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Once a week or so, I go out for a fancy coffee drink. For a while, it was a soy latte, or almond milk latte if it was available.*

During a visit to Firestorm Cafe in Asheville, I ordered a latte and the girl taking my order suggested I try a “vegan breve”. She explained that a regular breve is made with half-and-half. The VEGAN breve at Firestorm is made with almond milk and coconut creme. Of course I agreed to try that instead and it was the most delicious coffee drink ever, by far.

I like the breve so much that I started drinking them 3 or 4 times a week. I’ve had to consciously limit myself to only one per week. “Breve Friday” I call it.

As far as I know, Firestorm is the only place in town that serves vegan breves. You have 2 options. Their “Coconut Creme Breve” is listed on their menu. It’s what I described above but also has syrups in it for flavor. I hate syrups in my food, so I specifically ask for a vegan breve without the syrups. Or I should say, I used to ask for that. Now I just tell them “I’ll have the usual.”

* Note: Those who have known me for a long time, know that I used to really eschew coffee in all forms, so this may seem like an odd statement.  What can I say – life takes weird turns sometimes.

Blynk Organic

I wound up spending more time at the Southpark Mall in Charlotte today than I had planned. Way more. So of course at a certain point I got hungry for lunch. In desperation, I visited the food court thinking maybe there would be something that passed for edible food, but I was not optimistic.

Walking past all the crappy fast food, probably scowling without realizing it, I spotted a little booth hidden way at the end called Blynk Organic. Holy crap, that sounded promising! And then, written in chalk next to their soup of the day, “vegan and gluten-free”. I could not believe it.

I got a soup and salad combo. The soup was a simple Indian chick pea dish they called “Taj Mahal”. The salads are made to order from a variety of organic vegetables (as are the wraps and sandwiches). I had mixed greens, cucumbers, chick peas, marinated eggplant, and tofu.

Honestly, it was one of the most satisfying and delicious meals I’ve had in months. And I got it in a shopping mall. That’s amazing.

Idli Sambhar Chutney (not my photo, and not from Swad but looks just like theirs)

I spent the afternoon in Greenville today, and as I always do before going to another city, I checked out in advance what my lunch options would be. Happy Cow pretty much had one restaurant choice for me, not including grocery store hot bars.

I like checking out all vegetarian restaurants anyway, and authentic Indian food can be hard to find, so we decided to give it a try.

First, let me get out of the way that the food was absolutely great. I ate a lot of Indian food in high school at homes of friends and I’ve been lamenting the fact that I never seem to get that same experience in restaurants. Particularly the fact that I can never find idli on the menu. Well, I found it today and it was just as I remember, along with sambar (like a soup) and cucumber chutney. I also ordered a vegan “tomato omelet” made with lentil flour. In all honesty, it was not much like an omelet at all, not even a vegan one, but it was incredibly tasty even so. It was a little thinner and crispier than you would expect from an omelet.

But more importantly, being in Swad was just a wonderful happy experience. It is clearly a family restaurant with the owner also being the chef, and his son being the waiter. When I asked what had no dairy in it, the chef personally came to my table, asked if I was vegan, and then told me everything on the menu that I could have, which was almost everything.

He seemed genuinely delighted to have me there, and made a point of mentioning that the entire restaurant is vegetarian and the cooking equipment never touches meat of any kind, or any eggs. The owner is a lifelong vegetarian.

I was so very full when I finished my meal. But when the owner so enthusiastically came back to my table to give me a free cup of lentil soup and rice to try, I had to say yes. And it was delicious. I wish I could remember what it was exactly.

The people there were so genuine. I really felt as though I was a guest in their home and they were serving me the best they had to offer. I absolutely will make this a regular stop any time I’m in Greenville.

Swad is located at 1421-A Laurens Rd. in Greenville, SC. Open Mon-Sat 11AM-9PM.

Asian Slaw and Potato Salad

A new vegetarian restaurant opened up today in downtown Asheville. Green Light Cafe, on Lexington near College (across from Tops Shoes) offers a new healthy option for dining out.

Everything on the menu is vegan or can be made vegan, with the exception of one of the dips. There are also several gluten-free options, although they do not have gluten-free bread for the sandwiches and wraps at this point. For the raw fooders, there are several salads and at least one raw dip.

The first thing they brought us was chlorophyll water, which they serve free of charge. It didn’t have a strong flavor but I did feel as though I was getting my meal off to an extra healthy start.

We then ordered the savory pocket appetizer which had a flakey spelt flour and coconut butter crust. It was magical. I will no doubt go back there many more times just to order that.

For entrees, we had sweet potato patties over rice with peanut sauce which was amazing, although a little more like breakfast than I’d expected. More sweet than savory. We also ordered the Jamaican Rice Mixup which was also a little sweeter than expected, but still a very filling, healthy, and tasty meal. The food was so filling actually, that we took half of it home with us.

But that didn’t stop me from ordering the Chunky Monkey cookie (I was won over by my server’s enthusiasm for it). It wasn’t the greatest cookie in the universe, but I did enjoy the blend of chocolate, banana, and walnut. They weren’t stingy with the good stuff.

High quality and generous portions and the whole thing cost us only $25 (before tip, after taxes).

More so than other restaurants, the staff seems so genuinely happy to serve their customers. It made me that much more happy about giving them my business. It’s a little unfortunate that their name is so similar to another healthy restaurant that is just a block away, The Green Sage, but on the other hand, Green Light Cafe has actually been around since 1998 as a catering and “mobile cafe” based out of Black Mountain. It is only their downtown Asheville location that is new.

So overall, I am genuinely excited about this new addition to Asheville. If you’re not a vegetarian or if you’re not into health food, you might be inclined to think “what do we need another healthy veg restaurant for?” But if you are into vegetarian health food, you’re probably just as tired as I am of eating the same things all the time. Green Light Cafe brings a whole new set of options to town. Check them out and give them your support!

[P.S. – like an idiot, I left my camera at home so I didn’t get any pictures. I’ll take some the next time I’m there. The picture currently on this post is from their website and is not what we ordered.]

Native Foods Cheeseburger

I just returned from a week-long vacation in Los Angeles, where the primary goal of my trip was to eat at as many vegan restaurants as possible. If only there had been more room in my stomach and more hours in a day, I would have tried more meals at more restaurants. But I did manage to check out quite a few. I tried, sort of, to stick with gluten-free and sugar-free foods, but there were just too many temptations. And it was a vacation so what the heck. I definitely need to stay on the straight-and-narrow for a while because my pants are now way too tight.

I took some photos of the food I ate but tragically left my camera at the beach on my 3rd day in town. But here is a great shot of the Native Foods cheeseburger, stolen from Vegan Food Blog.

Follow Your Heart, the company that makes the delicious vegan cheese that actually melts, has a restaurant (and full grocery store) in L.A! We stopped there for our first meal of the trip – Sunday brunch. I was able to try a vegan “om-lette” with mushrooms, onions, and vegan cheese. Delicious! I had a taste of their french toast which was just as I remember french toast to be. The tapioca pudding was good, but some of the other options for dessert might have been a better pick. The service was comically bad. We literally had to wave our arms around to get the attention of a server, and even that didn’t work sometimes. Luckily we were in good company so the 2-hour meal was still enjoyable.

Better Life Cuisine is a raw food restaurant in Santa Monica. Our first visit there for dinner was quite good. We tried the supreme tacos and the manicotti rolls, which were both excellent. Filling, without being too heavy. Their raw eggless salad was impressive. After that, it went downhill. Their desserts are tasty, but way way too sweet. We tried the cinnamon roll and the pumpkin pie. But what really disappointed us was breakfast. We grabbed a couple of smoothies on our way out of town for a day trip. We had been looking forward to their durian-coconut smoothie ever since we’d spotted it on the menu. It was unforgivably bad. It smelled vaguely of durian but tasted like watered down almond milk with some cinnamon thrown in. Not sure there was any coconut in it at all. We also tried a Gil’s green smoothie, which was equally bad. If we had not already been well on our way when we tried it, we would have demanded our $10 (each!) back. Truly awful.

Native Foods is an all-vegan comfort food type of place. Not a good choice if you want to eat healthy, but the food was great. The bacon cheeseburger was just like I remember from childhood, except without the greasy meat. We also ordered from the kids menu and got the quinoa macaroni and cheese and the chicken nuggets. Both were amazing.

Real Food Daily is similar to Native Foods in that it offers vegan versions of all your old favorites. I would say it’s slightly more upscale, with respect to both the food and atmosphere. We tried the gluten-free pizza and the club triple decker.  We meant to go back for breakfast but never had the chance. If I lived in L.A., I probably would eat here all the time. They also had some raw options.

Seed is a vegan, organic, macrobiotic restaurant a couple of blocks from Venice Beach. They had a big sign about their award-winning blackened tempeh burger. John had the good sense to order that – it was amazing. I got the Japanese vegetable curry bowl (supposedly with wild mushrooms and squash), which was disappointing. Too much carrot, almost no mushrooms at all. The $5 Madonna coconut mouse was good in that it wasn’t overly sweet, but it wasn’t very flavorful either. I’d eat here again, but I’d order differently next time.

101 Coffee Shop was recommended by a friend as the best vegan breakfast in town. 101 is a traditional diner, but it has one vegan breakfast item – “No Huevos” Rancheros. It was so good that it sent John into a tirade about how restaurants in Seattle and Asheville serve flavorless food. And it actually opened at breakfast time which puts it ahead of most of the other restaurants that serve vegan breakfasts. It was also quite a bit cheaper than everywhere else.

Interim Cafe (also known as Newsroom Cafe) was also recommended as having some of the best vegan food in town. Newsroom is not all vegetarian but they have a ton of vegan options. They also have quite a few gluten-free items. It was one of the best meals I’ve ever had. I had the vegan spinach quesadillas – a meal I’ve been craving for years. It was everything I dreamed it would be. I was also able to try a bite of their superfood veggie burger, which was pretty good. The wild mushroom tamales were a letdown. I thought the vegan scone was pretty bad too. The chocolate soft-serve ice cream was impressive.

Babycakes NYC Bakery in downtown L.A. was so good we ordered 3 rounds of food. A great surprise was the fact that much of their items are gluten-free and sugar-free! We had a carrot cupcake, lemon poppy seed bread, corn bread, and banana bread, which were all amazing. The sugar-cinnamon doughnut was OK, but not nearly as good as other vegan doughnuts I’ve had.

On our way to Palm Springs for the day, we stopped in a charming little college town called Claremont for breakfast, and then again for dinner on our way back to L.A. We hadn’t planned ahead so there might have been other vegan places to eat there but we just stopped in at whatever looked promising.

Full of Life had some tofu dishes on the menu that looked pretty good so we decided to give it a try. I was about to order a scramble when I spotted the “Tofu Omlette” on the specials board. Assuming that meant it was an omlette made of tofu instead of eggs, I ordered it. Based on my questions, the woman taking my order must have realized I was a vegan because she asked if I could eat eggs. English was her second language and the conversation was a little confusing but I realize now that it was intended to be a typical omlette but with tofu and veggies inside. What arrived at my table was a pile of the omlette’s insides, very carefully arranged in the shape of an omlette. This wasn’t terribly filling but the spices made it very tasty and they definitely get an A for effort.

Ecoterra is a little hippie grocery store with a cafe inside. Their chef comes in each morning and makes the day’s food items which you can then pick out of a refrigerator. So it isn’t really a cafe in the way we expected it to be. We got some spanish rice and a turkey and cheese sandwich. Good food but nothing to write home about. The guy working there was exceptionally friendly and helpful, even willing to heat up our rice in a frying pan for us because we don’t like using microwaves.

BoBo Gallery is an art gallery, music venue, and vegetarian cafe all rolled into one. They are one of the few restaurants that seems to value the growing number of people who want vegan and gluten-free – not just one or the other. Their menu is mostly vegan and has extensive gluten-free options.

About half their menu is also raw and living foods, which is a first for Asheville. Other restaurants in town, such as Ophelia’s and Laughing Seed, offer raw specials or a couple of raw salads, but BoBo has a full menu of raw appetizers, entrees, and desserts.

This little gem is rare in the world and Asheville should feel very fortunate to have it. I hope everyone will support BoBo Gallery and enjoy their awesome food and friendly, welcoming environment.

BoBo Gallery is located in downtown Asheville at 22 Lexington Ave.

Update: I don’t think this restaurant exists anymore, but they do still exist as a small art gallery and bar. The Green Light Cafe has opened up in it’s place though and it’s delicious. Check it out.

It’s time to cast your vote for the 2008 Veggie Awards and this year, Asheville’s Laughing Seed Cafe has been nominated for “Favorite Vegetarian Restaurant”! VegNews Magazine will publish the winners in its 2008 Holiday edition.

I’ve eaten at about half of the restaurants on the list of nominees and I can honestly say that Laughing Seed is the best of the bunch. The only one that makes it competitive is Millenium, in San Francisco. The food at Millenium is absolutely amazing but it costs about 3 times as much to eat there and the food definitely isn’t 3 times as good as Laughing Seed. If you agree that Laughing Seed is the best vegetarian restaurant around, make sure you vote!

While you’re there, I’d like to plug some absolute favorites of mine, also up for awards:

• Pigs Peace Sanctuary – “Favorite Animal Sanctuary”
• Sidecar for Pigs Peace – “Favorite Vegan Storefront”
• Flying Apron Bakery – “Favorite Bakery”

Sidecar is a volunteer-run store and all its profits are used to support Pigs Peace Sanctuary. They need the publicity and deserve all the support you can give them. Their prices also tend to be lower than the nearby Whole Foods and PCC natural foods stores.

Cafe Indigo isn’t easy to find, tucked away in the back of a business park, but it is definitely worth going out of the way for. The menu offers fairly standard items, such as eggless egg salad, lentil soup, veggie burger, and faux meat wraps, as well as a nice selection of baked goods and desserts, but the flavor and texture make this some of the best vegan comfort food I’ve ever had.

Cafe Indigo eggless egg salad

The restaurant is owned by two carnivores who became inspired by their vegan children to create delicious vegan food. The fact that they still remember what non-vegan food tastes like, is probably what has allowed them to recreate these old favorites so successfully.

Much like the people in New Hampshire, the restaurant owner, who was also our server, was incredibly welcoming and helpful. She catered to my gluten allergy needs by bringing me a menu with the gluten-free options labeled. She assisted my less adventurous omnivore friend by making suggestions about what she might be comfortable eating.

Cafe Indigo blueberry cheesecake

After talking me into ordering the best vegan cheesecake in the entire known universe, she brought my lunch companions a complementary mini-slice to try as well, which they happily devoured. The owners apparently spent 3 weeks experimenting with taste and texture to get this blueberry cheesecake just right – and they did.

Anyone planning a trip to New Hampshire should definitely make an effort to stop into Cafe Indigo.

See also my vegan restaurant tour.

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 (All vegetarian)
  40 Wall St.
  Asheville, NC
  (828)252-3445
  Laughing Seed is a vegetarian restaurant with many vegan and gluten-free 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 used to have a great raw tapas special on the menu every day that came with dessert, but now it’s just available randomly. Call to make sure they are serving it. There are some raw sprouted salads that are a part of their regular menu. Laughing Seed is definitely my favorite restaurant in town and the prices are not much worse than any other restaurant, depending on what you order.
• Firestorm Cafe & Books (All vegetarian. Mostly vegan.)
  48 Commerce St (downtown)
  Asheville, NC
  (828)255-8115
  For a gluten-intolerant vegan, this cafe has much more to offer than their menu lets on. They bill themselves as a vegetarian restaurant, but actually all of their food is vegan. The only non-vegan item in the restaurant is a milk option for your coffee. I also found out, from talking with staff, that they have gluten-free bread available for sandwiches. It isn’t listed on the menu – you just have to ask. The ginger sesame wrap is fantastic. In addition to food, this shop operates as a community space for movies, discussions, speakers, and all sorts of interesting events.
• Rosetta’s Kitchen (All vegetarian. Mostly vegan.)
  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 specializes 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.
• BoBo Gallery (Not sure if they still serve food.)
  22 Lexington Ave.
  Asheville, NC
  (828)254-3426
  What a little gem this cafe is! BoBo Gallery is also a vegetarian restaurant that is mostly vegan and has an extensive raw menu with many appetizers, entrees, and desserts. A substantial portion of their menu is also gluten-free. The best part is that all of the menu items are very clearly labeled as vegan, gluten-free, and/or raw. I enjoyed their Thanksgiving raw dinner which featured mock turkey, dressing, mashed “potatoes”, corn pudding, pumpkin pie, and a heavenly glass of almond nogg. This is a new favorite of mine. I hope the community supports BoBo Gallery so that I can continue to enjoy this amazing menu.
• Green Sage Coffeehouse & Cafe
  5 Broadway St.
  Asheville, NC
  (828)252-4757
  How did I miss this place for so long? I’ve walked by it a hundred times and never bothered to look at the menu until I happened upon it today (8/23/2009). Breakfast all day, sandwiches and wraps, soups, salads, smoothies, and fresh juices. They also have mate lattes which are not easy to find around town. Almost everything on the menu can be made vegan and/or gluten-free. Their tofu scramble is amazing, and I don’t usually care much for tofu scramble. This is worth trying. I wasn’t crazy about the sweet potato home fries – very bland. But the scramble and the rice biscuit more than made up for it. This will absolutely be a regular place for me. Also be sure to check out their mission and “food and beverage goals” on their website. They are a model local business supporting best practices and the local economy. Eat here!
• Chai Pani
  22 Battery Park Ave.
  Asheville, NC
  (828)254-4003
  Chai Pani serves Indian street food and comfort food. What I love about this restaurant is that their vegan and gluten-free options are very clearly labeled on their menu. And sometimes they even overlap! The food is delicious and is a fun alternative to the standard American hippie food served at most restaurants that cater to vegan and gluten-free diets. The staff is very friendly and the restaurant has a happy feel to it. I have heard that the wait can be long and service can be slow, but I didn’t experience that when I went there.
• 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 can’t go anywhere without checking out as many vegan restaurants as I can find. So many are popping up in all corners of the world, that I will never hit them all. But here are my reviews of those that I have been lucky enough to try so far. I only list restaurants with a vegan menu. No half-assed vegetarian restaurants find their way onto this particular list.

Washington D.C. | Los Angeles, CA | San Diego, CA | San Francisco, CA | Concord, NH | New York, NY | Asheville, NC | Charlotte, NC | Austin, TX | Dallas, TX | Houston, TX | Salt Lake City, UT | Seattle, WA | Canada

Vegan restaurants in the U.S.

• Washington D.C.
  • The Vegetable Garden
    11618 Rockville Pike
    Rockville, MD 20852
    (301)468-9301
    This is the first vegan restaurant I ever ate at. I was so blown away by the food, I almost cried. Several pages of options, including several desserts. Lots of fake meats of various types. I had the veggie duck. It was amazing.

• Los Angeles, CA
  • BabyCakes NYC
    130 E. 6th St.
    Los Angeles, CA
    (213)623-5555
    This all vegan bakery, started in NYC and expanded to LA, features many gluten-free and sugar-free options. Their other items are made with spelt, which is healthier and tends to be easier on the digestive tract than regular flour. The cupcakes, breads, and cookies were absolutely delicious. The donuts were OK, but not awesome. Items are quite expensive, but maybe that’s the way it ought to be for such indulgences.
  • Better Life Cuisine
    717 Broadway Ave.
    Santa Monica, CA 90401
    (310)458-7620
    For raw, organic, vegan food, the prices here were fairly reasonable. Especially for L.A. which I found generally to be very expensive. I tried the egg salad, which used young coconut as it’s egg substitute, and the manicotti rolls. Both were really good. I also took home 3 desserts: cinnamon rolls and pumpkin pie. Both had amazing flavor and texture but were way way way too sweet. Perhaps there was a time in the past when I would have enjoyed that. But the true disappointment of this restaurant was the smoothies. I tried 2 and they were both unforgivably bad, especially for $10. Possibly the worst food I have ever purchased in a restaurant ever.
  • Native Foods Cafe
    1110-1/2 Gayley Ave. (multiple locations available)
    Los Angeles, CA 90024
    (310)209-1055
    Definitely the place to go if you’re trying to satisfy some cravings for comfort food. I was able to try the Oklahoma Bacon Cheeseburger (amazing), and the quinoa mac-n-cheese and chicken nuggets from the kids menu (also amazing). It does have some healthy options but it’s not the place to go if you’re trying to be on the straight and narrow. Too many very unhealthy (albeit delicious) temptations.
  • Real Food Daily
    414 N. La Cienega Blvd. (multiple locations available)
    West Hollywood, CA 90048
    (310) 289-9910
    Probably my favorite all-vegan restaurant in LA. The menu has all the old favorites but tends ever so slightly toward the healthier side and has a nice atmosphere. I was happy to find a gluten-free option that also sounded really good – Pizza You Can Eat-za. It fell apart too easily to pick up like regular pizza, but otherwise was the best vegan pizza I’ve ever had. Loved it. I wish I’d had a chance to try them out for brunch.
  • Seed
    1604 Pacific Ave.
    Venice, CA 90291
    (310)396-1604
    Surrounded by the touristy atmosphere of Venice Beach, I felt really lucky to find this place. Seed is a vegan, organic, macrobiotic restaurant. According to the sign that was hanging up, their blackened tempeh burger is award-winning. My traveling companion was smart enough to try that – it was delicious. I had the Japanese curry bowl which was lacking – too many carrots and almost no shiitake mushrooms. And it was much too expensive. The Madonna’s coconut mousse was also too expensive for what it was – very small and very little flavor. At least it wasn’t too sweet. Seed is good in a pinch but I wouldn’t go out of my way for it.
• San Diego, CA
  • Evolution Fast Food
    2949 5th Ave.
    San Diego, CA
    (619) 550-1818
    Drive through or order take-out at the counter inside. They have a few chairs inside. The menu is reminiscent of traditional fast food – burgers, fries, shakes, and sandwiches, but way way healthier. They have several gluten-free options as well as a nice selection of raw food. The gluten-free version of the mushroom swiss burger was very flavorful and satisfying. I also grabbed a banana bread cookie to eat the next morning for breakfast, which was delicious. I came back another night for a smoothie, since they seem to have some of the more interesting smoothies in San Diego. I’m afraid I can’t remember what I got but it definitely hit the spot.
  • The Greenery Raw Food Cafe
    133 Daphne St.
    Encinitas, CA
    (760)479-0996
    Not quite as good as Peace Pies (see below) but similar concept. I think I caught them at a time when they were out of most of their options, which is why it didn’t seem as good. Greenery does have a made-to-order menu for dinner, but I ate there during lunch, which is pre-made raw food items. I had a pretty good pizza and one of the best seaweed salad’s I’ve ever had.
  • Peace Pies
    4230 Voltaire St.
    San Diego, CA
    (619)223-2880
    “I’ll have one of everything!” OK, it wasn’t exactly like that but pretty close. This 100% raw cafe didn’t look too promising when I first walked in. Most of the lunch options were pre-made in a fridge, not made-to-order. But When I looked up close, everything looked like something I had to try. I had some spaghetti with pesto, a slice of pizza, veggie sandwich, vanilla ice cream, and a slice of coconut cream pie with chocolate on top. I also got some cinnamon rolls to take for breakfast the next day. Everything I tried was outstanding. Truly delicious.
  • Stephanie’s Bakery
    4879 Voltaire St.
    San Diego, CA
    Their website proclaims that they have the “best vegan pizza ever!” so that definitely seemed worth trying. Unfortunately, they were out of the gluten-free crust, but I decided to suffer through the gluten in order to get to try out their pizza. I don’t know if it lived up to the hype, but it was pretty good pizza. Definitely no complaints. I had the “Supreme” pizza which includes vegan pepperoni and several vegetables. They also use Follow Your Heart cheese. I also grabbed a gluten-free brownie, which was very tasty. Their other cakes looked absolutely incredible, but I didn’t want to eat any more gluten than I already had.
• San Francisco, CA
  • Cafe Gratitude
    3 locations. See website for locations in
    San Francisco and Berkeley, CA.
    (415)824-4652
    I was in San Francisco for about 48 hours and I tried all 3 of the Cafe Gratitudes in the area. This is definitely, without a doubt, my favorite restaurant of all time. It’s almost entirely raw, which I’m all about now. The prices are very cheap considering how amazing the food is. I could eat there every day and never get tired of it. I even bought the recipe book they sell.
  • Millenium
    580 Geary Street
    San Francisco, CA
    (415)345-3900
    If you want to get seated, make a reservation. This place is pretty swanky. Very expensive but worth it for an occassional great meal. Their entrees look like artistic sculptures. Delicious too.
  • Herbivore
    983 Valencia
    San Francisco, CA
    (415)826-5657
    This was a nice casual, inexpensive restaurant. I have no complaints. The menu was varied and the food was good. Not overly memorable to me, but a lot of people love it.
  • RAW Living Food Restaurant
    1224 9th Avenue
    San Francisco CA 94122
    (415)OMJ-JAYA
    If you like raw food, you’ll probably love this place. It’s the only raw restaurant I’ve ever been to, so I don’t have much to compare it to. I was very surprised at how much flavor the food had. It was so intense, I could barely eat it. I didn’t love it, but I am very very glad I tried it.
• Concord, NH
  • Cafe Indigo
    128H Hall Street
    Concord, NH
    (603)224-1770
    Cafe Indigo isn’t easy to find, tucked away in the back of a business park, but it is definitely worth going out of the way for. The menu offers fairly standard items, such as eggless egg salad, lentil soup, veggie burger, and faux meat wraps, as well as a nice selection of baked goods and desserts, but the flavor and texture make this some of the best vegan comfort food I’ve ever had. They offer several gluten-free choices. I highly recommend the blueberry cheesecake, which has an unbelievable taste and texture (the crust is not gluten-free). See also my full review of Cafe Indigo.
• New York, NY
  • Angelica Kitchen
    300 E 12th St (1st Avenue)
    New York, NY
    (212)228-2909
    I haven’t spent that much time in Manhattan as a vegan, but I must have eaten at Angelica at least four times. It seemed expensive, but for New York I think it was fairly cheap. Especially when you consider that everything on the menu is organic. This is one of my favorite restaurants. The menu is full of vegan versions of old favorites. Everything I ever ordered was amazing, especially the desserts. But don’t keep pointing to items, asking the staff if it is vegan. They hate that.
  • Vegetarian Paradise 2 (VP2)
    144 W 4th St
    New York, NY
    (212)260-7130
    Chinese food with convincing fake meat. Not necessarilly what I would want to eat all the time, but if you don’t mind greasy fattening food, it’s great. They have healthier items as well.
• Asheville, NC
  
  • Plant
    165 Merrimon Ave.
    Asheville, NC
    (828)258-7500
    Asheville’s only vegan restaurant. Several gluten-free options. Brunch on Sundays. The owners are always present and very interested in ensuring that their customers are happy. The kitchen is open so you can watch the chef prepare meals. Plant is more upscale than most of Asheville’s restaurants and a little more pricey than average, but well worth it. Every dish is a falvorful work of art, more unique than the standard vegan restaurant meal.
• Charlotte, NC
  
  • Bean Vegan Cuisine
    3001 E Independence Blvd.
    Charlotte, NC
    (980)939-1234
    Vegan comfort food but with unique ingredients. Jackfruit tacos, for instance. Plenty of gluten-free options. If you don’t mind gluten, the bacon cheeseburger is delicious. The gluten-free Jackfruit Carnitas Tacos are a very popular dish, although I wasn’t wild about it. All our side dishes were excellent – mashed potatoes and gravy, mac and cheese, and sweet potato fries. Their desserts are amazing. Service was excellent. I highly recomment Bean Vegan Cuisine if you’re anywhere near Charlotte.
  • Luna’s Living Kitchen
    2102 South Blvd.
    Charlotte, NC
    (704)333-0008
    Raw, vegan, open only for breakfast and lunch. Many gluten-free options. They have an extensive breakfast menu, but I was hoping to order something off the lunch menu. Unfortunately it was too early, and I didn’t end up making it back there again later. I ordered the Bombin’ Buckwheat Blaster, which was tasty and full of fresh fruit. For me though, it was way too sweet, which means most people would probably love it. Even so, I could tell the quality of the food was top notch, and I hope to try their lunch menu next time I’m in Charlotte.
• Austin, TX
  • Casa de Luz
    1701 Toomey Rd
    Austin, TX
    (512)476-2535
    Even without the food, Casa de Luz is a great place. You can’t spend time there without feeling calm and pleasant. You can’t eat the food and leave feeling unhealthy. It is mostly macrobiotic and organic. Much of the food comes from their own garden. There is no menu, you just get a plate of whatever they are serving that night with soup and salad. The difference in meals from day to day is subtle, but I never got tired of eating there.
• Dallas, TX
  • Spiral Diner
    1401 Jones St
    Fort Worth, TX
    (817)3-Eat-Veg
    Spiral Diner is your basic burger and sandwich shop and offers other old favorites, like spaghetti and meatballs, lasagna, and baked potatoes. I didn’t love the carrot cake, but the meatballs were just how they should have been. I highly recommend trying anything with their hummus in it. I know, you can get hummus anywhere, but trust me, theirs is special. They also sell vegan cat food.
• Houston, TX
  • Wonderful Vegetarian Restaurant (now Tien Ren)
    7549 Westheimer, Houston, TX 77063
    (713)977-3137
    Wonderful Vegetarian was a favorite place to eat after animal rights protests. By that time we were starving and tired so the food tasted great. But it was a fairly typical chinese buffet. A decent selection and some good desserts. A bit on the greasy side. If you’re stuck in Houston, try it. Don’t go out of your way.
    I am told that this restaurant closed and reopened as Tien Ren, also completely vegan. The buffet, menu, baked goods, and atmosphere received high marks from at least one family so it might be worth checking out.
  • Green Planet Vegetarian Cafe
    9013 Westheimer Road
    Houston, TX
    (713)783-6622
    This one is another Chinese buffet, but they also have a dinner menu. I didn’t care for it. It wasn’t interesting at all. It’s possible that I am getting these two places mixed up, but it almost doesn’t matter.
• Salt Lake City, UT
  • Sage’s Cafe
    473 E 300 S
    Salt Lake City, UT
    (801)322-3790
    Not only does Sage’s Cafe have great food, but it is run by the nicest people in the restaurant industry. During the long road trip from Austin to Seattle, we were heading toward Salt Lake City, trying desperately to arrive in time to try Sage’s. They were about to close when we were still twenty minutes away. Hungry, we called them to ask if they could recommend a place where we could get some vegan food late at night. Rather than directing us to some grocery store, they read the menu to us over the phone, took our orders, and stayed open an extra half hour just so we could eat. Unbelievable. And so was the food. I had the Mushroom Stroganoff for dinner, then went back for breakfast and had French Toast. Some day, I would like to go back to Salt Lake City long enough to try everything on the menu. If you go anywhere near Utah, find a way to make it to Sage’s.
• Seattle, WA
• Araya’s Vegetarian Place
  4730 University Way NE
  Seattle, WA
  (206)524-4332
  Araya’s is great Thai food. Unfortunately, I don’t care for Thai food. I don’t hate it, it just doesn’t excite me at all. But if you like Thai, I highly recommend trying it.
• Bamboo Garden
  364 Roy St
  Seattle, WA
  (206)282-6616
  Everyone raves about the Bamboo Garden and it always wins in the polls. I think it’s mediocre at best. In a town with no other options, I would be glad to have it. In Seattle, I won’t waste my money on it again. Their balls of fake meat are pretty good, but every dish on the menu is the same, and not very interesting.
• Cafe Ambrosia (Closed)
  2501 Fairview Ave E
  Seattle, WA
  (206)325-7111
  Ambrosia’s menu is pretty small, but I haven’t ever tried anything there that didn’t impress me. From appetizers to desserts, the food is amazing. Their brunch is even better. Everything, including the beer and wine, is organic.
• The Globe
  1531 14th Ave
  Seattle, WA
  (206)324-8815
  The Globe is a great cheap place to eat a filling breakfast. Their grits are fantastic. I’m not a huge fan of their lunch menu, but I eat breakfast there all the time.
• Good Morning Healing Earth (Closed – now Rainy Day Vegan Cafe)
  901 NE 55th St
  Seattle, WA
  This is another favorite. Best gravy in town. He makes his own tofu and seitan and it is delicious. Great for lunch and breakfast. Prices are reasonable. But don’t skimp on the tip or there will be hell to pay.
• Hillside Quickies
  4106 Brooklyn Ave NE
  Seattle, WA
  (206)632-3037
  I love Quickies! Good, cheap, greasy sandwich shop. If they happen to have the tofu pot pie, order it. Otherwise, any sandwich on the menu will satisfy.
• In The Bowl
  1554 E. Olive Way
  Seattle, WA
  (206)568-2343
  In the Bowl has a huge menu, and as far as I can tell, everything on it is tasty. Almost all dishes come with a choice of tofu, fish, prawn, duck, or beef – the faux kind, of course. The food is fairly cheap.
• Rainy Day Vegan Cafe
  901 NE 55th St
  Seattle, WA
  (206)524-0204
  This is quickly turning into one of my favorite restaurants in Seattle. Their menu is interesting and almost everything I try is fantastic. What’s even better is they are always experimenting with new dishes. Specials have included grilled cheese sandwiches and chicken parmesan. Prices are reasonable, service is great. My only complaint is that the portions are sometimes inconsitent.
• Mighty-O Donuts
  2110 N 55th St
  Seattle, WA
  (206)547-0335
  A vegan donut shop? I never thought I would see the day. The donuts are a lot more like cake than donuts though. They are great desserts, but don’t expect them to be anything like Dunkin.
• Pizza Pi
  5500 University Way NE
  Seattle, WA
  (206)343-1415
  I couldn’t stay away from Pizza Pi if I tried. I don’t know how he makes the vegan cheese, but it makes me wonder why all the vegan cheeses you find in stores taste like vomit. Ordering at Pizza Pi is just like ordering at any other Pizzaria, except when you ask for sausage, bacon, or other meat, no animals suffer as a result. The calzones are great too. I highly recommend trying the white garlic sauce in place of the regular red sauce. But don’t ask for both. He hates that. “No, I can’t make pink sauce!”
• Teapot Vegetarian House
  125 15th Ave E
  Seattle, WA
  (206)325-1010
  I may be the only vegan in Seattle who doesn’t like this place. Aside from the rose chicken, which is just like the real thing, I have never had an entree I liked. Their mango cheesecake is the best vegan cheesecake I’ve ever had though.
• Vegan Garden
  1228 S Jackson St
  Seattle, WA
  (206)726-8669
  There are so many items on the menu that it’s really difficult to choose. It’s mostly faux meat, Asian style. If you’re feeling like having delicious but greasy fried food, this is the place for you.

Vegan restaurants in Canada

• Montreal, QC
  • Aux Vivres
    4631 boulevard Saint-Laurent
    Montreal, QC
    (514)842-3479
    Gluten-free, soy-free, and nut-free options are all labeled on the menu, and there are a number of items available for each category. They have comfort food and decadent desserts as well as healthy, satisfying meals. A meat-eater friend of mine tried the chocolate apple cake and was impressed. They have some brunch items on Saturday and Sunday that are worth trying as well. This was definitely a favorite restaurant of mine.
  • Panthere Verte (Green Panther)
    2153 MacKay St.
    Montreal, QC
    (514)903-4744
    Not much in the way of gluten-free since their entrees come on pita bread. They also have soups and many raw desserts and snacks. They also have fresh juices. The cashier recommended the falafel pita, so I followed her advice. It was really really good. They must make their pita bread fresh daily because I’ve never before known it to be so soft. Not the kind of food I happen to prefer, but it’s worth checking out. They compost and recycle almost everything, which is nice.

• Toronto, ON
  • Live
    264 Dupont St.
    Toronto, ON
    (416)515-2002
    It is too bad that I was only able to visit this restaurant once during my trip to Toronto. It features raw, organic, vegan food, but offers cooked options as well. Gluten-free and nut-free items are clearly labeled. Whatever you get will probably be out of this world. But make sure to leave room for dessert. I had the most incredible raw vegan tiramisu. If you go to Toronto, you must visit Live.

• Victoria, BC
  • Green Cuisine
    #5 – 560 Johnson St.
    Victoria, BC V8W 3C6
    (250)385-1809
    Buffet style dining. Pay by the gram in Canadian dollars. If you’re an American, you probably won’t have any clue how to estimate how much you’re spending for a meal in American dollars. I sure didn’t, but I’m pretty sure it was cheap. And if it wasn’t, that’s ok because the food is worth the price. Good variety and everything I tried was satisfying and tasty.
  • Lotus Pond Vegetarian Restaurant
    617 Johnson St.
    Victoria, BC V8W 1M5
    (250)380-9293
    If you show up right before 3pm when they are no longer refilling the buffet, you can get lunch for super cheap, as long as you don’t mind eating the dregs of the buffet. I also tried Lotus Pond for dinner. It is more or less your standard Asian-style vegan restaurant, but the menu is extensive. Lots of fake meat dishes. Good portion sizes. The water chestnut cake is definitely not cake, and it isn’t very good. Enjoy your entree at Lotus Pond, but get your dessert down the street at Green Cuisine.