vegetarian dining in phoenix

October 4, 2005 4:44 PM

Best vegetarian dining experiences in the Greater Phoenix area?

Something casual, preferably.

posted by jimmy to Food & Drink (11 answers total)

Casual excellent vegetarian in the Greater Phoenix area? Pita Jungle is what you want. (Even our local alternative newsweekly agrees on this point.)
posted by .kobayashi. at 5:08 PM on October 4, 2005

Best answer: Casual excellent vegetarian in the Greater Phoenix area? Pita Jungle is what you want. (Even our local alternative newsweekly agrees on this point.)

Though it should be said that Pita Jungle isn't exclusively vegetarian. If that's a requirement, then I need to think harder.
posted by .kobayashi. at 5:10 PM on October 4, 2005

Response by poster: No, that sounds pretty great, thanks. More suggestions are welcome, as well.
posted by jimmy at 5:29 PM on October 4, 2005

Coo coo. I'm partial to the one in Tempe. It's got a great vibe -- artwork from university students, and music donated from a great indie record store next door. For a casual college-y place, they've got a good selection of wines too.
posted by .kobayashi. at 6:30 PM on October 4, 2005

As always, I recommend posting questions about restaurants on the relevant message board on chowhound.com (no registration, totally anonymous, excellent responses) - in your case, their Southwest message board.

I did a google search (site:chowhound.com Phoenix vegetarian) and got 51 hits. This March 2005 question looks relevant, for example. Mentioned are Rancho Pinot Grill, Eleve, and The Farm at South Mountain. But you don't have to restrict yourself to answers already posted - you can put up a question with a specific heading (as in, "Looking for Best vegetarian dining experiences in the Greater Phoenix area"), and you're likely to be quite happy with the answers.
posted by WestCoaster at 8:28 PM on October 4, 2005

Right next door to the Tempe Pita Jungle is Tasty Kabob, America's greatest Mediterranean restaurant. If you want to renounce vegetarianism forever, take one bite of their lamb shank. (Also they have some vegetarian menu items which I think are quite good.)
posted by Optimus Chyme at 9:12 PM on October 4, 2005

I know several people who like this place called Veggie Fun.
posted by coolsara at 10:48 PM on October 4, 2005

Haha... Veggie Fun is right around the corner from where I live. Still haven't been there... but it's good? (The name totally cracks me up.)

Anyway, if you're in that part of N. Tempe, there's also a place called the Udupi Cafe. The wife, who is the actual vegetarian in our family, thinks it's mediocre, but I dig it.

I've had a good veggie breakfast at the Farm -- it's a great place to go brunch -- but their dinner menu seems to be more meaty and fancy. If all veggie isn't a requirement, though, Oregano's has a bunch of good veggie pizza options.
posted by ph00dz at 6:36 AM on October 5, 2005

By the way -- this dude seems to have reviewed a ton of veggie restaurants around the area.
posted by ph00dz at 6:45 AM on October 5, 2005

Cafe Lalallebella (Ethiopian food) in tempe (Apache and Priest) is good.
posted by propagandist at 9:09 AM on October 5, 2005

I know this is coming to the conversation waaaaaayy late, but just a correction for anyone from the future who's looking at this thread after it's closed. Cafe Lalibela, the restaurant propagandist recommends, is fantastic. But it's also most decidedly NOT at the corner of Apache & Priest. It's on the SE corner of University & Hardy.
posted by .kobayashi. at 8:57 PM on January 22, 2006