I'm in, after the holidays. I am planing on coming to LA in January and February both already, so I could work in a lunch/dinner with the VB'ers! :D

Still count me in! :)

hello veggie californians

i'm going to be in San Francisco on new years eve/day and am looking for some recommendations on a few good veg/vegan restaurants where i can get a relatively inexpensive ($10-20) meal.

thanks :)

San Francisco has amazing vegan food but it isn't always affordable. :juggle:

Here's one of the BEST but it's expensive.

http://www.millenniumrestaurant.com/

Here's a couple of good general lists.

http://www.vegguide.org/location/view.html?location_id=17&new_query=1

http://www.friendsofanimals.org/programs/vegetarianism/restaurant-guides/san-francisco-vegan-restaurant-guide.html

Yep, Millennium is one of my favorite restaurants. My wife and I used to go there on special occasions. One time I arranged for a group of mainly omni folks from work to go there for dinner and they loved it. It is a very nice restaurant. I preferred it when it was in its old location though.

There's a great vegetarian that used to be called Golden Era 2 on 822 Clement that is now called Golden Buddah Vegetarian Restaurant that's very good. I ate there back in July 2006, so I don't know if it's still good.

I've also enjoyed Alive restaurant on 1972 Lombard Street. It's a vegan/vegetarian restaurant.

Have fun while you're there.

thanks for the links :)

ooh the millennium looks awesome, i'll have to see if my SO wants to go there for our new years eve dinner...

Another :up: for Millennium. I've only eaten there once, so I'd love to go back to SF and eat there again. :drool:

Hey Cali friends.

I have my sights set on going to grad school in Cali and I was hoping to get some tips on veg life out there. Can anyone tell me about the veg-friendly factor in Palo Alto, Los Angeles, or Berkeley?

LA and Berkeley are 2 of the most veg-friendly places in America, in my experience!

Absolutely! There are several veg*an restaurants in Santa Monica alone, which you'd like if you went to UCLA or another nearby campus. There is a (mostly) raw food restaurant in Culver City with a second location in the San Fernando Valley. There is a vegan FRENCH restaurant also in the SF Valley.

------------------
Thanks to the stupid Santa Ana winds that hit last night, there is a major fire in Malibu, AGAIN. :doh:

I know! ANOTHER fire! And houses are already burning. It was weird cause yesterday, it seemed just out of nowhere strong winds started going and these leaves were blowing all over the place and now they're all in our pool and lawn.

I ate at Millenium last month for my birthday, it was amazing!!!! Another great restaurant in San Fran is Herbivore!!

Thanks guys, keep 'em comin'! Also, I have a friend who might be moving out to Santa Barbara - any tips on that for when I visit ;-)?

Berkeley is definitely more vegetarian friendly than Palo Alto, but Palo Alto is very vegetarian friendly as well. One of my favorite vegetarian restaurants is in Mountain View the city south of Palo Alto.

I think Berkeley is more of a progressive feel whereas Palo Alto has more of a yuppie feel. Berkeley is also closer to San Francisco which I think is a big plus. It's easy to get to San Francisco from both places, but there are more public transportation options from Berkeley.

I've lived most of my life in the San Francisco bay area, and have spent a fair amount of time in both Berkeley and Palo Alto, so if you have any more specific questions about either place feel free to post a question here or drop me a pm.

Other than Garden Fresh, the vegetarian restaurants around Palo Alto are pretty limited. There used to be the one vegan cafe on Ramona or Emerson in Palo Alto, but it closed. San Jose also has very limited vegetarian restaurants other than the typical Asian-themed places like Dai Lac and Vegetarian House. I'd love to see a Millenniumesque restaurant come to the South Bay. In the areas outside of Berkeley and SF, a vegetarian option on a restaurant's menu pretty much meant cheese, unless of course you wanted curry or a stir fry.

Other than Garden Fresh, the vegetarian restaurants around Palo Alto are pretty limited. There used to be the one vegan cafe on Ramona or Emerson in Palo Alto, but it closed. San Jose also has very limited vegetarian restaurants other than the typical Asian-themed places like Dai Lac and Vegetarian House. I'd love to see a Millenniumesque restaurant come to the South Bay. In the areas outside of Berkeley and SF, a vegetarian option on a restaurant's menu pretty much meant cheese, unless of course you wanted curry or a stir fry.

Although I agree there aren't many strictly vegetarian restaurants in or around Palo Alto, I do disagree with your assessment of the vegetarian restaurants in San Jose and the vegetarian options at other restaurants. You are correct that most of the vegetarian restaurants are mainly Asian.

For other vegetarian restaurants near Palo Alto, in Mountain View (where Garden Fresh is) you can also find Dee Dee's Fast Food which is a strictly vegetarian Indian restaurant. There is another vegetarian Indian restaurant in Cupertino called Kokila's Kitchen. If you go north to Redwood City you can also find Joy Meadow a Chinese/Asian vegetarian restaurant.

Besides the restaurants you listed in San Jose there are also, Good Karma Vegan Deli on 1st and Kimba Vegetarian Bistro on Santa Clara. There are also a couple of vegetarian restaurant near the corner of McLaughlin & Story, one in the strip mall on the south east corner and the other in the big Asian mall just west of McLaughlin on Story.

As far as vegetarian options without cheese, I find these all over the place. Most Thai, Indian, Ethiopean, Chinese, Vietnamese restaurants have several options. You can usually get vegetarian sushi at most Japanese restaurants as well. Many Italian restaurants have a vegetarian risotto available too.

I do agree that there isn't anything like Millenium or Greens in the San Jose area and it would be nice to have such a restaurant down here.

I've never been to Good Karma, though I live in downtown SJ. Is it Asian-themed or do they have Western food, as well? I think Kimba's closed down (same with White Lotus).

See, I'm just really tired of eating only Eastern food if I choose to dine out. Vegetarian shouldn't mean only Chinese, Indian, Thai, Ethiopian, and Vietnamese. Vegetarian House used to have a great Western dish on their menu (house special chicken, or something) but then just discontinued it.

I work in Menlo Park, and you'd think that Santa Cruz Avenue's eclectic mix of restaurants would have plentiful vegetarian options, but I've yet to be satisfied with their menus.

I also live near downtown, so we're neighbors. :hi:

Yes, Good Karma is Asian influenced, so it might not be what you're looking for. I'll check Kimba on my walk back home from the library tonight.

I guess I'm happy with the vegetarian options because most of the stuff that aren't from the cuisines I mentioned are things we'll usually have at home. I like going out to eat because my wife and I have never been able to make things quite as good as the restaurants do, or making the variety we get at those restaurants would be difficult to reproduce at home.

I forgot to mention that there are some good Mexican options around as well. Casa Vicky on Julian and 17th has several vegetarian options on the menu.

I've found that most of the "traditional" restaurants, French, Continental, etc... can make an excellent vegetarian meal if I call ahead. I've had some really enjoyable vegetarian meals at the Lion And Compass in Sunnyvale. They always offer one vegetarian option on the menu and it has always been wonderful.

Kimba has been replaced by Global Vegetarian Bistro.

Howdy neighbor! I'm over by HP Pavilion, near The Alameda.

For me, I like the stereotypical comfort foods, such as warm sandwiches, pastas, casseroles, etc., and I have a hard time finding these in vegetarian form without the cheese. I remember being in Vermont about 12 years ago, and there was this great vegetarian sandwich place. It had all sorts of sandwiches and fries and "good" food. I wish something like this would open up here someday.

I'll have to try Casa Vicky someday. I'll let you know if I discover any vegetarian places up near Menlo Park, as that's when I have the most opportunity to go out to eat. As of now, I usually have to just order a vegetarian burrito sans cheese and sour cream at Mex-to-go.

Were you ever able to try the Bayleaf cafe before it closed? It was in Palo Alto on Ramona (or Emerson) in the old Double Rainbow store. That place was close to what I've been looking for. They had a great BBQ seitan sandwich.

Hello, I'm from the Monterey/ Santa Cruz Area!

i'm new to the forums here but LOVE them. Do any of you ever get together for like a vegan pot luck? that'd be tons of fun. oh. especally in the san fernando valley(or I guess even the greater los angeles area)

yeah the one in pasadena! Whenever my dad calls to pick up fast food, when we're to lazy to cook, i always suggest orean. Sometimes he'll get it sometimes he won't. Once i can drive i'm gonna go like every week! i give it 5 stars

I dont like the veggie burger at orean's but the philly cheesesteak sandwhich is AAAAAAMAZING

i'm new to the forums here but LOVE them. Do any of you ever get together for like a vegan pot luck? that'd be tons of fun. oh. especally in the san fernando valley(or I guess even the greater los angeles area)

Hi AdamW! :hi: Please read back a few posts. I proposed a Southern California meetup after the holidays. There are so far two other people on board. No discussion yet on where to go and what date is best.

Hi AdamW! :hi: Please read back a few posts. I proposed a Southern California meetup after the holidays. There are so far two other people on board. No discussion yet on where to go and what date is best.

awesome, how many pages back is it? haha

well count me in.