Vegetarian Spout-Off

From an e-mail of a local person:

We went to Chili's Saturday, because we had this sudden desire for french fries and were too tired to go shopping to fill our empty fridge.

It was so strange being there - we never go anywhere like this, Fridays, or Ruby Tuesdays, or any "American" food place, because they have barely anything vegetarian. Chili's only has their black bean burger - which is cheaper to make at home, which we usually do.

But it was just this weird cultural moment, to realize how much of mainstream America we miss b/c we don't eat meat. We frequent a handful of restaurants here in Cville, so much so the waiters tend to know us by name. But we're getting so BORED of them.

Still, I thought I'd list my top ten vegetarian-option restaurants/types of food to see if any of you had any suggestions for something else we could try!

1. Indian - Maharaja - the weekend buffets are great (we prefer to Milan) - and the service very friendly
2. Mexican - we prefer Baja Bean, but are usually too lazy and just go to Guadelajara, which is closer/easier parking
3. Thai - Monsoon - again, we prefer Monsoon, but Thai 99 is closer (and Monsoon has weird, undependable hours)
4. Chinese - Ming Dynasty is the only place we ever go - they have the most comprehensive and varied vegetarian menu of any place in town, I think
5. Ethiopian - yummy, but overpriced - we've only been there twice
6. Pizza - Christian's on the Downtown Mall - and that other one - both have yum vegetables, and it's a great on the go option - otherwise, we usually get plain cheese pizzas at the grocery store and then add our own fake meat and vegetables - Mellow Mushroom has awesome veg sandwhiches
7. Millers - for a good price when you want to hang out and have some good beers, there's a few good veg options - Greek Salad, burrito, couple sandwhiches - I really appreciate this
8. South Street - the black bean veg nachos are awesome, great, filling pub food to go with the great beer
9. Bluegrass Grill - awesome veg and vegan options for breakfast - just get there early, long
lines
10. Revolutionary Soup - great options if you're in the mood for soup - local, organic, too


I don't really have any more to make it to 10...

Places that used to be on my list:
Pita Inn - with their departure from the scene, no more good Middle Eastern around...

Rapture - they used to have a hummus plate that rocked, but they nixed it, which was really depressing. Still, they have some noodle bowls that are okay.

Wild Greens - doesn't it sound like it should be a great veg place? But all the huge salads have meat in them. There's a portobello sandwhich that's okay, but I'm annoyed about the salad situation.

Star Hill - my husband's favorite fake meat sandwhich got taken off the menu - a HUGE disappointment