Customer Reviews

Vegetarian Restaurants and Natural Food Stores in the U. S.: A Comprehensive Guide to Over 2,500 Vegetarian Eateries

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I have owned 3 different directories of natural food restaurants and stores, and this one is by far the best! I used "Tofu Tollbooth' for years, and it was good to have, but eventually it was very outdated, and never was as complete as it could have been. "The Artichoke trail" was almost useless... it was very incomplete and didn't diferentiate the vegetarian from non-vegetarian places.
This book is awesome! It has ten times the listings of "tofu Tollbooth", with lots more info on each location and great directions to each location. It has a great resources section listing the ingredients used by many national chains of restaurants, and many great resources for vegetarians on the web.
I am on the road about two weeks a month, and this book has been so valuable. I WON'T TRAVEL WITHOUT IT! THANK YOU!

Compiled by world traveler and dedicated vegetarian John Howley, Vegetarian Restaurants & Natural Food Stores is an exhaustive, thoroughly "user friendly" guide on where to buy natural foods or eat vegetarian meals throughout America. Especially recommended as being an excellent resource for vegetarians on vacation, business trips, or who have moved into a new community, Vegetarian Restaurants & Natural Food Stores lists restaurants and stores by state, and includes addresses, phone numbers, open hours, comments, and very detailed directions for each place.

A one of a kind book that I'm so glad to have found for when I visit relatives or travel for work and want to find some vegetarian fare. For each state there are cities listed and from there the restaurants and health food stores are listed. The listings provide the address, telephone number, hours, type of food offered (e.g. ethnicity, types of food on the menu), comments about the food, and other info. Distinction is made on places that offer vegan foods too which is terrific.

Using this book on recent trips to Baltimore and Los Angeles, I found wonderful restaurants I would not otherwise have known about. I went to about eight different places in all, each time with friends or family members who weren't vegetarian. Each place was excellent though not usually fancy or expensive and each time no one complained about not having meat. John Howley has an excellent approach, very savvy and eclectic. He recommends places like the Helmand in Baltimore which seem to specialize in meat but where vegetarians can find the best meals (without meat) in town - and simple places like Vegan Express in Los Angeles that non-vegetarians are wild about. This book has quickly become one of the most useful books I own. I recommend it to anyone who travels and who cares about healthy and delicious food. In fact I went back to this site to buy another copy to give as a gift, and decided to write a review in gratitude. Thank you.

This is the kind of resource we treasure when we're on the road, and we're grateful to have it. This is just a note to urge the author to put out a revised edition, perhaps with distinctions about whether a given locale includes Raw, Vegan, Organic, and/or Ovolacto vegetarian. Yes, we're picky eaters when we get to this part of the spectrum. Dine in or deli? Sometimes we found the listings in the original edition lacking details and ended up in a store with no produce, just whole grain bread. Is this a restaurant, a health food (vitamin) shop, or a grocery? Do they sell fresh produce, sprouts, or make fresh raw juices or smoothies? Those are the kinds of things we watch for now. Couldn't always tell, though in general the book is good about indicating so. Cafe Gratitude (SF area) and Blossoming Lotus (Portland) are good adds. Thanks!