Restaurant Help! (Memphis, Collierville, Louisville: college, closing, live)

[jessielou]

I have some family visiting from England soon and wanted to take them out for a meal while they are here.
However, they are pretty strict vegetarians and I was wondering if there was a veggie-centric restaurant to take them to?
I can think of some lunch-type places but I was more after an evening type place.

All I could think of really that offered more than 1 veggie option were Asian places and while that would be fine, seeing as they are visiting from another country, I really wanted to take them someplace 'American' if possible as Asian places are common in the UK too.

So any suggestions would be great, thank you so much!

[ColliervilleMom]

Hi Jessielou- are they vegan? I am vegetarian and can give you some recommendations, but need to know if they are vegan.

[Pearlbob]

Well, Americans tend to eat a lot of meat. So that's what you'll find at American restaurants

The only places I was going to suggest were asian. Jasmine in Cooper Young is always named the best vegetarian place in town.

[jessielou]

I really don't know if they are vegan, I don't *think* so as I remember them eating cheese when I last saw them.
I looked through the 2009 Flyer last night - is there a 2010 one out soon? - and there wasn't even a 'best vegetarian' category! The closest thing I could find was the places with the best salads lol

I will certainly consider asian places if there aren't any American options, def aware a lot of American and def Memphis-y places are heavy on the meat.

[Pearlbob]

The best salads list should be helpful. Are you thinking about any particular part of town? Boscos's has a good mix of food, and they always have non-meat dishses. The menu items with ** on it indicate no meat, but cheese. Here's their menu online: Memphis - Boscos Squared Menu

[kaeddd]

Originally Posted by Pearlbob

Well, Americans tend to eat a lot of meat. So that's what you'll find at American restaurants

The only places I was going to suggest were asian. Jasmine in Cooper Young is always named the best vegetarian place in town.

Actually, MEMPHIANS tend to eat a lot of meat. All larger American cities have a wide selection of vegetarian or primarily vegetarian restaurants. Even smaller cities such as Louisville have a lot more options than Memphis. It is quite bizarre and unexpected here. Must just be the BBQ culture.

As a vegetarian (but not vegan) who has struggled with this in Memphis, one place that I think is very "Memphis" but is good for vegetarians is Huey's, which has by far the best veggie burger I've had in a restaurant. The downside is that there are not MANY options, but that one option is very good.

Aside from that, it's really the Vietnamese, Indian, and Chinese places that have the best options. Maybe Bari, too--they seemed to have some good possibilities but I have not been there yet.

I'll be eager to hear what the other vegetarian who weighed in will have as suggestions!

[ColliervilleMom]

YES Kaeddd, you are right, it is difficult to be a vegetarian in Memphis, much easier in every other place I've lived, but I find most nicer places are willing to adjust a dish to accommodate.

I actually preferred the BackYard burger veggie burger to Huey's, but most of them recently took it off of their menu.

Ugh, best salads... that is what we're stuck eating 90% of the time, and everybody has salads. We want a real meal too!

If you're looking for quick, casual, the CrepeMaker has a ton of vegetarian options, they're near the peabody, and in Carriage Crossing Collierville.

Bangkok Alley Thai, Sekisui and most asian restaurants have a huge veggie menu section.

I would also suggest Deja Vu, it's a cozy little place and not in a great area downtown, but the vegetarian food will blow you away! They also have creole non-veg dishes. Dejavu Open for Business | Food Feature | Memphis Flyer

Woodlands Indian restaurant is now totally vegetarian. Great lunch buffet.
Woodlands - Indian Vegetarian Cuisine by Woodlands - Indian Vegetarian Cuisine

Enjoy!

[tsterling600]

agreed... Bangkok alley Thai

[kaeddd]

Originally Posted by ColliervilleMom

YES Kaeddd, you are right, it is difficult to be a vegetarian in Memphis, much easier in every other place I've lived, but I find most nicer places are willing to adjust a dish to accommodate.

I actually preferred the BackYard burger veggie burger to Huey's, but most of them recently took it off of their menu.

Ugh, best salads... that is what we're stuck eating 90% of the time, and everybody has salads. We want a real meal too!

If you're looking for quick, casual, the CrepeMaker has a ton of vegetarian options, they're near the peabody, and in Carriage Crossing Collierville.

Bangkok Alley Thai, Sekisui and most asian restaurants have a huge veggie menu section.

I would also suggest Deja Vu, it's a cozy little place and not in a great area downtown, but the vegetarian food will blow you away! They also have creole non-veg dishes. Dejavu Open for Business | Food Feature | Memphis Flyer

Woodlands Indian restaurant is now totally vegetarian. Great lunch buffet.
Woodlands - Indian Vegetarian Cuisine by Woodlands - Indian Vegetarian Cuisine

Enjoy!

Oh, I have had Deja Vu on my list to try--glad to see it's great! This is a terrific list of recommendations--thank you! CrepeMaker is a nice suggestion, too. And I agree, ugh, enough with the suggestions of eating nothing but salads!

[hex_haight]

As a no meater, I've been wanting to try Deja Vu. I am wary of the area, tho. I've also not tried Bangkok Alley...the name scares the daylights outta me. I think I listened to that old Murray Head song one to many times.
It sounds crazy, but have you thought about taking them to a grocery store? Whole foods has a great selection for us rabbit food eaters, including a hot bar and salad bar. (The veggie "crab" cakes in the deli are my favorite, but go early. I went last night, and some jerk that works there was trying to pick up the hot food as I was trying to get dinner. They weren't closing for another two hours. I took my $$$ to Fresh Market instead.)
The Subway on Poplar near blue plate cafe offers a Veggie Max sandwich that has a TVP patty on it. I second the Huey's, they offer all their bugers Veggie style. Years ago when I was still in college, R.P. Trax had a decent vegitarian selection for a bar, including bbq tofu nachos.
For a nice sit down place, the Melting Pot, while a chain and not special to Memphis, can be a lot of fun since it is fondue style and they offer a rabbit fooder selection, but not vegan friendly.

Excellent Topic! the 901 really isn't super friendly to those of us that don't care for the meat.