I was in St. Louis last fall, and wandered into a place next to WashU medical school called "Eternity Vegetarian." A sign on the front announced it would be closed for two days the following week, which I noticed were the dates of Yom Kippur. I was greeted by a very warm and friendly man named Eliyahu, who was wearing a very large knitted kippah that covered his whole head (he explained that his wife had knitted it for him). Eliyahu warmly spoke with me about the spiritual benefits of eating vegan food. Their vegan patty (it tasted nothing like a burger) was delicious, and their juices were superb. When I mentioned I was from the DC area, he lit up, and told me he had some brothers in DC, and they had a place called "Soul Vegetarian" which I should check out. I just tracked down the link:

http://www.kingdomofyah.com/SV.htm

I know little about the African Hebrew Israelites: there seem to be several movements in America with similar names but quite different approacheds/outlooks. Their website is fascinating, and declares, among other things, that we are commanded to eat a vegan diet in Genesis. Their restaurants, mainly called Soul Vegetarian, are located all over the United States, in Ghana, in the Carribean, and in Israel (Tel Aviv and Dimona). Do other people know more about this?

PS. Zach just sent me a wikipedia link on this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hebrew