Vegetarians Save Lives! A Guide to Eating Veggie in Boston

By jilliancyork
updated 3 months ago

I spent more than half of my life as a vegetarian, so even though I've fallen back into carnivorous ways, I get it. Check out these vegetarian and vegan treats.

Boston's Veggie Scene

Boston may very well have been built on a foundation of steakhouses. Still, though it’s no San Francisco or Seattle (or even New York), it holds its own in the vegetarian department. I haven’t officially been a vegetarian in approximately six years, but old habits die hard and more often than not I find myself scouring menus for a tofulicious option. Personally, I love little cafes and ethnic restaurants that offer “regular” food but with plenty of vegetarian options – this list is full of both mixed bags and solely veggie options.

Pho and I Restaurant

267 Huntington Ave, Boston, MA 02115

Here’s the deal – pho and I are like, best friends – so it’s a stretch that Pho and I and I are friends at all, given their serious lack of pho. Instead, what makes them so good is their huge $8 lunch special, which can be made all-vegetarian (or not), making this a great lunch spot for mixed crowds.

Ula Cafe

284 Amory St, Jamaica Plain, MA 02130

Nearly half of Ula’s menu is vegetarian: curried tofu sandwich, pb&j on semolina, and a lovely selection of salads. Also – and listen closely, because this is important – they make an actual mocha latte with actual chocolate (unlike a certain chain’s syrup!)

Buddha's Delight Vegetarian Restaurant

3 Beach St Fl 2, Boston, MA 02111

Yum. I came here a skeptic and left a fan – they’ve got every yummy Chinese meat dish you can think of made with the best-tasting faux meat I’ve ever had. Again, I’m not a vegetarian, so it was exceptionally pleasing to me that something so fake tasted so meat-like. Sorry, vegans!

Grasshopper Vegetarian Restaurant

1 N Beacon St, Allston, MA 02134

Strangely, people either absolutely love or loathe Grasshopper, which leads to some interesting debates on food forums. This is the kind of place that vegan junk food lovers come – the food is greasy as all get out, half of the menu is fried, and everything is cooked to perfection.

Wagamama

1 Faneuil Hall Sq, Boston, MA 02109

Though not exclusively a vegetarian restaurant, Wagamama offers a slew of meat-free options for the discerning eater. Just try to resist the yasai katsu curry!

Shalimar India Food & Spices

571 Massachusetts Ave, Cambridge, MA 02139

Make no mistake – “Shali” is not a particularly good restaurant, but if you want some decent guaranteed vegetarian Indian food, the ol’ gal’s your spot.

Veggie Planet at Club Passim

47 PALMER ST CAMBRIDGE, MA 02138

All the do-goodery here could turn a carnivore into a vegan – Veggie Planet donates 2% of its proceeds to a local non-profit that helps the homeless, and cooks its food in an eco-oven. Makes me want to go home and change all of my lightbulbs to energy saving ones (or something).

Tj Scallywaggle's Vegan House of Pizza and Subs

487 Cambridge St, Allston, MA 02134

TJ Scallywaggle’s is the choice for serious vegans and folks who like faux-meat products (count me among them). Granted, their cuisine is no more creative than what I could come up with given a few Boca and Morningstar Farms products, but the ability to eat all of that in a pizzeria-like setting is what draws people to TJ’s.

Awesome Vegetarian Grocery Shopping!

Sure, nowadays vegetarians can shop anywhere easily, but for all that extra stuff you can’t find at Shaw’s, here are five great supermarkets for the discerning vegetarian:

Whole Foods. Sorry to state the obvious, but Whole Foods is kind of king of the natural/vegan/healthy options, at least in Boston. Still, if you want to avoid its gut-wrenching prices, try…
Trader Joe’s. The best part about this market (by the way, the Coolidge Corner location is my favorite) is the store’s own brand of inexpensive everything. Italian? Trader Giotto’s. Mexican? Trader Jose’s…you get the gist. It also has tons of inexpensive vegetarian and organic products.
Super 88. This Asian market and food court (I like the Allston location) have amazing selections, and this is a great place to get the foreign (read: mostly Japanese and Chinese) options you need to make your favorite vegan rice dish.
Boston Organics. Though it’s a bit out of the way in Charlestown, Boston Organics is the place for organic produce. But, best of all, they deliver organic produce to your door. Let me repeat that – they deliver produce to your door.
Harvest Co-Op Markets. With one in JP and one in Cambridge, you never have to go too far. The shop is tiny, but the produce is super-fresh and the salad bar flat-out rocks!

Other Side Cafe

407 Newbury St, Boston, MA 02115

In their own words: “we specialize in simple real food—stuff your great great grandparents would recognize as food, with lots of vegetarian choices.” Young veggies, take heed – this is a great spot to bring your grandfolks.