Recent Visits to Vegetarian Restaurant in SF

[ChowHau]

Hey there:
Does anyone have any recent experiences in good Vegetarian or Vegetarian friendly restaurants?
I'm taking a friend out to dinner on Thursday and he's Ovolactovegetarian.
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Found a lot of old reviews... would like some recent ones.
Thanks!!

[Robert Lauriston]

By "ovolacto" you mean eats eggs and dairy, right?

Greens is hard to beat.

[AmySherman]

Have you eaten at Greens recently? Last time I went I found it disappointing. The portions were small, served lukewarm and rather expensive.

[KathyM]

I also found Greens to be very disappointing. I totally agree that portions are small and expensive for what it is. A friend ordered a lasagna and it was ice-cold in the middle. It took them 15-20 min. to bring her a new serving. She had to watch us eat our food before it went cold. I don't know why they didn't at least just nuke it. Service was indifferent and not very knowledgable.

[Robert Lauriston]

Huh, sounds like they've gone downhill.

[Neilo]

I was at Greens in March and was perturbed by rubbery pasta and bland vegetables. The dessert slips my mind but I was dissapointed in that too. I know it was a silly place to eat pasta but still.

I would still bring super finiky vegetarians there, like mom, because what matters sometimes is that there is NO chance there is chicken stock and the like.

[Morton the Mousse]

Most SF restaurants are pretty on top of accomodating vegetarians. I have yet to encounter a waiter around here who wont happily check ingredients with the kitchen. The only exception is ethnic restaurants where there is a language barrier.

[Neilo]

Burma Superstar is tasty and I've never had a scrap of meat there. Darbar is also easy for vegetarians.

[deelish]

Try Golden Era on O'Farrell in the tenderloin... cheap, great service, all vegan Vietnamese!
Their lemongrass tofu, vegie "pork" bun, eggplant in garlic sauce, viet crepes, spring rolls, I could go on and on and on.... the atmosphere is a little odd when you walk in, but keep on going down stairs and you will not be sorry.

[AmySherman]

I would suggest Medicine, it's very unusual even by Japanese standards but pretty good if you order the right things.

Here's a review from my blog:

http://cookingwithamy.blogspot.com/20...

[Windy]

Yes, the same places are good as always:

Cafe Gratitude, Minako (Japanese), and for a certain kind of well-heeled diner, Medicine Eatstation (Japanese temple food).

Greens is decent, but not cheap and I've always liked it better for brunch than dinner.

I've never liked Millenium, although others do.

[Melanie Wong]

Here's my post from last month on Minako though we only ordered one vegetable dish.
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/...

Nearly every restaurant in the City is veggie friendly. I eat out regularly with vegetarian friends and haven't had a problem finding something delicious to eat. We had a fabulous coconut-infused tofu entree at Ana Mandara, Helmand has some great vegetarian dishes, Sultan has lovely seasonal vegetable dishes for the asking (not on the menu).

[Windy]

That's true, but a lot of them aren't truly vegetarian.

I've been eating out with a friend who recently gave up the last vestiges of animal products, and she's complained not just about fish sauce at Thai and Vietnamese restaurants but also of meat flavor from the wok in her supposedly meatless stir fries.

Had a birthday dinner this weekend for another vegetarian friend up at Madrona Manor in Healdsburg. The chef pulled together a special menu for our group. The guest of honor was so thrilled that there were not just a few accommodations for him but actual vegetarian choices.

[Melanie Wong]

Yes, one needs to ask questions at Thai and Viet restaurants because of the fish sauce issue. Hadn't thought about meat-tinged "wok breath", but it reminded me of reading about families who keep kosher bringing their own wok to Chinese restaurants for the kitchen to use in preparing their dinner.

Hope you'll post about your dinner at Madrona Manor when you get a chance!

[Melanie Wong]

Here's a link to my report on dinner at Cafe Gratitude in July with photos. It's delicious and can be very fun . . . if you're in the right mood.
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/show/...