krishna’s multicultural makeup.
“One of the ways to worship God is to offer offerings to show your appreciation,” Vrindavan Das said. “In return for everything he’s given you, all you can really say is ‘thank you.’ We do that with food, and so we try to keep the food as pure as we can.”
Vasudeva Das said the New Vrindaban community grows a majority of the vegetables served at the restaurant. He added the community also cares for 50 cows, 12 of which provide milk for butter, yogurt and cheeses used in the restaurant utilizes. These cows usually produce 80 gallons of ahimsa, or “cruelty-free” milk – meaning the cows are protected from slaughter – a day.
“We respect the food,” Head Chef Dinamani Das said. “We cook with love.”
Dinamani Das said he’s happy to help prepare vegan food in the Ohio Valley, as it’s a healthier alternative. Vrindavan Das said many local people will visit Govinda’s because it is the area’s only such option.
The restaurant is part of a global chain managed by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness. Vasudeva Das said the New Vrindaban location is one of about 100 around the world. It’s been in operation for more than 20 years, but it was recently renovated to update its appearance.
Vrindavan Das said visitors will stream in from all over the country during the summer. They will include pilgrims already committed to the Hare Krishna movement, as well as college students, regular tourists and leather-clad bikers on the backs of Harley Davidsons.
Vasudeva Das said most are relieved to find the spacious, calm restaurant available to them when they arrive. For some, it’s a means to further explore another culture. For others, it’s just a good place to eat.
To read more from The Intelligencer/Wheeling News-Register, subscribe here.