Chicago Vegetarian & Vegan Restaurants

I've compiled a list of my top 10 favorite vegetarian & vegan restaurants in the city, some more veggie restaurants that are pretty good but did not quite make my top 10, and a few more that I'm dying to try out! A couple of the places on the list aren't completely vegetarian/vegan, but they do have a menu that's at least 50(ish)% vegetarian, so there's no lack of choices at those places! . . . Also, pardon the picture above; I didn't have a very good picture that captured fine vegetarian dining, but I liked this view of Castaways Restaurant and downtown behind it. Reminds me of the summer ;-)

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The Best (IMO) Vegetarian & Vegan Restaurants in Chicago
Here's a top 10 list of my favorite veg/veg-friendly restaurants in the Chicagoland area!

1. Alice & Friends Vegetarian Cafe, 5812 N Broadway Street.
   Mostly Asian food, and completely vegan. I have not had one thing there that I did not like, and I've had most of the things on their menu! It's one of my favorite places to go in the city. http://www.aliceandfriends.com/
   
2. Karyn's Cooked, 738 N Wells Street.
   All-American vegan comfort food. I'm a huge fan of their appetizer pizza, jerk tofu, taco salad, and banana cake (among other things). http://www.karynraw.com/pgs/kfc_km.html
   
3. Chicago Diner, 3411 N Halsted Street.
   Who says vegans can't enjoy greasy diner food? Of course they can - at Chicago Diner! I love their shakes, reubens, gyros, cheeze fries. . . mmmm!
   
4. Mana Food Bar, 1742 W Division Street.
   A tapas style restaurant, it had many Asian, Italian, and Mediterranean-inspired mini-plates. Quite a fusion! http://www.manafoodbar.com/
   
5. Cousin's Middle Eastern & Mediterranean Restaurant, 2833 N Broadway Street.
   Not specifically vegetarian/vegan, Cousins serves traditional Middle Eastern & Mediterranean dishes, many of which are veggie! http://www.chicagorestaurants.com/cousins/Cousins.htm
   
6. Ping Pong, 3322 N Broadway Street.
   Very delicious! This is a cute, chic Pan-Asian place in Boystown. I love the food and the ambiance here. http://www.pingpongrestaurant.com
   
7. Ethiopian Diamond, 6120 N Broadway Street.
   This traditional Ethiopian restaurant brings your dishes out to you together on one large platter atop an edible tablecloth. So if you have meat-eaters & veggies at the same table, remember to tell them to put the veggie & meat dishes on separate platters!! I highly recommend their honey wine ;-) http://www.ethiopiandiamondcuisine.com/
   
8. Chowpatti, 1035 S Arlington Heights Road, Arlington Heights, IL.
   Touting itself as International Vegetarian Cuisinse, Chowpatti offers American, Mexican, and Mediterranean dishes, though it focuses of Indian cuisine. I love the number of choices on the menu; in fact, this restaurant is probably the primary reason my parents realized I wasn't going to starve on a vegetarian diet! http://www.tpsiclients.com/chowpatti/
   
9. Pick Me Up Cafe, 3408 N Clark Street.
   A quirky little vegetarian/vegan coffeehouse/diner in the heart of Wrigleyville. Open 24 hours on the weekends.
10. Earwax Cafe, 1561 N Milwaukee Ave.
    I've only been here a handful of times, but from what I can tell, it's a pretty cool place! They aren't vegetarian/vegan, either. It's strange, but their eclectic-ness can be summed up nicely by their burger menu: veggie burger, blackbean/quinoa burger (served 3 different ways), tempeh burger, regular (beef?) burger, turkey burger, and a buffalo burger (wtf?!).
    

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More Veggie Restaurants!
Here are some more restaurants that I've tried out. They're pretty good, but not my favorite. I'll eat there again from time to time, but in general I usually can think of some place I'd rather go. But if they seem interesting to you, try them out!

1. Yummy Yummy, 2901 N Broadway Street.
   Great Asian take-out place. They have separate meat & vegan menus so it's good for mixed crowds. It's really small, so it's not a great place for dining in. If they'd just expand their dining room, this place would DEFINITELY make my top 10 list!
   
2. Green Zebra, 1460 W Chicago Avenue.
   The food was good, but a little pricey. It's also not completely vegetarian, since they serve fish, but there are some vegan options on the menu. http://www.greenzebrachicago.com
   
3. Karyn's Raw, 1901 N Halsted Street.
   Owned by the same person as Karyn's Cooked, except that everything is raw. http://www.karynraw.com/Raw-Cafe/
   
4. Cousin's Incredible Vitality, 3038 W Irving Park Road.
   Another raw vegan restaurant.
   

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Restaurants I Still Need to Try Out

• Soul Vegetarian East, 205 E 75th Street.
  A vegan soul food place deep in the South Side. This place comes highly recommended to me from several sources. I just need to figure out a way to get there!
  
• Blind Faith Cafe, 525 Dempster Street, Evanston.
  Also highly recommended to me. The menu looks pretty good, with plenty of American & ethnic options. http://www.blindfaithcafe.com/
  
• Veggie Bite, 1300 N Milwaukee Avenue.
  A vegan fast food restaurant!? How have I not gone there yet! This I need to check out ;-) http://www.veggiebite.net/
  
• Amitabul, 6207 N Milwaukee Avenue.
  A Korean/Buddhist restaurant on the far Northwest side of the city. Judging from the online reviews, this place looks pretty good!
  
• Heartland Cafe, 7000 N Glenwood Avenue.
  The reviews on this place seem pretty mixed. It seems that the food caters to vegans, veggies, and omnis alike, and it looks like a cute little neighborhood spot. http://www.heartlandcafe.com/
  
• Lakeside Cafe, 1418 W Howard Street.
  Here's yet another vegan/vegetarian neighborhood cafe with pretty good reviews! http://www.lake-side-cafe.com/
  
• Balanced Kitchen, 6263 N McCormick Road.
  I only just found out about this place from a friend. It seems really good, judging from my friend's raves about it, as well as online reviews! http://www.gfreev.com/