Vegan and Vegetarian Dining in Chicago

Sample the many authentic ethnic foods available.

Quick Tips:

If you are a vegan try out these restaurants. If you find yourself at a non-vegan restaurant, ask the chef to prepare something special for you. Most restaurants in this city are very accomodating. For vegetarians, just about every menu in this city offers at least one non-animal based item.

Best Way To Get Around:

Taxis are reliable and cheap. However, the public transportation system will get you just about anywhere you need to go.

The Chicago Diner is located in the young, funky hip neighborhood off of Belmont & Halsted. This restaurant can bring tears to my eyes because they actually have parking. Not a lot, but enough that if you get there early you can have a great breakfast and then go shopping at the trendy shops that line Belmont without wasting half a day looking for the non-existent available parking meter. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are served here by a knowledgeable and friendly staff, but what is especially nice here is the special menu available with the ingredients in each item listed. For breakfast try their yummy vegan pancakes or their tofu scramble with potatoes. Lunch offers many delicious soups and sandwiches, but what I really love the Chicago Diner for is their wide array of vegan cake. These cakes are also carried at Chicago Whole Foods grocery stores, but are never fresh. When the weather is nice, you can sit outside on the shaded patio.

I really hate to say anything bad about a restaurant that goes out of its way to offer vegan items, but the Blind Faith Cafe is the type of place that gives vegetarian food a bad name. They had a second location in the city, which closed some time ago. This restaurant is located in a wonderful little Evanston neighborhood. Accordingly, the food is overpriced (a salad and beverage will cost at least $10), and the food is really terrible. Top that off with bad service and servers who cannot tell you about the ingredients in the menu items, and you are stuck with a place that is vegan for all the wrong reasons. You will likely leave here hungry and with your wallet quite a bit lighter.

The Udupi Palace is my favorite restaurant on Devon, which is Chicago's Little India. They specialize in South Indian Vegetarian food, and no meat is served in this restaurant. With the exception of butter, yogurt and milk, all items are vegan, and the chefs will gladly exclude dairy products from non-vegan items at your request. Every item on the menu, from appetizer to desert, is delicious. The meals here are very filling as well. Try the masala dosai, which is about two feet long and has a wonderful potato-onion stuffing and is served with fresh coconut chutney and sambar. South Indian food is much better than the North Indian, which is primarily available to Americans. While in Little India, experience the culture and stroll up and down the shops and cafes of Devon Ave.