Delicious, Affordable Meal with Good Vegetarian Options

[doctor_mama]

Hounds,
A friend and I will be hosting a visiting Englishwoman for dinner tomorrow night. She is a vegetarian (not vegan). I'd hoped to take her to Helmand, but they have no reservations available at the time we need.

Do you have any suggestions for an alternative restaurant? Our criteria are:
* Delicious and interesting food
* Nice atmosphere, conducive to conversation--fancy not necessary
* Several good vegetarian choices (we're not looking for an exclusively veg restaurant), not just one.
* Prices in the $10-$20 range for entrees
* Boston or Cambridge (we'd consider Brookline, Watertown or Newton for the right place, as well)
* I'd prefer not to go with Thai, Indian or Chinese for this one

Maybe Lala Rokh? They don't have their full menu online, that I can see. How are their veg choices?

Thanks!

[doctor_mama]

Thanks for your suggestions, everyone. We ended up at Karoun, in Newton, and had a very nice time. Between the appetizers and the entrees there were plenty of veg options and everyone enjoyed it.

The only off note was that, although there were only six or so tables filled in the place, it was very hard to get the waitress's attention as she kept disappearing for long periods of time. Though we wanted a leisurely meal, it ended up being a bit too leisurely.

[checky]

Magnolia's (southern food) in Inman Sq. has a great vegetarian plate. Their menu is on-line.

[melodyrose]

How about East Cost Grill?

[limster]

Brookline Family Turkish Restaurant has lots of vegetarian options.

[David_A]

For Vegetaarian, I reccommend having the appatizer plate. Delish and better than the entrees.

[David_A]

Baraka Cafe is Cash only fyi.

I like Rivergods for bothe meat and non-meat eaters. Good secetion for both. Great veggie burger and fries. as well as skewers and a nice atmosphere. But there could be a wait and the place is small.

[hotoynoodle]

penang for malaysian in chinatown? elephant walk for cambodian? most italian restaurants have several lovely vegetarian options on their menus.

[Joanie]

I was going to also say Elephant Walk in Porter Sq. or Brookline. Lots of people have enjoyed their multitude of veg. choices. I know someone recently had a bad experience at La Summa in the north end but my one time there was good and they have quite a few veg. pasta dishes.

[finlero]

I'd add the following two oft-repeated, reasonably priced veggie-friendly recs:

Addis Red Sea (South End) - probably Boston's best Ethiopian served in a beautiful, interesting room.

Baraka Cafe (Central Square) - excellent Alergian/Tunisian fare. Delicious spiced lemonade with rose petals. Note that no alcohol is served.

[hiddenboston]

Lala Rokh is a bit out of your price range, but it is a very good place with some vegetarian options.

How about going to Helmand in East Cambridge? They are a bit less expensive than Lala Rokh, and the Afghan food there is excellent. And from what I recall, there are a few vegetarian options there. Nice atmosphere, too.

[doctor_mama]

Exactly what I was thinking--but as I mentioned in my post, they have no tables available in our time slot tomorrow night. I was looking for a Helmand alternative.

Thanks.

[hiddenboston]

Oops, my bad. Sorry about that!

Cafe Barada in North Cambridge has excellent Syrian/Lebanese food, and the prices are reasonable. The owner is about as nice a person as you will find, too. It's a fairly small place, but usually pretty quiet.