We've had a little discussion so far as to local eateries and stuff, so I thought it might be fun and useful for us all to share where we've found veg*n dining choices as well as our favorite places to eat.

I've eaten at a bunch of places here in Norman, and there are still a few I need to try out. Among the places I like to go here in town are:

(btw, I'm vegan so all the places I'm mentioning have a vegan option or options)

Updated 6/30/08


Tarahumara- Mexican
Misal of India bistro - Indian
Thai Raja- Thai
Thai Kum Koon- Thai
Freebird's World Burrito- Tex-Mex, build-your-own burrito place
Sweet Basil- Thai
Taste of India- Indian
Moe's Southwest Grill- Another Tex-Mex, build-your-own burrito place (Moe's went out of business)
Pei-Wei- Mixed Asian


For take-out or delivery Chinese food,
I like both Happy Garden and Little China both am looking for a new option. I used to prefer Happy Garden but have gotten sick 2x from eating their food and the last time I had Little China it was really bad.

I'm sure I've forgotten some, but those were what sprang to mind. I'll post more as I try places or remember others.

Jason's Deli and Souper Salad are in Norman and they have decent Salad buffets :)

Jason's Deli even has items labeled vegetarian on the menu. This sounds yummy;
Grilled Portobello Wrapini®
grilled portobello mushroom marinated in leo’s italian dressing, homemade guacamole,
homemade pico de gallo, organic spinach and asiago, pressed between
olive oil basted wrap bread.

Wow Im hungry now!

Jason's Deli and Souper Salad are in Norman and they have decent Salad buffets :)

Jason's Deli even has items labeled vegetarian on the menu. This sounds yummy;
Grilled Portobello Wrapini®
grilled portobello mushroom marinated in leo’s italian dressing, homemade guacamole,
homemade pico de gallo, organic spinach and asiago, pressed between
olive oil basted wrap bread.

Wow Im hungry now!
Yeah, I worked at Jason's Deli for about a year. Terrible job, but they do cater to vegetarians. Their salad bar is one of the better ones in town.

I still haven't checked out Souper Salad yet.

Tarahumara- Mexican
Thai Raja- Thai
Thai Kum Koon- Thai




love those, especially the first two.

Hideaway Pizza has lots of veg*n options!
:D

BJ's is actually really veggie friendly and have really yummy veggie patties. They'll sub the veggie patty for any of their burgers and have many pasta and pizza/calzone options as well. They have really good beer, too. I also discovered The Earth Cafe and Deli on Campus Corner and TEA Cafe next to Homeland on Alameda.

~StarWitch~

I went to BJ's once and had a bad experience but I think it was the waiter's doing. I ordered a salad w. no chicken and got it w. chicken anyway. I told him I'd ordered it w. no chicken and he took it back and brought it back out in like 10 seconds and I could still see chicken pieces on the salad so I just asked him "was this remade or is this the same salad?" He at least was honest and told me it was the same one so I asked him to remake it and he did. It wasn't a big deal, more of a pain I guess. The beer was good though, I agree.

I haven't checked out the Earth on campus corner yet. I keep meaning to but every time I get over there it seems they're closed.

I always forget about the TEA cafe. I've only been there once and it was pretty good.

I need to go add Turquoise cafe to my original list, I forgot I ate there once and had a really good stir-fry with fresh asparagus and other stuff that was really good.

i'm heading to Tulsa for dfest at the end of the month with my two friends, one is vegan and the other is vegetarian i believe, so this will be helpful!

I'm a vegetarian that avoids most egg/dairy products. My fiance is omni but has significantly cut back on meat. We eat out a lot - too much, actually. But I've found some good places/items to eat. We both like a lot of ethnic foods and we frequent several small family-owned restaurants. I've found that they are usually the most willing to accommodate vegetarians. You just have to ask.

TULSA

Big Al's Healthy Foods - great lunch stuff. Wraps, sandwiches, pitas, etc.

Pei Wei - I think someone else mentioned that they list the veg items with a green leaf next to them. The teriyaki rice bowl is good. I wish my tofu turned out like theirs.

Jason's Deli - They list their vegetarian friendly items. Watch out for cheese/milk.

India Palace - great Indian food. The menu is listed in sections and there's a whole section of vegetable dishes. Some of the dishes have dairy products.

Be Le is totally vegetarian. Mostly vegan if I recall correctly. They use a lot of fake "meats" which, to me, taste weird. It's not a favorite place, but it's an option if you don't want to question every detail about what someone else is putting in your food.

Viet Hong - Vietnamese and Chinese foods. Most items can be meat-free or with tofu instead of meat. The "V5 with tofu" is good.

Thai Garden in Broken Arrow. They'll sub tofu for meat in pretty much any of their dishes. Everything I've had has been delicious. Another "I wish my tofu was that good" place. The owners are some of the nicest people I've met. We're regulars there - sometimes she'll bring out a new item for us to try. They're always veg friendly unless my fiance goes by himself.

Jamba Juice - I love their fruit only smoothies.

Mary's Italian Trattoria - not vegan friendly. Most items have dairy products. They have the best Alfredo sauce I've ever had. I don't think I've been there since I became a vegetarian (9 months ago), but even when I was still omni, I'd just get a pasta dish (spinach tortellini) with no meat in it.

Margaret's - the German restaurant at The Farm Shopping Center... There's nothing meat-free on the menu but the cook was more than happy to whip up a vegetarian platter for me. You just have to ask for it. Everything tasted really good - like the rest of the German food there, but without the meat. I complimented them - it's nice to find a restaurant that will whip something up that doesn't involve pasta and cheese.

Mary's Italian Trattoria - not vegan friendly. Most items have dairy products. They have the best Alfredo sauce I've ever had. I don't think I've been there since I became a vegetarian (9 months ago), but even when I was still omni, I'd just get a pasta dish (spinach tortellini) with no meat in it.



I used to work there... yeah, there's cheese in just about everything, but the Alfredo is truly outstanding, and their pesto is amazing (I applied for a job there after the first time I ate there... the food was SO good).

I'm glad to hear they're still doing well... It was about 12-15 years ago that I worked there....

That's interesting Randy. I'm sure a LOT has changed on Cherry Street (and, of course, the rest of Tulsa) since you were here. Good ol' Mary's is still around though. Mmm... It's been a while since I've been there.

When was the last time you visited? So much has changed in the past couple years.

it's been about 11 or 12 years...

(Randy really needs to come back for a visit! )

I ate at Himalayas on Saturday night. It was really good!

I had gone wanting to check out the buffet, but most of the stuff on there was butter-laden so I ordered from the menu. I had the channa masala and my friend had the baingan bhurtha. We shared our dishes so we could each try them. I liked both a lot. :lick:
All it took to ensure my meal was vegan was simply to request it as such. :up:

I also liked that there was an option of how spicy you wanted the food. Being a spicy food fan, I of course requested mine spicy. And it was good good good!
I tasted the vegetable samosas and I can't say they tasted like much to me. I'm not really a samosa fan. The papadam were good and I enjoyed the 3 kinds of chutney they brought with them.

Definite :up: to Himalayas.
http://www.himalayasok.com/1881945.html

And I'm sure Michele will third them. Lots of vegetarian-friendly stuff on the buffet. I'm pretty naive about what's vegan-friendly, so that's an interesting review for me.

As often as the wait staff comes by with a pitcher, a man could get waterlogged in that place . . . :drool:

Most of the options are, unless they have cheese, a cream sauce or are made with ghee (clarified butter).

What do you and the missus recommend for vegetarian fare?

We've been able to find good vegetarian options at all three Indian places in town, and at the Southeast Asian places we've been to. I really like Blu, but I'm not sure how their veggie stuff would be without cheese.

Both BJs and Red Robin sub veggie patties for all their burgers, so that's a good option for us. Other than that, we can usually find a veggie pasta in most places.

I'm sure the vegan thing poses obstacles I can't even fathom.

Mostly we're trying to become proficient with home cooking. Lots of veggie wraps and improving attempts at Indian food. I'm thinking this week I'll improvise on the dal recipe I've been using--I might add potatoes or sweet potatoes this time.

*snip*

Mostly we're trying to become proficient with home cooking. Lots of veggie wraps and improving attempts at Indian food. I'm thinking this week I'll improvise on the dal recipe I've been using--I might add potatoes or sweet potatoes this time.

It should be noted that he is trying to become more proficient in the kitchen. :P My biggest dilemma is keeping the pasta meals to a minimum as I'm a pasta freak.

I may have mentioned before that The Earth Cafe is a great place to eat and they have many vegan options. Since it's on Campus Corner, it's pretty accessible. I took a look at Pita Pit's menu this morning and it looked pretty promising -- now I just have to go there.

~StarWitch~

I still want to try Sooner Pho out sometime. From what I read online, it's got plenty of vegetarian/vegan options.

It's not hard to eat vegan, you just have to ask questions and know what you're looking for as far as things that might be ingredients that you don't eat.

I should probably give both BJ's and Red Robin another chance. I had bad experiences at both and never went back. Red Robin being the worst. They served me and my friend both BEEF burgers in lettuce wraps. She'd ordered a gardenburger and I had ordered a Boca burger. We had to ask 2x for our fries (that were supposed to be "bottomless") as we'd both gotten some puny, mostly iceberg lettuce salad thing on the side, which had no dressing or anything.

Apparently "gardenburger" or "Boca burger" = Adkins diet to somebody in that kitchen. :dizzy:

It should be noted that he is trying to become more proficient in the kitchen. :P My biggest dilemma is keeping the pasta meals to a minimum as I'm a pasta freak.

I may have mentioned before that The Earth Cafe is a great place to eat and they have many vegan options. Since it's on Campus Corner, it's pretty accessible. I took a look at Pita Pit's menu this morning and it looked pretty promising -- now I just have to go there.

~StarWitch~

:lol: Duly noted. I've got a good recipe for vegan lasagna if you're ever interested (2 seconds after you get finished saying you're trying to minimize pasta intake) . It's from Vegan Planet.

I keep wanting to try The Earth. Pita Pit is good. Kind of like subway but on a pita. They have falafel but they cook it on the same grill they cook all the meat on so that's kind of yuck-tastic.

It should be noted that he is trying to become more proficient in the kitchen.

Sorry, dear. I didn't mean to impugn your cookitude. :wayne: I'm the one who needs to improve. In more ways than one, apparently :surprised

:lovesign:

There. That's my emoticon quota for July.

I ate at Sweet Basil again last Saturday night. I remembered it being a nice restaurant and the food being very good but oh man...memory didn't serve me well.

They've changed the decor a bit. It's more dimly-lit, with candles on each table. Very intimate and cozy. Elegant.

The menu was the same, I believe. I explained to the server that I was vegan and she was very attentive and accommodated me very well. I had originally ordered the Evil Jungle Curry. She went and checked with the chef, who informed her it was made with shrimp paste. She returned and told me, and suggested I get the yellow curry instead. I took her advice, and I have to say I'm glad I did. I've had yellow curry before, but this has to be the best I've ever had. The curry sauce was aromatic, light and delicious. I ordered a "5" spiciness, which is the highest level they have there. It was nice and spicy, though not overpowering at all.

Their prices are a little higher than the other Thai restaurants in town, but it's well worth it for a "nice" dinner out. Probably not a "family" friendly place or somewhere you'd want to take a small child, though.

Two thumbs up for Sweet Basil. :lick:

I'm a vegetarian that avoids most egg/dairy products. My fiance is omni but has significantly cut back on meat. We eat out a lot - too much, actually. But I've found some good places/items to eat. We both like a lot of ethnic foods and we frequent several small family-owned restaurants. I've found that they are usually the most willing to accommodate vegetarians. You just have to ask.

TULSA

Big Al's Healthy Foods - great lunch stuff. Wraps, sandwiches, pitas, etc.

Pei Wei - I think someone else mentioned that they list the veg items with a green leaf next to them. The teriyaki rice bowl is good. I wish my tofu turned out like theirs.

Jason's Deli - They list their vegetarian friendly items. Watch out for cheese/milk.

India Palace - great Indian food. The menu is listed in sections and there's a whole section of vegetable dishes. Some of the dishes have dairy products.

Be Le is totally vegetarian. Mostly vegan if I recall correctly. They use a lot of fake "meats" which, to me, taste weird. It's not a favorite place, but it's an option if you don't want to question every detail about what someone else is putting in your food.

Viet Hong - Vietnamese and Chinese foods. Most items can be meat-free or with tofu instead of meat. The "V5 with tofu" is good.

Thai Garden in Broken Arrow. They'll sub tofu for meat in pretty much any of their dishes. Everything I've had has been delicious. Another "I wish my tofu was that good" place. The owners are some of the nicest people I've met. We're regulars there - sometimes she'll bring out a new item for us to try. They're always veg friendly unless my fiance goes by himself.

Jamba Juice - I love their fruit only smoothies.

Mary's Italian Trattoria - not vegan friendly. Most items have dairy products. They have the best Alfredo sauce I've ever had. I don't think I've been there since I became a vegetarian (9 months ago), but even when I was still omni, I'd just get a pasta dish (spinach tortellini) with no meat in it.

Margaret's - the German restaurant at The Farm Shopping Center... There's nothing meat-free on the menu but the cook was more than happy to whip up a vegetarian platter for me. You just have to ask for it. Everything tasted really good - like the rest of the German food there, but without the meat. I complimented them - it's nice to find a restaurant that will whip something up that doesn't involve pasta and cheese.

How expensive is Be Le? I want to go there for my birthday in 2 weeks.