Vegetarian Foodies [General]

2009 Aug 14
Hi

I was perusing the site and I found a few of you who are vegetarian. I prefer a vegetarian diet, but due to a health issue, have had to start eating a bit of chicken (here and there).

I am wondering if you could let me know if you are a vegetarian/vegan foodie and where you have had your most fulfilling vegetarian meal in Ottawa.

Even those of you who are not vegetarian, if you have had a really good veg dish/meal, where was it? Let's see if we can create a top 10/20 vegetarian meals in Ottawa.

Mmmmj

2009 Aug 14
My most memorable vegan meal was fairly recent at Zen Kitchen on Somerset. You can read my review under the vendor listing, but to summarize, it was one of the best meals I've had in Ottawa (up there with Murray St. & Wellington Gastropub in terms of preparation, quality, atmosphere, etc.) Admittedly, both Wellington gastropub & Murray st restaurant have excellent vegetarian options on their menus, but it's usually only 1 or 2 options (especially so at Murray st, since they are a meat-centric establishment).

A Culinary Conspiracy usually has excellent prepared vegetarian food. It's not exactly a restaurant, it's more of a catering counter/takeaway place with a few dine-in tables.

2009 Aug 14
The Green Door restaurant is a favourit of mine.

I would also give a thumbs up to Bread and Sons and my favourite item hands down is their pizza.

If you are ever in the Byward Market during the lunch hour the Peace Garden restaurant serves some nice lunches. (They are in the same building as the Empire Grill.) I went there for the first time a few weeks ago and I had a lovely dal soup and Greek salad.

2009 Aug 14
A Culinary Conspiracy usually has excellent prepared vegetarian food. It's not exactly a restaurant, it's more of a catering counter/takeaway place with a few dine-in tables.

Their dishes can also be found at Herb n Spice and their soups at Planet Coffee.

As for my tops, I would say Cafe Soup'Herbe in Chelsea is up there. I haven't tried ZenKitchen, but they admittedly sound rather wonderful.

I'm also a big fan of Planet Coffee for lunch. They offer a good selection of salads and usually one of their sandwich options is vegetarian, their soup is also more of than not vegetarian. Yum, yum.

2009 Aug 14
I should also note that Allium (on Holland Ave) usually has some excellent vegetarian offerings (they also serve meat & fish) - and I think they just re-opened after some major renovations!

2009 Aug 14
I've heard The Table is good. I don't eat veggies unless they are covered in meat, or garlic... :)

2009 Aug 14
lady who brunches I haven't been to Zen Kitchen yet although it is very high up on my list. I took a couple of cooking classes with Caroline at the Urban Element and even though they were hands on (the students did the cooking) she picked some awesome recipes and you would never know there was no meat in them. I also took a cooking class with Kyle (her sous chef) so I can only imagine they have a winning combination at Zen Kitchen.

2009 Aug 14
I've 2 favourite vegetarian places. I concur with lwb about Cafe Soup'Herbe in old Chelsea, and it's a lovely spot to eat outdoors; another good place, for vegetarian Thai, is Sacred Garden on Bank St.
I have yet to eat at The Green Door but have eaten their food at an event or two and was, sadly, a bit disappointed.
I am not a vegetarian but have significantly reduced the amount of meat in my (and in my capacity as chief cook, our) diet(s).

2009 Aug 16
I've been having lunch at Perfection Satisfaction Promise fairly often as of late and haven't been disappointed. It could be better, but it's still good. I'd say a solid 8 out of 10.

2009 Aug 17
I found the best veggie meals over at So Good on sommerset. There is a large selection, for herbivore and carnivore alike. They managed to make tofu that I could fully appreciate and their other spicy peanut sauce and noodles veggie dish was delish.

2009 Aug 18
I am not a vegetarian but I limit meat/dairy/wheat and refined foods. I find alot of "ethnic" restaurants provide the best variety of flavourful wheat/dairy/meat free dishes. The Table and The Green Door are ok but the food is definitely cafeteria style and the ambience so so. Haven't tried Zen Garden but it looks very promising and I intend to be there soon. Soupe d' herbe is very good but fairly out of the way. A couple of the other places mentioned use TVP which I stay away from, so I can't comment on the food. I really like The Wild Oat Bakery on Bank Street in The Glebe; lots of food to take out also.

2009 Aug 18
The Thai place on Bank and Riverside "Sacred Garden" is fabulous! The decor is great, serene ambiance, price is reasonable if you share dishes, good portions, nice service and amazing fresh and tasty dishes =) (for some curry dishes, if you like more veggies then tofu ask for the dish to be served with just the veggies no protein, noodle dishes are amazing and TOM YUM is Yummy ;)

2009 Aug 19
lotsa good (and some great) recommends. Two other, not yet mentioned, places i'll add are Fleur de Sel & Les Fougères, both in Quebec. The first is relatively inexpensive (but chic) and the second ... well, you can read the reviews.

And, my most unexpectedly-memorable vegetarian meal in the past year was at Whalesbone. Pavlovian responses thinking back on the off-menu concoction the kitchen prepared.

2009 Aug 19
mmmmj, does it have to be chicken? what nutrients does chicken have that you can't find elsewhere? just curious. and could you not get more or better benefits by eating an egg instead of actual chicken?

i have been a vegetarian for 20 years now. i am not fanatical about refusing to eat something if meat touched it, or expecting pure cooking conditions for my food. i do eat milk and eggs. i made the choice to be vegetarian for better health benefits and that is still my feeling. i have yearly check-ups and the only deficiences i have had are B12, which was easy to bring back to regular levels with a supplement (the only supplement i take). it takes slightly more work to ensure a balanced diet with the vegetarian lifestyle and i do really well for 70% of mine. the other 30% are too many treats and wine :)

my best vegetarian meals are a hodgepodge from various restaurants. i love the tofu patties and onion chutney at the table, the veggie dumplings at northern han, most dishes from sacred garden, perfection-satisfaction-promise has a great range of food, but i find the seasonings to be bland (i get take-out and then spice it up at home). bimbap at le kim che, veggie vermicelli at vietnamese places, bean and cheese options at ahora... i am not an italian pasta person, so i am not a big fan of going places where the only veg option is a pasta dish.