Food

Proper Vegan Barbecue is a Godsend for Meatless Eaters

Mike Sula

A vegan’s idea of hell is a barbecue joint. Unless it’s Homegrown Smoker in Portland, Ore. Owner Jeff Ridabock contends his restaurant was the country’s—maybe the world’s—first vegan barbecue joint. The first, that is, to apply a low-and-slow smoke protocol to housemade protein alternatives like the ribs he forms out of tempeh, which he marinates, rubs with spices, smokes, and sauces just like a rack of St. Louis spares...