I’ve been a vegetarian for 14 years. Having traveled to almost all the major cities in the US and Canada I would have to both agree and disagree with your assessment on vegetarian restaurants in Houston. Houston does not have that great vegetarian restaurant, but because of the ethnicity of the city, we have lot more choices than other cities. One restaurant that no one mentioned is Pepper Tree, which is not far from Greenway Plaza area. They have a great vegetarian buffet during lunch hours and on weekends. The fake fish sticks are outstanding. My family took me there for my birthday a couple of days ago and it was great. Niko Niko’s while not a vegetarian restaurant has a lot of good vegetarian platters, and they have recently become one of the Rockets sponsors. For those of you who don’t know, the dude waving the Greek flag every time V-Span scores, is one of the owners of Niko Niko’s.
I have to say Niko Niko's falafel is one of the best in town. They also have an amazing hot sauce (not the bottle on the tables, the one you have to ask for from behind the counter) that is really good. I like to mix it with my tzatziki and slather it on my falafels! I love their greek salads and their spinach and feta pita. They also have a veggie kabob sandwich which I will try soon! Love this place.
Christ. Just eat. I never understand why people have to be this selective. Hell, if I went to a cannibalistic society and there were people on the menu, I'd give it a try.
I prefer strictly vegetarian kitchens (actually, I prefer vegan ones) but beggars can't be choosy. rimbaud: That sucks about Tien Ren. Seems like it eventually happens to every good veg place in Houston. Yeah, Field of Greens used to have Carl from Moveable Feast cooking for them. That's why they have the wheatroast fajitas that used to be so good and are now so bad. That place went downhill fast and it's way too expensive. The main stuff I like in Austin is Mr. Natural (incredible vegetarian Mexican buffet) and the abundance of breakfast tacos (soyrizo, bean and potato being my favorite), but I also like a lot of stuff at Mother's -- especially the vegan lasagna. Austin sucks for Asian food, but it's great for vegetarian Mexican and American food. rockHEAD: I go to some of the places on your list from time to time. I hold a grudge against Ziggy's because they swore to me their veggie burger was vegan, I ate it for months and came to find out it was the Morningstar patty with egg whites in it. Also, the ostrich and junk creeps me out. It would be a lot easier for me if I didn't care what was in what, but I do. And I've been on this diet so long my body rejects meat and dairy. As such, it's not just a preference for me but the difference between getting sick or not. Mai's uses fish sauce in everything and then lies about it. I had that confirmed by a waiter there. Ming's gave me "veggie" fried rice with tiny bits of chicken sprinkled throughout. Chuy's sometimes decides on a lark to start making their refried beans with milk (which is just weird) and they added chicken stock to the green chile sauce which had always been vegetarian without telling anyone. Whole Foods used to be great for vegans; now it's horrible for them. They've just discontinued virtually every vegan option that was decent and they add new meat dishes regularly. And Niko Niko fries the falafel in the same oil as the chicken and butters the pita before grilling it on the meat grill. When Mr. Meowgi mentions crushed bones, he's talking about gelatin which is in tons of stuff. Meowgi: As evidenced above it is harder than hell to know what's in what and most restaurants and servers can't be trusted to know what's in the food or even tell the truth if they do know. But a majority of oils used in restaurants are 100% vegetarian these days. The main exception would be traditional Mexican or Cuban places, which still use lard. Major Malcontent: I don't know if we've met or not. I used to run Infernal Bridegroom. mbiker: Thanks for the Pepper Tree tip. I'll check it out. I think I might have had a mock chicken dish there once that I didn't really dig, but it might have been somewhere else. Anyway, I'll give it a try. Read my reply to rockHEAD above to understand my issues with most ethnic restaurants. At Niko Niko's, about the only honestly vegetarian stuff is the hummus, tabouli and dolmas. Everything else is soaked in meat juice. Keep the suggestions coming, y'all. I appreciate them.
I have not loved Pepper Tree the 2-3 times I went. Very bland. I should give it another try. Is what used to be Green Planet still around? Anyway, bats - yeah, it sucks about Tien Ren...especially because it was not business or their will that is causing them to close. Their strip mall landlord is basically forcing them out (after 18 years) to put some kind of retail store in there. Also, as far as grocery stores go...Hong Kong (especially city mall) has a lot of vegan/vegetarian foods. Oh yeah, Blue Nile (Ethiopian) is a good place for vegetarian. PS - you know, despite the shortcomings, Houston almost always is in the top 10 vegetarian cities compiled by Vegetarian Times.
I can see how it's difficult for you to go out and eat. If I had your diet, I would have to do a lot of my own cooking. Fortunately, I've yet to find meat in my veggie fried rice from Ming's. I've had pretty good luck with them. I knew about the fish sauce at Mai's. So far, Ziggy's has been good to me and I don't care about what else they serve. The BB Burger is pretty tasty, especially when I'm craving a 'burger'. WFM pisses me off too, by limiting vegan as well as veggie options. It's hard to eat the prepared foods there. I could never be vegan. I really like cheese, although, I have cut down on it a bit. BJ, you'll need to try Field of Greens. The only non-veggie thing they serve is salmon. Otherwise, all veggie! Pretty good too. I dig their BLT with tempeh bacon. Good stuff. They also have an amazing house dressing.
Forgot to add that the Central Market deli in the River Oaks has some pretty good veg. panini sandwiches. You see them making it in front of you, so no real worries there.
Thanks for the Ethiopian restaurant suggestion. I'll check it out, though I don't dig on that spongy bread at all. That sucks about Tien Ren. Is there any chance they'll re-open elsewhere? Like, maybe inside the loop? Great tip on Hong Kong. Where is it? Houston's generally lame for veggie friendly grocery stores. That's crazy about Vegetarian Times. I'd list NYC, SF, Chicago, LA, Minneapolis, Seattle, Portland, Austin, Atlanta and Pittsburgh way above Houston and that's just off the top of my head from places I've been in the last several years. Do you have that list? I googled for it but I only found the PETA list (no Houston there).
rH: I do a lot of my own cooking, yeah. My girlfriend does even more of it and she's the best vegan chef in the world. I really think she should open a restaurant but she's too busy kicking ass as an actress. Since I met and moved in with her, restaurants are only an issue when we travel and compared to her cooking they're almost all disappointing. I should try more of the menu at Field of Greens. The wheatroast fajitas used to be so good and now they're so gross and that turned me off for a while -- especially since they're like $11. But I'll give them another try sometime.
Well, it's been a little while since I've been, so they may have gone down hill. One of their chef's (Chef Carl) quit and is trying to open his own place. If and when he opens up, I'll let you know.
I'm a fan of Infernal Bridegroom. I love edgy theater especially of the consistantly high quality IB put out. Unfortunately the theater group where I do most of my work has a season ticket base in their dotage who consider Neil Simon cutting edge. Anyway its good to see another theater guy on here. Good luck finding some good vegan cuisine.
Completely agree. There are a lot of restaurants that'll subsitute vegetarian products for products (i.e. Chile's with their bean burgers), and some have "vegetarian/vegan" menus. As I posted on another thread, Mammasita's in league city is really vegan/vegetarian friendly. Greek food is also very vegetarian/vegan friendly.
1. Injera kicks ass. Sorry you don't like it. 2. No idea about re-opening somewhere else. 3. The best Hong Kong is the city mall way out on Bellaire just past Wilcrest. They have frozen, refrigirated, and dried goods. Vegan fish is yummy (usualy shaped in some whole fish form with seaweed as "skin". 4. I can't find it anymore, either. I remember being surprised. Most lists I was able to see now have it more in the 13-16 range. NYC is obviously #1 for me. San Fran once was but they had about 4 clsings that have yet to be replaced. Atlanta was surprisingly good - ton of grocery stores. Portland was nice as well. Did not have much time in Minny. Chicago I am usually with in-laws, I dislike LA overall but Real Food Daily was pretty decent. Pittsburgh? Really? Seems very strange. Not listed - Boston overall is blah but next time you are there check out Masao's Kitchen in Waltham. Vegan macrobiotic and wonderful (at least it was 3 or 4 years ago).
Thanks for the words, Malcontent. Hope to see you in a show sometime. I've never eaten there. I just had a bad time with the sponge bread the first time I ate Ethiopian (in Chi). I'm game to try it again. Cool, thanks. Will check it. NYC is number one for me too. Has most of my favorite vegan restaurants but that's not even it -- it's the sheer volume of options. You can eat great vegan food in virtually any neighborhood there. SF and LA rank just because there's a general sensitivity and a market so it's not a total drag to find something to eat in most neighborhoods. There are a ton of options in Chicago, but next time you're there be sure to check out Chicago Diner. Everything there is good. Also, the jerk seitan sandwich at Earwax is super great. Portland and Seattle are hippie towns so the CA stuff applies there too. ATL was surprising to me too. Minneapolis is pleasantly surprising on many levels. If it weren't for the weather I'd probably settle there. Pittsburgh has several options for vegetarians/vegans, but there are two places that really make it special. Hunan Kitchen in Squirrell Hill is the best Asian vegetarian joint I've ever been to. I dream about the food there when I'm not in Pgh. And Quiet Storm makes the best tofu scramble, vegan onion gravy and fake sausage I've ever had, bar none. I don't know what their secret is but it's amazing. Most of their great dishes are variations on those items. My favorite is the Black and Gold (after the Steelers). It's a huge platter of black beans, rice (brown or basmati), tofu scramble, homemade soysage crumble, roasted vegetables and onion gravy for $5. Their iced coffee is the best I've had too and there's a smoking section. Also Providence has the Garden Grille which has several great items I've never had anywhere else and ABQ has an incredible vegan Chinese place right across from UNM with soy nuggets that taste just like Chik-Fil-A. When I was living there I used to eat there twice a day. Next to any of those towns, Houston pales badly in comparison. Nice to hear there's a good place to go in Boston. I was there last year and looked everywhere for good vegan food and struck out. Next time I'll know where to go.
