There are many restaurants in Asheville that have vegan or raw food options. Some are fantastic while others are quite disappointing. I'm listing all the restaurants I've tried, whether they are worth eating at or not, so don't assume a place has good vegan or raw food just because it's on this list. Read the review.

• Laughing Seed Cafe
  40 Wall St.
  Asheville, NC
  (828)252-3445
  Laughing Seed is a vegetarian restaurant with many vegan options. The food is healthy and very delicious. I've enjoyed the sea vegetable salad, shitake corn cakes, a few smoothies, the Harmony Bowl, and all the raw dishes on the menu, and all have been very good. They have a great raw tapas special that changes every day, and comes with dessert. Call to make sure they are serving it. Occasionally they don't have it on the menu. There are some raw sprouted salads that are a part of their regular menu. Laughing Seed is definitely my favorite restaurant in town, but it's one of the more expensive options.
• Rosetta's Kitchen
  111 Broadway
  Asheville, NC
  (828)232-0738
  Rosetta's Kitchen is easily the most vegan-friendly restaurant in town. The vast majority of their menu is vegan, although they do have a few vegetarian items. Rosetta's Kitchen speciliazes in comfort foods. Since I prefer healthier meals, I haven't loved everything I've ever ordered. I find some meals, such as the hot wings, to be lacking in vegetables. But they do a fantastic job with tofu, tempe, mashed potatoes, southern greens, biscuits, and plenty of other dishes. And their desserts are out of this world.
• Ophelia's Restaurant & Bar
  15 Eagle St.
  Asheville, NC
  (828)255-8154
  Ophelia's isn't a vegetarian restaurant but they do specialize in vegan and vegetarian options. They have a multi-course organic raw dinner special every weekend - starting Friday at 5 PM and continuing through the weekend for as long as the food lasts. I enjoy their raw soups very much and the salad and entrees have been good, but not spectacular. Their pumpkin pie is phenomenal. Call for price and menu. I've heard that they have an inexpensive lunch buffet with many vegan options, but I haven't tried it for myself.
• Heiwa Shokudo
  87 N. Lexington Ave
  Asheville, NC
  (828)254-7761
  This little Japanese restaurant is a big favorite among a few vegans in town, which means that the staff is very knowledgeable about what is vegan on the menu. There are plenty of dishes to choose from if you're vegan. The gluten-free options are not so plentiful, but there are a couple of good choices. Don't be fooled by the buckwheat noodles - they have some regular wheat flour in them. The only item that approaches raw food is the seaweed salad, which is quite good. The entrees are rather pricey but you get a lot of food in each dish.  Heiwa would be a great restaurant to visit for a mixed crowd with varying diets.
• Early Girl Eatery
  8 Wall St.
  Asheville, NC
  (828)259-9292
  I doubt if I'll ever eat here again. Early Girl Eatery is a well-known restaurant in Asheville, and they have several vegan items on their menu. I ordered a tofu scramble with some mixed vegetables and it was not good. It wasn't inedible or anything, but I could have done better at home. The vegetables tasted like they came out of a can.
• Mellow Mushroom Pizzeria
  50 Broadway St.
  Asheville, NC
  (828)236-9800
  If you really need a pizza, this is as good of a place as any to go. You can order the veggie and tofu pizza with no cheese. But that's pretty much all they have. Their fake cheese isn't vegan and they don't have any interesting fake meats. The staff is very helpful and they have some nice outdoor seating right downtown. I've heard that service can be painfully slow there, but I didn't experience that.
• Mela Indian Restaurant
  70 Lexington Ave.
  Asheville, NC
  (828)225-8880
  I tried Mela's lunch buffet at the insistence of some omnivore coworkers. The upside is that Mela's labels all of their vegan options, which I love. The downside is that they really don't have very many vegan options. Even their rice isn't vegan. It filled me up and I enjoyed the company, but I wouldn't every bother going their on my own.
• Asheville Pizza & Brewing Co.
  675 Merrimon Ave.
  Asheville, NC
  (828)254-1281
  I got talked into going here with coworkers and was already committed to my gluten-free diet at the time, so I didn't pay too close attention to the pizza selection. I do remember there were a couple of vegetarian pizzas that I'm sure could be ordered without cheese. I ordered a big salad that was pretty good…. for a salad.

I've been immensely impressed with the raw and vegan selections at grocery stores in Asheville. None of them have everything, but a few of them have an awful lot. Around here, just about any grocery store will have plenty of vegan options and good organic local produce to take home. I'm listing here only those grocery stores that seem to go above and beyond in their raw and vegan offerings.

• Earth Fare
  675 Merrimon Ave.
  Asheville, NC
  (828)254-1281
  Vegan: The first time I saw Earth Fare's refrigerated section, I nearly wept tears of joy. They have the widest selection of prepared vegan meals and snacks I've ever seen. I've tried most of them, even the gluten-licious ones I'm not supposed to eat. Chicken nuggets, dumplings, chickpea "tuna" salad, quinoa salad, mushroom cakes, BBQ tofu, and a seaweed salad that I am addicted to. I regret that I never tried their delicious-looking tiramasu and other amazing pies, cakes, and cookies and have sinse sworn off sugar - for real this time. I don't especially recommend their hot and cold food bar. It's an ok place to eat if you're hungry and always has a lot of vegan options, but the food tends to be mediocre.
  Raw: Earth Fare often has one or two raw entrees in its refrigerated isle. The raw lasagna is worth trying once but it's too hard to eat and isn't earth-shattering. Their collard wraps are a nice treat. Sometimes they have really good flax seed crackers, but they are very expensive. They have a good selection of raw nut butters, agave, snack bars, and other pre-packaged raw foods and also carry the incredibly delicious but expensive containers of raw chocolate truffles.
• Greenlife Grocery
  70 Merrimon Ave.
  Asheville, NC
  (828)254-1281
  Vegan: Greenlife has a small hot and cold food bar, but it is much smaller than Earth Fare's. Still, it always has hot vegan options in addition to salad. Their deli case and refrigerated section has a decent selection of vegan food. It may sound dull, but they really have a way with tofu. Try the Green Gorilla smoothie. I think it's even raw, but I'm not 100% sure.
  Raw: Greenlife has the best raw food selection in town. They have very little in the way of raw prepared meals or deli items, but they have an entire section of the store devoted to hard-to-find raw snacks and ingredients. For items that you can find at Earth Fare, Greenlife has them cheaper, such as those little heavenly chocolate truffles. Their produce usually (not always) seems to be fresher and less expensive than Earth Fare. They often have organic produce items that Earth Fare does not.
• Haywood Road Market
  771 Haywood Rd.
  Asheville, NC
  (828)225-4445
  Vegan: This is a small co-op, but much of the store is devoted to vegan items. They have a small refrigerated section with many vegan meals and snacks and the other standard packaged vegan foods.
  Raw: I love that this co-op exists and is so close to where I live. I hate to say anything bad about it. But they have almost nothing in the way of raw food. You can pick up your spices and maybe some dates and agave nectar, but not much else. They don't carry any raw nut butters (although I have requested it). What's most unfortunate is that their produce tends to be way past it's prime to the point of being gross. But I do support them as much as possible by buying any non-food items there. They also host the West Asheville farmer's market every Wednesday from 3:30-6:30, which always has great stuff.

I am relatively new to town, so if you know of other raw and vegan organizations in Asheville, or if you have more information about those listed here, please let me know and I'll update this list.

• Asheville Vegetarians
  The Asheville Vegetarians get together for monthly vegan potlucks and other fun social and educational events.
• Asheville Raw Food Meetup
  The Asheville raw food meetup gets together about once or twice a month for potlucks and interesting speaker events. It is a warm and inviting community of people who are at various levels of transition to a raw foods diet. Everyone is welcome.
• Mercy For Animals - no website found
• Carolina Animal Action - no website found