Seven Must-Visit Vegan & Vegetarian Restaurants

While out wandering, finding a place that offers healthy vegan/vegetarian food and drinks can sometimes be difficult. Let’s get curious and have some fun finding and eating at all of them!

What I look for when dining out.

Cuisine. Before I sit down or make a reservation, a quick look at the menu to be sure there are vegan/vegetarian options available is first. Most restaurants will have some vegan/vegetarian options, but I get really excited when that’s all they provide.

Surroundings. As I am looking over the menu  either in-erson or online, I will get a sense of the restaurants vibe. How a place presents is important. If I get a good reaction, I’m going in!

Good food, exotic surroundings, and welcoming staff are top of the list when I choose a place. If I know in advance that I will be eating out, I research close neighborhoods, looking for just the right place. Car-camping means I eat a lot of self-prepared salads, soups, sandwiches, and other items easy to prepare at a campsite or road-side stop. But when I am ready to put down money on a meal in a restaurant, I prefer to have all of my senses engaged!

Sometimes, just walking past, a restaurant will call out to me with its’ marvelous aroma drifting through the open door, the lively music, pleasant conversations going on, or a happy smile from someone seated behind the window enjoying their food. Even if it’s to enjoy a small tapas plate, a cuppa, or dessert, my hope for a fantastic experience will take me in.

Choices Across the U.S.

Dubuque, Iowa / Inspire Cafe

Located in my hometown, Inspire Cafe is the place to go for coffees, smoothies, and so much more. It’s got a great feel with diverse, comfortable seating, outstanding customer service, and they feature a revolving, seasonally-inspired menu and vegetarian, vegan options too.

• Must try: Vegged Out Smoothie (Butternut Squash/mango, pineapple puree, kale, hold the yogurt please) and a Harvest Vegan Buddha Bowl (Hummus, roasted Brussel sprouts, sauteed mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, sweet potato, caramelized onion & “Parmesan” sauce on a bed of rice & quinoa

Madison, Wisconsin The Green Owl Cafe

This super cute restaurant is Madison’s only authentic vegetarian and vegan restaurant. Owner Jennie Capellaro aims to please vegetarians and vegans as well as meat-eaters who eat out with their vegetarian and vegan family members and friends. Located in the Willy Street Neighborhood on the Isthmus, this is a place to visit! 

• Must try: Crabby Cake Po’boy (Vegan crabby cakes, served on a toasted French roll with lettuce, tomato, and chipotle rémoulade) with Kale Crisps (Oven-baked kale fronds mixed with olive oil and spices. crispy perfection)

Santa Monica, California Veggie Grill

Recently, I found myself in Santa Monica, and after an afternoon on the Pier and beach, I was famished. I was going to eat what I had packed in my cooler but thought I’d google the local restaurants near me, searching for pleasing vegan options nearby. Many came up, but the Veggie Grill sounded perfect! Very close to the beach, it’s more of an eat-in/carry-out fast-food style restaurant and with many delicious menu items.

• Must try: VG Beyond Burger (burger by beyond meat, American “cheese,” grilled onions, house-made sauce, tomato, iceberg lettuce, sesame buns), Sweet Potato Fries and Mac-n-Cheese (organic, non-GMO rice pasta, VG-cheese, bread crumbs)

Minneapolis, Minnesota French Meadow Bakery & Cafe

French Meadow began in 1985 as the first certified organic bread bakery in the U.S.A., baking traditional organic, yeast-free bread that was as delicious as it was healthy. Fresh and innovative food, the menu is handwritten on gigantic chalkboards. It’s both a full table service restaurant or order at the counter and seat yourself at generous country family-style tables. Charming!

• Must try: Classic Vegan Breakfast (organic tofu scramble, home-made hash browns, vegan sausage, organic seeded sourdough toast) and a Mimosa

Chicago, Illinois The Chicago Diner 

Meat-free since 1983, all menu items are vegan or have vegan options. There are more than a hundred vegan/vegetarian options in the Chicago-land area, but this one is a must!

Known for the Radical Reuben, I instead chose:

• Must try: Avocado Tostada (black beans, quinoa, onion, bell pepper, lettuce, tomato, avocado, corn tortillas, chimichurri add seitan chorizo) and Sweet Potato Fries with a slice of Carrot Cake or Carrot Cake Shake for dessert

Eataly Chicago 

Although not an authentic vegan restaurant (although they come up as such on google). Still, just a block off Michigan Avenue on Ohio St. the Eataly Chicago satisfies two of my favorite things – shopping for unique gadgets, wine, and food items and exploring specialty grocery stores. They can modify some of their menu items to accommodate a V/V lifestyle. Anything they offer can be ordered online too.

Washington, D.C. Founding Farmers DC 

Founding Farmers was one of those eating places that got my attention right away as I passed by. My first thought was, “hey! What a great name,” but as I looked closer, the interior was even more interesting, unique, and needed exploring. Located just a few blocks east of the Foggy Bottom Metro station and an easy walk from the National Mall, a restaurant I highly recommend.

Not wholly vegan/vegetarian, they do offer options in a Meatless Menu. Their servers can also recommend vegan dishes if you are stuck.

• Must try: Cauliflower Steak (mushrooms, risotto, broccolini, tomato-cider glaze) with butternut squash

Cahuita, Costa Rica The Goddess Garden 

The Goddess Garden is a resort where I stayed recently during a Yoga Retreat. It made this list because during the ten days I was there, the resort chef provided the most amazing meals – EVER – and each of them vegan/vegetarian. He was trained in Canada and told me he left everything to be a chef in paradise. I did try to get him to come home and be my chef or at the very least, write a cookbook! I tried to recreate some of the sumptuous dishes after I was back without success. If you are considering a trip to Central America, absolutely check this resort out first.

I completely agree with this quote is from their website.

“…The magic of the Costa Rican Rainforest and the dance of the Caribbean Sea make the perfect combination to create this Yoga Teacher Training and Retreat Center. The Goddess Garden is a Yoga Retreat and a Yoga Teacher Training Retreat Center and most of all, an Intentional
place for yoga, meditation, and transformation in Costa Rica. Transformation can take place by practicing yoga, meditating and living fully in the present. The Goddess Garden provides the facilities for yoga teacher training with the best yoga instructors and yoga group retreats in Cahuita, Costa Rica.”

No food with a face.

People often ask why I am a vegan and if it’s hard. There are so many reasons to go vegan or at least vegetarian, but I won’t bore you here with statistics or facts. I will share, however, my ideas for eating vegan.

About 25 years ago, a friend who worked in a processing plant for meat production told me how the process worked. Without too many details, let’s say I was troubled and upset by his account of the treatment of animals coming into the plant. From that day forward, I adhere to a vegetarian (vegan) diet. Still feeling like food may have been the cause of other health issues, I eliminated milk/cheese and processed grains, and immediately noticed more energy and clearer thinking. If I choose to eat something with milk in it, the effects are seen right away.

Eating this way is quite easy. After about ten days, your taste buds come back to normal. When processed food is eaten again, a significant adverse reaction usually occurs – even if it’s scrunching your nose because the food tastes terrible.

Learn more.

What The Health a documentary dedicated to finding out why there are so many sick people in the world. It’s definitely worth watching.

I would love to hear from you. Please share your adventures or something you found useful for traveling in the comment section below.

Please share this with a friend through email, Pinterest, or Facebook.

Enjoy every moment of your journey!