Vegetarian and Vegan Food: The Definitive Thread
 

This thread is in honor of l'etoile, as well as dedicated to the memory of letiole.

Although I tease her about it, l'etoile does not eat meat. For example, if you would like to see her in person, lettuce just say that it is probably not a good idea to say that you want to “meet” her.

Although I eat meat and meat products regularly, I enjoy salads, vegetables, fruit, pasta and grain dishes. I would usually rather have a salad before I would crave a dessert.

Anyway, I have heard l'etoile wonder about vegetarian meals in restaurants in different cities. Of course, I felt sorry for her when she found out we were going to a Brazilian rodizio, or all-you-can-eat meat restaurant, in Las Vegan — er...I mean Las Vegas. I sat next to her as she enjoyed a pasta dish, and I think she had a good time. The choice of restaurant was not my idea, by the way. I may tease her, but I am not mean or cruel.

One thought: I had the best mushroom ravioli in red pasta sauce ever on — of all places — a domestic flight on Continental Airlines in the First Class cabin nine years ago. It was in a large bowl and accompanied by a large Caesar salad. It was truly delicious!

Please post in this thread your favorite restaurants and meals worldwide that a vegetarian or vegan would enjoy.

Thank you!

Why thank you Canarsie. I am truly honored (as is the, uh, late letiole). :)

One question though: did you feel sorry for me because I was at an all-you-can-eat meat place, or because you served me up a huge helping of your puns all evening? ;)

Thanks for your thread and I will add my favorites soon...


btw ...most caesar salads have anchovies so not vegetarian, but ^ to the pasta ...

Both.I was really commenting on how delicious the mushroom ravioli was on that Continental Airlines flight.

The Caesar salad was in a separate bowl, and while it did not have anchovies, I am uncertain as to whether or not the actual dressing contained anchovies. It was still good, but I prefer Caesar salads with anchovies.

Nevertheless, if I remember correctly, I believe the dressing was served separately with the Caesar salad, so the salad could have been eaten by a vegetarian.

As this thread is already punned out, all I can add is that most Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Indian, Vietnamese restaurants have some vegetarian dishes (or will make upon request), so it is pretty easy to find a good vegetarian restaurant anywhere in the world.

As for vegetarian restaurants worth seeking out, I know of 3 (as I am not vegetarian I don't go seeking them out). The last 2 have non-vegetarian dishes on the menu, but their best dishes happen to be vegetarian.

1. Greens in San Francisco. Pretty famous, so needs no introduction http://www.greensrestaurant.com/
2. Joel Palmer House in rural Oregon (50 miles from PDX) specializing in mushrooms and morels (many home foraged)http://www.joelpalmerhouse.com/Scripts/aboutus.asp
3. Shaan in Rockefeller Center NYC. Good indian food http://www.shaanofindia.com/aboutus.htm

Greens is very, very good and a fantastic location on a pier in San Francisco Bay looking at the Golden Gate Bridge. I am not a vegetarian but frequently try to go there when I am in SFO because it is go good. And SFO is a city full of good restaurants.

I seldom can even tolerate vegan meals, but even though I must
watch my dairy intake carefully, I have had some exemplary meals
at vegetarian restaurants. Two that jump out were in Munich,
where a non-meatarian eatery has to be mighty good to be able
to compete. My favorite was at Prinz Myshkin, where a dish of
soy cutlets with chanterelles with numerous Hacker-Pschorr dunkels
was as satisfying a meal as I can imagine. And Cafe Ignaz (or Ignatz,
I forget), in a student-friendly area, was also excellent.

Mother's Cafe & Garden when in Austin, TX. I eat vegan half of the year and if I am going to eat out, it is here.

http://motherscafeaustin.com/

Sincerely,


William R. Sanders
Customer Service Coordinator
Starwood Preferred Services

[email protected]

Among plenty of vegetarian restaurants in Manhattan, here are my fav -

Gobo http://www.goborestaurant.com/
Owned by the sons of Zen Palate founder. Food is similiar to ZP, but hipper and younger. Plus they serve alcohol.

Candle 79 http://www.candlecafe.com/
They own both the upscaled Candle 79 on UES, and the casual restaurant Candle Cafe. I prefer 79 more. Good romantic place for dates.

Vegetarian Dim Sum House http://www.vegetariandshouse.com/
In Chinatown. Lots of mock meat dishes, very authentic. I can go vegan forever if I can eat their dishes everyday. Plus $5 get you enough food for lunch and dinner.

Vegetarian Paradise 2 http://www.vp2-nyc.com/
Cheap and tasty.

Natural Gourmet Institute http://www.naturalgourmetschool.com/...-dinner-c.html
This one I haven't tried yet. Similiar to CIA, they have veggie cooking class and Friday night dinner.

Some of the veggie places I found overrated -
Hangawi (Korean) - small dish, tasteless, not authentic, more fluff than stuff. Go try any other Korean restaurants on that street and you'll have better meals.

Devi (Indian) - Again, you can get much better Indian food anywhere else in town. Not sure why this place gets rave review. I found the food so-so (esp veggie dish), poor services and overpriced.

Spring Street Natural Restaurant (American) - I like the diner concept. Food was alright. Slightly overpriced.

Good to see Gobo mentioned adamak ...I'm going to go there for the first time next week.

Some of my favorites and not so favs:

New York:

Pure Food and Wine - wonderful raw food - vegan, I believe (I so love raw, vegan cheeses)
Artisanal - not a vegetarian restaurant, but many good veg dishes
Chicago:

Tru's vegetarian tasting menu - a little more creative than
Charlie Trotter's vegetarian tasting menu but both excellent
Green Zebra

San Francisco:
Greens - good for more basic fare whereas the
all-vegan Millennium usually has some surprises on the menu
Fleur de Lys has a vegetarian tasting menu, but I didn't find it very inspired last I was there
Michael Mina also has a veg tasting menu
French Laundry in Yountville veg menu that's OK but not great

Las Vegas:

Cafe Ba Ba Reeba dmfriedman picked this and while it's certainly not all veg, they have some really good veg small plates. I stop there for lunch always now when I'm in Vegas.

Paris:

Pierre Gagnaire does a wonderful feast for vegetarians that is not on the menu. it's about 12 courses.

I'll add many more soon ...

Love this thread. I've been vegetarian since 1984. It came as a divine inspiration for which I am forever grateful.

Here are a few restaurant choices that come to mind. I'll definitely follow up later with more. Another very helpful addition coming to mind is places to source quality vegetarian/vegan food products.

Hong Kong (Lantau Island): Po Lin Monastary (vegan) - http://www.hong-kong-travel.org/PoLinMonastery.asp
Wonderful lunches next to giant Buddha. Suggest eating in lower cost restaurant where you eat with locals using paper plates and shared tables.

Kapaa (Kauai) also Portland: Blossoming Lotus (vegan) - blossominglotus.com
Vegan dinner spot on Kauai (haven't visited Portland location)

Orange County, CA: Mothers Market and Kitchen - mothersmarket.com
Good quality, reasonable priced vegan or vegetarian breakfasts and lunches.

There's a quirky little vegetarian/vegan restaurant in San Francisco by City Hall called Ananda-Fuara. It's run the by the members of a cult, so the atmosphere is a little bizarre, but the veggies I know swear by its neat-loaf for a good meal that won't break the bank.

Adding to the list for Chicago:

Chicago Diner (www.veggiediner.com) - One of Chicago's most well-known strictly vegetarian restaurant, they have a huge menu and always serve daily specials, including different soups and entrees. Located on Halsted in Boystown, near Wrigleyville.

Karyn's Raw and Karyn's Cooked (www.karynraw.com) - Two different locations, one in Old Town (Raw) and one in River North (Cooked). Karyn's Raw as the name suggests only serves a raw food menu, while the Karyn's Cooked location is a more traditional vegetarian restaurant with all kinds of dishes. I prefer Karyn's Cooked for the soups, salads, sandwiches and great entrees. Both locations have very modern decor and the staff are excellent.

Blind Faith Cafe (www.blindfaithcafe.com) - Not located in Chicago, but just north of the city up in Evanston. An Evanston institution, serving vegetarian only cuisine for many years, including breakfast, lunch and dinner. They also operate a bakery onsite and have great vegan desserts.

The Spot in Hermosa Beach, south of LAX. Good food and nice atmosphere. Been there forever it seems.
http://www.worldfamousspot.com/

Have you tried Vatan on 3rd Ave? I've always found it to be excellent.

I am vegan and a lot of the adventure of travel involves the search for suitable cuisine. I won't even eat tofu that was hauled to market on a horse drawn wagon. I am what the airlines call, "strict vegetarian". Still, I eat very well. My quest for vegan foods has taken me into neighborhoods I had not considered and certainly off the beaten track. I have had many memorable meals.