Chef Steven Brand's UpStairs on the Square restaurant in Cambridge, Mass., prides itself on viewing vegan meals as a challenge rather than a burden. “Being in Cambridge, we have a lot of vegans come through the restaurant,” Brand says.

For a March 5 dinner, the restaurant went beyond tweaking its regular menu to accommodate an individual vegan request by hosting a four-course vegan dinner complete with vegan wine pairings. The dinner, priced at $55 per person with the wine pairings and $40 without, featured selections including a warm salad of “lucky” lentils, tomato confit, crispy shallots and frisée, and a main course of tempura tofu with bitter greens, marinated grapefruit and ginger-fragrant tea broth.

The wines menued with the meal were produced without the use of animal-product fining (clarifying) agents such as fish bladders, egg whites and gelatin.