Vegetarian in South Florida

8271 Sunset Strip Plantation

954-742-8344

Burgers, Cafe, Greek, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, Vegan, Vegetarian, Best Of, Sponsor

Any health-food store can sell stuff that claims to be good for you. But go to the counter at Simply Natural in Sunrise and you're liable to find Richard or Shahrooz, the husband-and-wife owners who are not just selling healthy stuff, but creating a community of wholesome living. Together, they have been known to offer free meditation classes, free guest lecturers, and even free samples of vegan foods. They can draw upon their vast expertise on all matters health to recommend an herbal remedy or nutrition supplement for whatever ails you. Or they can set you up with one of the many practitioners who rotate through the shop's back office: an acupuncturist, masseuse, reflexologist, iridologist, or CardioVision analyst. Plus, it's a short walk next door to the Simply Natural Café, which boasts the area's cheapest and most truly organic menu around. The meat is grass-fed and hormone-free, and even the beer and wine are organic.

1 article

Beehive Kitchen

6312 N. Andrews Ave. Fort Lauderdale

954-607-2836

Health, Vegetarian

Bombay Grill

4465 N. University Dr., Lauderhill Fort Lauderdale

954-741-8388

Buffet, Indian, Vegetarian, Recommended, Menu

What this expansive Indian restaurant and buffet has to do with "grilling" is anyone's guess. But what it does do is turn out homestyle dishes of chicken korma, chana masala, and lamb vindaloo like nobodies business. The smartly decorated interior is a bit bright, but inviting, and the staff charming. The ingredients are fresh and the food well prepared. Try the wok fired chicken kadhai, a stir fry of juicy chicken breast with chunks of tomato, onion, curry leaves, and scorching hot slivers of fresh chili. Or the tandoori fish, made with fresh tilapia. Some of the starters are hit or miss -- like the sulfurous papdi chat with yogurt and boiled potatoes -- and the naan is a little on the doughy side. But the friendly owners, who walk the tables, introduce themselves, and make you truly feel at home, are quick to amend any discrepancies. A well-maintained lunch buffet runs daily, and all day Sundays, and a belly dancer entertains on weekends.

Cafe Emunah

3558 N. Ocean Blvd., Fort Lauderdale Beaches

954-561-6411

Asian, Asian Fusion, Japanese, Kosher, Seafood, Sushi, Vegetarian, Recommended, Best Of, Menu

If you can get past the overwrought, New Agey pseudomysticism that infects Emunah (which means "faith"), you'll find a top-quality neighborhood café serving seafood and sushi. Everything on the menu is kosher, and most of that is organic. Enjoy an excellent array of Mediterranean and Caribbean-influenced sushi rolls. These contain ingredients like orange, mint, taramasalata, eggplant spread, cilantro, and pineapple along with sweet and melting yellow tail, white tuna, and salmon. The herbs in the garden salads are locally sourced; entrées are occasionally stunning - like Mystical Sea Bass served with creamy hummus, heirloom tomato and cured olive salad. Soups, made fresh daily, are equally inventive.

4 articles

Falafel Benny

658 W. Hallandale Beach Blvd. Hallandale Beach

954-455-2118

Middle Eastern, Cafe, Moroccan, Sandwiches, Vegetarian, Best Of, Menu

"Howz dee faylafell?," Ben Regev yells from behind a glass and granite countertop. Most people can only awkwardly nod as they chew on soft pitas filled with well-seasoned green falafel topped with tahini and a rainbow of fresh and pickled vegetables. As a kid growing up in Israel, Regev used to skip school to work odd jobs to buy falafel. As an adult, they've become his life. He says even Muslims come into his small shop for falafel saying "kif imeh," which in English, he says, means "like home." Nothing bridges cultural gaps like a perfect falafel.

2 articles

Green Wave Cafe

5221 W. Broward Blvd., Ste. A Plantation

954-581-8377

Organic, Raw Food, Vegetarian, Recommended, Best Of, Menu

Raw food continues to grow in popularity, even though its South Florida contingent is small. But Green Wave Café, a Plantation kitchen and organic market that serves raw, vegan lunches, may change that. Chef Lisa Valle takes wholesome, organic produce and creates a small menu that changes daily. Grab a seat at the wide orange tables or long countertop and Valle's delightful and knowledgeable staff will serve you fun, raw dishes such as lettuce wrap tacos with walnut and sun-dried tomato pate. The crisp lettuce, clean-tasting salsa, and accompanying cashew "cheese" sauce are flavorful without getting heavy. A hummus sandwich atop raw onion bread is a more of an acquired taste, as the thin bread made of onion and flax is chewy. Each plate costs $12 and includes daily-made soup, the only nonraw item on the menu (the vegetarian bean is remarkably bold and, well, meaty). Valle and crew teach free classes on raw food at night - a monthly schedule is posted on their website. Sign me up for the class on chocolate ice cream, a completely raw and vegan marvel that satisfies in ways few dairy-based custards can.

5 articles

J's Garden Cafe

7908 Pines Blvd. Hollywood

954-893-9935

Smoothies, Vegan, Vegetarian, Best Of

Whoever said vegetarian food was all raw veggies and tasteless tofu was eating at too many corporate chains. For those truly talented in the culinary arts, vegetarian meals can yield incredible variety and fabulous flavors. Enter J's Garden Cafe. This mother-daughter effort in Hollywood offers Haitian-Caribbean fare and a holistic approach to eating. It's not all veggies, either. They offer meat in the form of slow baked chicken, lemon-butter salmon and turkey griot. For the herbivorous, the options include everything from spicy ginger tofu and tabouleh salad to veggie lasagna and coconut black bean soup. There are desserts, too, like pineapple upside down cake. Healthy and delicious can go hand in hand in hand, after all.

1 article

Krishna Vegetarian Indian Cuisine

8344 W. Oakland Park Blvd Fort Lauderdale

954-747-1299

Indian, Vegetarian, Best Of, Menu

1 article

Low Fat No Fat Cafe

1703 E. Hallandale Beach Blvd. Hallandale Beach

954-874-0322

Vegan, Vegetarian, Best Of

Anthony DiCarlo's Low Fat No Fat Café is winning converts even among slobs who thrive on regular doses of animal fat. The sophisticated décor -- polished wood floors, stainless-steel and bamboo accents, 30-foot ceilings -- is a deliberate snub to the dowdy health-food restaurants of yore. Organic fruits and veggies, lean beef and chicken, fresh fish, organic eggs, and whole-grain baked goods deliver a flavor punch that happens to be healthy too. Chow down on a dish of spicy jambalaya, a "tofu club" layered with grilled vegetables and brown rice, or a plate of seared sea scallops (dinner entrées run $8.95 to $18.95). For lunch: sandwiches, salads, and smoothies made to order.

1 article

Pizza Fusion

1013 N. Federal Highway Fort Lauderdale

954-358-5353

Pizza, Vegan, Vegetarian, Best Of, Menu, Readers' Choice

Started in 2006 by two Fort Lauderdale school buddies, Vaughn Lazar and Michael Gordon, Pizza Fusion opened in Deerfield purveying organic pizza. But the guys pushed their concept right to the cutting edge: delivering those organic pizzas in Prius hybrids, powering their website with wind, printing their menus and boxes on recycled paper, using biodegradable flatware, and even taking your order with pens made of recycled cardboard. Their oblong, thin-crust pies - baked with organic white, whole grain, or gluten-free crusts and topped with combinations like Key West shrimp and pesto (yummy) or chopped plum tomatoes, red onions, fresh basil, and balsamic vinegar and olive oil (fantastic) - are damned well worth picking up the phone for. All their vegetables, chicken, tomato sauces, and oils (and even most of their beer and wine) are 100 percent organic. Prices start at $13 for a medium and $16 for a large, ranging up to a $48 surf and turf topped with organic strip steak, shrimp, and lobster. A second store opened in Fort Lauderdale in March, and the boys have already begun to take the concept on the road. They say they're "saving the Earth, one pizza at a time," but they may well save our stomachs and our consciences too.

6 articles

Sublime

1431 N. Federal Highway Fort Lauderdale

954-615-1431

Contemporary, Organic, Vegan, Vegetarian, Recommended, Slideshow

Gourmet diners in Fort Lauderdale have long had Sublime as their go-to, a restaurant founded by animal rights activist Nanci Alexander and serving an entirely vegan, and partly organic, menu. Sublime has always been beautiful, with its water wall and open brick oven and its inventive list of "healthy" cocktails and organic wines. The food lives up to the name, from a delicious tempura-battered cauliflower "frito misto" to a gorgeous sublime roll wrapped in grasshopper-greensoy paper. Classic margherita pizza from the wood-burning oven could totally go crust-to-crust with the best brick oven pizzas in South Florida. And a braised spinach, wood-fired artichoke, and roasted shallot "quiche" lacking either eggs or cream is a knockout. Presentation is exquisite.

39 articles

The Hummus House

900 NE 20th Ave. Fort Lauderdale

954-314-7686

Vegetarian, Mediterranean, Vegan, Menu

This laidback vegetarian counter-serve spot offers Middle Eastern and Israeli hummus bowls, pita, falafel, salads, and more.

Udipi Cafe

2100 N. University Dr. Plantation

954-748-5660

Indian, Pakistani, Vegan, Vegetarian, Recommended, Menu

Our version of the national South Indian chain, Udipi serves exotica like the mildly sour iddly, steamed rice and bean-flour cakes dipped in yogurt/coconut chutney and lentil sauces; the vada, fried lentil doughnuts; and paneer pakoras, fingers of homemade cheese in chickpea sauce. There's "street food" like stuffed puris filled with potatoes, rice, onion, tomatoes, and cilantro and a full list of dosai, some as long as a grown man's arm - enormous rice, bean flour, and cream-of-wheat crepes to pull apart and eat with sambar and chutney. You'll see the gigantic puffballs of filled baturas going by and the house specialties, like pesarat uppuma made of ground moong dal, rice, and cream of wheat with onions and chilies. It's almost impossible to stagger away from Udipi having spent more than 15 bucks, making it one of Broward's most interesting cheap-grub destinations and an absolute paradise for teetotaling vegetarians.

1 article

Woodlands Indian Cuisine

4816 N. University Dr. Lauderhill

954-749-3221

Indian, Vegetarian, Recommended, Best Of, Menu

This quaint strip-mall eatery out west in Sunrise serves regional South Indian cuisine with a flair for curries and chutneys and an assortment of starches with which to sop it all up. And it's all vegetarian -- yup, no meat whatsoever. There's vada, fried lentil doughnuts dipped in sambar or rasam; bonda dumplings made of lentil or potato; uthappam pancakes topped with chilies and potatoes; and massive dosai - rolled-up crepes larger than your forearm and stuffed with all sorts of delicious veggies. All this is to say nothing of an excellent range of curries and pullavs -- fragrant and liberally spiced -- and freshly made flatbreads like naan and paratha.

7 articles

Zen Mystery Tea House

56 N Federal Highway Dania Beach

954-241-4655

Appetizers, Vegan, Vegetarian

This spiritual boutique with a vegan cafe & tea lounge sells incense, candles & unique home goods.

Vegetarian in South Florida

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