Paradise found: for food, fun and culture, you can't beat these 13 veg-friendly small towns - vegetarian-friendly towns

LIKE A LOT OF PEOPLE, I live where I do more out of necessity than desire; in the competitive world of academia, this is where my wife found a job. Ours is a pleasant little town, but, like most people, I sometimes fantasize about living elsewhere. For me, the ideal place to call home would be a small enclave off the beaten path, where vegetarian restaurants outnumber burger barns, the marquee at the town cinema lights up with independent and foreign film titles, and cafes and bookshops crowd Main Street. Maybe there's a vegetarian potluck every week, curbside recycling and a tract of wilderness within hiking distance.

Spinach pie in the sky, you say? Maybe. The best of all vegetarian worlds may not exist, but a few gems scattered across the country come close. The 13 cities profiled here are, we believe, among the best of them. These are character-filled havens that boast vegetarian eateries as well as more conventional restaurants whose menus carry meatless options beyond the ubiquitous jumbo salad. But more than proffering good fare, these are also towns that exude tolerance and informality. They're the sorts of places where conservative and liberal, high culture and counterculture, rancher and environmentalist mix and mingle. They're towns where you'll see the locals tote canvas bags to the grocery store, come out for community theater and enthusiastically tromp to the great outdoors on the weekend. Doubtless, many large metropolitan areas would meet these criteria, but we've homed in on smaller locales whose populations number less than 65,000. Hungry vegetarians can easily find good eats in the big city; it has always been more of a challenge in the one-horse town.

How did we find these wonderlands? Word of mouth, a review of vegetarian and alternative travel guides, magazine and newspaper clippings, and our own travels. Our best source was the information superhighway, where veggie cybernuts cruising Internet's list.vegan mailing list and the rec.food.veg UseNet conference flooded us with more nominees than we could include in one piece.

So, on to the list. But before you pack up your stuff and move to one of these towns, be aware that in many cases, the natives are struggling to protect their homes against urban sprawl and the arrival of too many new settlers. If you go, partake of the abundant vegetarian smorgasbord, attend the theater, browse in some eclectic bookshops, hike the trails--and be sensitive to the tremendous effort that's expended to keep the sparkle in these big-time small-town treasures.

THE NORTHEAST

BRATTLEBORO, VT.

(population: 12, 241) Poll Vermont vegetarians on their vegfriendliest cities and they'll want to nominate the entire state. But based on a recent visit as well as an enthusiastic thumbs-up from former Vegetarian Times Associate Editor Debra Blake Weisenthal, who moved there two years ago, we chose Brattleboro, located right on the Massachusetts border. Dubbed an "ultra-progressive, old commune area" by one resident, aesthetic Brattleboro maintains a high consciousness for environmental and social issues, and is graced with the kind of vibrant cultural life that's worthy of the big city.

Primarily vegetarian restaurant: The Common Ground (serves fish)

Veg-friendly restaurants: Many, with a nice selection of ethnic eateries. T.J. Buckley's, one of two gourmet restaurants, serves vegetarian entrees, and the local diner offers a tasty vegetarian lasagna.

Natural food store: Brattleboro Food Co-op

Vegetarian support: Vermont Vegetarian Society (based in Ferrisburg, 140 miles north)

Earth-friendly attributes: Curbside recycling and drop-off units around town. Mobile, solar-powered Energy Van educates residents on renewable energy forms. Enough solar-powered homes in the area to support private solar-energy consultants. Farmers' market features organic produce. Walkable downtown, and public bus service to outlying towns.

Access to nature: Local skiing and hiking, as well as in the nearby Green Mountains. Canoeing and kayaking on the Connecticut River, at the edge of town.

Cultural life: Site of the annual New England Bach Festival, and home to numerous local musicians of all ilks. Brattleboro Music Center presents 40 classical concerts a year. Good theater at the Brattleboro Center for the Performing Arts. Two independent bookstores, an art movie house and a handful of cafes.

Worth noting: Local lore has it that Brattleboro boasts more Birkenstocks per capita than anywhere else in the United States.

ITHACA, N. Y.

(population: 29,500) "Ithaca is just awesome," enthuses one former resident, echoing the unbridled affection Ithaca natives hold for this idyll in the heart of Finger Lakes country, And who wouldn't wax enthusiastic about a city that boasts a bustling arts scene, Cornell University, a bucolic bounty of parks, gorges, glens and a cache of local vineyards--not to mention the famous Moosewood Restaurant.

Vegetarian and primarily vegetarian restaurants: Apple Blossom Cafe (ABC), Moosewood Restaurant (serves chicken and fish)