vegetarian-friendly places (sf/peninsula)

[atjsfo]

Chowhounds,

Help! I'm dating a (lacto ovo) vegetarian who is fairly indifferent to food. I'm so much the opposite - I'll drive an hour just to try good pizza or ice cream or ....

To add to that, he's not a big fan of "fancy" places/doesn't think going to a place like greens is worth the expense.

So I'm looking for recommendations for places in the bay area, especially in the city or the peninsula/south bay. Here is the kinds of things I'm looking for:

1. everyday places we can go to that will have good food and at least a couple reasonable non-meat options.

2. special places that do well with non-meat options. I'm thinking Aziza and maybe Nopa, but maybe others have recommendations? Although he doesn't particularly want to go to places that expensive, he'll accompany me if I really want to go.

3. any good veg options? I know all about greens, milennium, ubuntu, cafe gratitude, ananda fuara, and the various south indian places. Any other places that you might recommend? Is herbivore ok?

Thanks for your help chowhounds!

T

[Cynsa]

1. Endless Everyday options: Ala Turka, Tajine, Helmand Restaurant, Lers Ros Thai, Club Waziema, Shanghai Dumpling King, Little Chihuahua, Saffron Grill, Jannah - the list is neverending
3. Veg Options: Udupi Palace, Karma

[Lori SF]

Cha-Ya Vegetarian Japanese Restaurant. I was just there last week with a group everything was fresh and good tastes. Cash only.

I hear they are opening another location on 9th near Irving might of been where Cafe Gratitude was.

[kristinar27]

If you are willing to go down to Burlingame, Que SeRaw SeRaw is a great place, also serving vegan food. However, they have very limited hours and there are only two tiny tables to sit at. It is a favorite in the nieghborhood and on yelp.
1160 Capuchino Ave
Burlingame, CA 94010
[phone]
queserawseraw.com

[jpancake]

Almost every restaurant in the city has a couple reasonable non-meat options, especially if he's 'indifferent' to food. Check menus beforehand if you want to be sure.

Also, this question is asked several times a month, so try this search for prior recommendations:

http://search.chow.com/search?query=v...

For the record, and in my opinion, Herbivore is extremely boring EXCEPT for the soy chicken shwarma(sic?) which is amazingly delicious.

[bbulkow]

Greens, in particular, isn't worth the expense.

My veg sister's favorite restaurant is Flea Street Cafe in Menlo Park - I like it a lot, too. Medium-spendy, good meat and good veg.

[katya]

Cuisines like Ethiopian, Indian (if you do South Indian that's usually only veg), and Thai are good options.

Some of my favorite places include Zeni (may be too far south for you), Annapoorna (South Indian), Sai's (Vietnamese; I love their green beans in black bean sauce), and Park Chow or Chow (they have some veggie pasta dishes and I LOVE their seasonal Roma tomatoes appetizer). A vegan friend of mine loves Millennium but I wasn't as enamored.

[rednails]

For a casual option, I highly recommend Crepevine. 3 locations in SF and one in Burlingame. The website doesn't give much detail, but they really do have a good variety of vegetarian options. Their breakfast items are very generous portions,. I go to the one in Burlingame and they are very, very busy.

www.crepevine.com

[LAWoman]

Firefly has great options.

[boopa]

Try Vegetarian House in San Jose. Not fancy, but good food (even for those of us that are not veggie-inclined).

[rahir]

I've always been mixed about Herbivore. The service is more hit than miss, and while they offer a huge menu, more times than not the flavors don't quite sing. Firefly,, which has been mentioned, is a great option. Dosa is fun for dates, especially the bar area at the Fillmore location. For special places, Aziza and Nopa, as you mentioned are great. So are Saha and Absinthe. I'm also a huge fan of Pizzetta 211 and Weird Fish, which are smaller and more casual, and Papalote has several great veggie burritos and tacos on their menu for everyday-type eating. For other veg options, I'd add Shangri-la (veg Chinese) and Golden Era (veg Vietnamese) to the list.

P.S. I agree that Greens isn't worth the expense...This man's a keeper!