Hidden away in the basement below a tattoo parlor, Ipanema Café has some of the hands-down best vegetarian food I’ve ever eaten. Popular with the alternative crowd of VCU and locals, the daily menu is written in chalk as you enter the door. The handwritten menu and ever-changing dessert selection creates the impression that the cooks simply make whatever they feel like, a passion that carries into each fabulous dish created. Everything is vegetarian, save one or two dishes usually made with fish. The restaurant is fairly small, with low-lit booth seating and eclectic art creating a fun-funky romantic feel, if it’s not too crowded. A full bar and friendly bartenders draw patrons for the drinks and atmosphere alone.

During daylight hours a coffee shop, once the sun begins to set Bin 22 Betsy’s becomes a cute little restaurant. Great for small groups or a casual date, Bin 22 Betsy’s offers a small but tasty dinner menu and an excellent wine selection. If the weather is good, try to get seating outside on the patio where fresh air and the stimulating Carytown atmosphere are sure to spark conversation.

Baker’s Crust offers good sandwiches, soups, salads and entrees, but if you go, go for the desserts. Its fabulously prepared crepes and indulgent slices of cake are simply decadent. If you’re just passing by, drop in and pick up a fresh breakfast pastry or gourmet loaf of bread for later.

Open late, The Village Café presents serviceable American food in a vibrant café setting. A popular hangout for the punks and fringe college crowd, the food is cheap and decent for the price but it’s not the reason that people show up. The staff isn’t really friendly, but that has somehow become part of their appeal, along with loud music from the jukebox and haphazard seating arrangements. One of its redeeming qualities is the excellent selection of vegetarian dishes, conveniently labeled to eliminate confusion for the drunk non-meat-eater trying to locate their dining options.

Open all night, 3rd Street Diner is eminently suitable to its function, a late-night hangout for hungry college students and an early-morning greasy eggs-and-bacon breakfast joint. Around two in the morning the diner begins to fill up as the city’s bars shut down, the space fills with the clink of silverware and the babble of myriad voices. In mid 2007 a major renovation turned the décor on its head, forsaking the retro ‘50s diner feel in favor of a darker aesthetic.

Representing everything desirable about The Fan district, the Strawberry Street Cafe preserves an intimate, traditional cafe feel while making its own twists on what would be expected. Excellent sandwiches, burgers, quiches and soups are perfect for lunch or dinner; offered alongside is the famous bathtub salad bar. Make sure to order a dessert at the cafe, or drop by for the restaurant’s monthly wine tasting.