Best VEGAN Food?

[tomscholfield.livejournal.com]

What are the best Vegan (not vegetarian), options in the area for places to eat out? Any Suggestions?

Comments

[lyonesse.livejournal.com]

the elephant walk on mass ave (actually closer to porter, but an easy walk from davis) is quite good. i took my vegan brother there and he was pleased to have an actual *selection* of dishes to choose from, rather than one item on the menu. the food is lovely, too.

[scottxwl.livejournal.com]

Grasshopper in Allston is an entirely vegan restaurant. And right next door to it is TJ Scalliwags which also has vegan food and desserts. In the area of Davis, Elephant Walk for dinner, Porter Square books has vegan muffins, Diesel has vegan sandwiches. Lemon Thai on Highland has some good dishes.

[larksdream]

Grasshopper is quite tasty. :)

[treacle-well.livejournal.com]

TJ Scalliwags is now (or was still a few weeks ago) entirely vegan. For the benefit of the original poster, I'm going to add that it's basically a vegan pizza joint, with some foods that aren't pizza (just like most pizza places.)

[turil.livejournal.com]

Don't forget the "gle". It's TJ Scallywaggle's. I don't know why they waggle, but they do :-)

And, yes, it's strict vegetarian now. No animal products at all, except for the employees!

[kelmit.livejournal.com]

Having alternated between vegan and vegetarian in the last few years, maybe some of my reviews on Yelp (http://www.yelp.com/list_details?userid=g2pjJLw2362ne09i2xjgoQ&list_id=5zQ_LqXIvR4IhfWqRdm0uQ) will help you?

Let me know if you have questions-- it may not be clear whether I was vegan or just vegetarian at the time of writing some of these.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

I just browsed your reviews -- great list! FYI, Diesel (which isn't a bake shop, but does have bagels and baked goods) has been offering Tofutti for some time now. They also usually have an assortment of vegan baked goods available, but I'd rate them as merely okay. You can get much better at my house. :)

[kelmit.livejournal.com]

whoah!! Diesel has Tofutti?! that rocks. At the moment I'm eating dairy, but I do like to limit it... and do hope to return to the vegan side someday.

[seaweedgirle.livejournal.com]

No way, re: Tofutti! Thanks for letting us know. I'll try to go tomorrow.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

Indeed, it'd been at least a year! When they first started, they had a paper sign up about it. Maybe the sign isn't there anymore, but they've always had it when I've asked.

I didn't realize we had so many of us vegan freaks around here. Maybe we should have a monthly potluck. :)

[rxrfrx.livejournal.com]

http://weeklydig.com/eats_drinks/articles/rabbit_foodies_rejoice

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

That author is a bit of an idiot, but some of the info in the article is great (and I like the title). Thanks for the pointer!

[ismymiddlename.livejournal.com]

Are you looking for exclusively vegan restaurants? For that I think you have to go to Allston - T.J. Scallywaggle's does vegan pizza/subs/etc. There's also Grasshopper (right around the corner from T.J. Scallywaggles), and My Thai Cafe (formerly Buddha's Delight II) in Brookline.

As for places closer to home... My boyfriend and I go to Diva or to Tip Top Thai in Teele Square a lot. Also, Cafe Barada on Mass Ave for excellent tabbouleh and hummus, etc. ZuZu's (one of the Middle East restaurants) in Central Square has a couple of vegan options - I like their PuPu platter (you have to specify you want it vegan). If you're looking for something a little fancier, Elephant Walk (also on Mass Ave, nearer to Porter) will make vegan versions of several of the things on their menu. Sabur Restaurant near Teele is also a little more upscale, and has very good Middle Eastern food. They only have a couple of vegan/veganizable dishes, but it was worth it the one time we went! Also, Oleana in Cambridge has amazing food, and they'll do a vegan tasting menu if you call ahead. There are also some vegan items on the menu, though you might want to let them know you're vegan when you make your reservation, just in case.

That's all I can think of for the moment! Hope it helps.

[rekling.livejournal.com]

When I went to Diva last week, I specified (as I always try to, in Indian restaurants) that I didn't want my dish cooked with butter, and didn't want butter on my bread, and they said fine, but that there was butter in the rice (and possibly other dairy in the nan?). So, as with all Indian food (or Tibetan, or any other food from a culture that cooks with a lot of butter), don't forget to ask.

Veggie Planet is my favorite place to go as a vegan.

Unfortunately, Boston is not the most vegetarian-friendly city (and definitely not the vegan-friendly) so most of the options are the non-dairy non-egg non-meat dishes at regular restaurants.

-Rek

[x-bluerose-x.livejournal.com]

Veggie Planet is veg*n and every item can be made vegan or not. It's in Harvard Sq.

I echo recommendations on Grasshopper, TJ's, and Diesel. Also My Thai in Brookline.

[turil.livejournal.com]

Not every item. Most of their stuff is either strict veggie or not. Though many of their pizzas can be made with either tofu cheese or cow cheese.

Alas, the macaroni and cheese isn't avaiable as a strict vegetarian dish :-[

[bluedaisy.livejournal.com]

Christophers in Porter Square has lots of vegetarian and vegan options, but it's not an all-vegan restaurant, so you'll have to ask your waitress.

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

For downscale, Spike's in Davis has veggie dogs, onion rings, and fries.

[frederic.livejournal.com]

Buddha's Delight in Chinatown. And the vegan Vietnamese place right below it.

Buddha's Delight near Coolidge Corner changed their name but is apparently still vegan.

The Middle East has great vegan food.

Blue Shirt Cafe in Davis Square.

[geoffroi.livejournal.com]

Martsa's on Elm can do vegan (and they do it well).

If you're looking for something more upscale and are willing to drive, Ten Tables in JP ( http://tentables.net/ ) is spectacular and very flexible.

[lonelyholiday.livejournal.com]

This is not a vegan restaurant, but just a warning... Cambridge Naturals in the Porter Shopping Center sells these vegan cookies called, I think, "Natural Creations." They're fine, EXCEPT yesterday I tried the chocolate raspberry flavor, and it was seriously so gross I had to spit it out. And I am notoriously un-picky. This thing tasted like a chocolate cookie made with cough syrup.

So, yeah, vegan baked goods are a-okay in my book, BUT NOT THIS PARTICULAR FLAVOR.

[left-unsaid.livejournal.com]

River Gods in Central Sq. has great food! They have a large selection of vegan dishes on the menu, and will make other dishes vegan upon request. Go on the early side, it gets very crowded and loud by 8pm. I am addicted to the God salad with vegan spicy peanut dressing.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

As Rek noted, Boston is not a particularly veg-friendly place as large cities go. There are still some good options, though.

My current favorite place to go in the area for a (nice) vegan meal out is Gargoyle's on Elm St. If you call ahead, the chef will quite happily make you a special vegan meal. The last time I went, it involved fresh vegetables, wild mushrooms, and coconut rice, among other things. I also received a three-part appetizer that the rest of my table oohed over.

The fun part is that none of us (including the server) have any idea what I'm going to get until it's served. :)


For a cheap good meal, I like Spike's for a dog and fries (even though they don't use the best brand of veggie dog, it's still a fun meal and the fries are amazing), Anna's for a burrito, and Boloco for a non-burrito wrap.

[turil.livejournal.com]

Check out the Boston Vegetarian Society (they promote a cruelty-free diet, i.e. strict vegetarianism). They have a list of reccomended restaraunts here (http://www.bostonveg.org/restaurants/index.html).

I'm a huge fan of Buddha's Delight in Chinatown, Grasshopper in Allston, and TJ Scallywaggles next door to Grasshopper. All three are completely vegan (though there are rumors that Buddha's Delight has cow's milk in some drinks).

Veggie Planet in Harvard Square is great too for it's vegan selections

And Blue Shirt Cafe in Davis is another of my old favorites for the Sesame Tofu roll-up.

There's also a Buddhist center on Mass Ave near Central Square that served food during certain hours and on certain days, and I believe that it is vegan/strict vegetarian as well, but I've never made it during the times they serve meals.

Oh, and do try the House of Tibet up in Teele. I love that place! Lots of vegetarian options.

[myselftheliar.livejournal.com]

I cannot possibly recommend House of Tibet enough. their vegan food is amazing. while I am not vegan, I have some pretty harsh dietary restrictions and that place has always hit the spot.

[turil.livejournal.com]

Do you know if they use butter? I never bothered to ask, as I'm not that strict a vegetarian when it comes to the dairy products in restaurants. But I always hoped that they used vegetable oil...

[myselftheliar.livejournal.com]

if you request it, they do. Im not sure if their default is butter because I have always just asked for vegetable oil to be used, and since im very sensitive to butter in my food (which thankfully isnt a problem anymore, but was) I would say they listened as i never had a problem

[laklare.livejournal.com]

Here are some other suggestions I didn't see on the list so far:
Bengal Cafe - Mass Ave and Dover St. in Davis
River Gods on River St. in Cambridgeport. (several vegan options)
Falafel Palace in Central Sq.
Mary Chung in Central...there are a ton in Central so I'll stop there.
Au Bon Pain supposedly has vegan chili (haven't checked it out yet)
Cafe Kiraz in Inman Sq. (some random vegan stuff)
East Coast Grill in Inman Sq. (they have a vegan vegetable feast option)

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

Those are good suggestions, and I don't think I knew about the East Coast Grill's feast, but I'd go for PuPu HotPot over Mary Chung's any day. Better food in general AND they have veggie suan la chou shou. Score! (I'm not sure if it's on the menu, but you can always order it.)

Which also reminds me of Wang's (by Trum Field) & Sesame (between Teele and Rt16), both on Broadway and run by the same folks. Lots of veggie dumplings and all sorts of yummy options.