Great Vegetarian Restaurants in Salt Lake City

For vegetarians traveling or moving to Salt Lake City, or even carnivorous locals looking to expand their palates, this is a great town for culinary indulgence. Whether you're looking for a nice dinner experience, lazy weekend breakfast, or fast lunch, Salt Lake City delivers. I've been a vegetarian for nearly 20 years, and have sampled all the great veggie places here. Below are my suggestions.

Sage's Cafe

When this place opened, it was just in time; a much-loved long standing, centrally located vegetarian restaurant, Park Ivy Café, had just closed. Vegetarians and vegans know the comfort of simply being able to look at a menu in totality, without having to wonder or ask what kind of broth a soup is made with, if that dressing is made with anchovy paste, or what kind of shortening is used in that tortilla. Thank god for full-on veggie restaurants, and thank god for Sage's. These guys get it to the max-unless you are a breatharian, I dare say you are safe here.

Sage's is centrally located, situated between the University of Utah, and downtown Salt Lake City. Visitors getting to and fro on the foolproof Trax system (the public light rail train) have only a one block journey to find this place. Sage's is situated in a space that seems to have formerly been a residential building-there are fabulously creaky old hardwood floors, a great tiled fireplace, and two dining rooms, one is akin to a very sunny breakfast nook.

You cannot go wrong at Sage's; it sounds cliché, but everything is fantastic. For breakfast, I highly recommend "The Mountain," ($9.) Scrambled tofu on a huge bed of hashbrowns (diced) with greens and peppers, veggie sausage, and their amazing homemade "cheeze" sauce (a brilliant nutritional yeast based concotion.) The flap jacks ($6) are also great.

For a lunch or dinner entrée, I recommend the Philly Cheeze Steak Sandwich ($7.50) with seitan. Tuesday nights 5:30-9:00 pm are all-you-can-eat pizza and salad, and that is recommended too. The unique homemade root beer is tasty, as well as the smoothies.

Sage's is 100% vegan, and uses organic and fair trade products and ingredients. There are raw food choices, as well as a kids' menu. Location, contact info and hours: 473 East 300 South, 801-322-3790. Mon-Thu 11:30am-2:30pm and 5-9:30pm/ Fri 11:30am-2:30pm and 5-11pm/ Sat 9am-11pm/ Sun 9am-10pm.

One World Café

One World Café is an innovative restaurant for several reasons. Their food is all organic, and they even maintain a downtown garden for many of the vegetables used. There is no fixed menu; the offerings change day to day, somewhat like a buffet. There are also no prices and no cash register; the customer determines how much to pay, and places money or check into a drop box.

The food at One World is very homemade tasting, with no 'restaurant', or 'professional' feel. This is not a bad thing, as a matter of fact, it's a very good thing. If your grandma was an organic, vegetarian cook that favored grains like quinoa over white rice, and tofu over shake-n-bake chicken, this is what her cooking would have tasted like.

The grain based salads are always good, as are the ethnic-oriented hot entrees. The Everything Cookie Bars are essential for desert. A couple notes: aside from the self-serve soup, the guys behind the counter will fill your plates up for you. They're a little reserved with their portions, so when they ask you if the couple tablespoons they've place on the plate is 'enough,' don't hesitate to ask for more. They really aren't looking at your hips and giving you a hint-they're trying to avoid wasting food. Also, if there is a note on the soup tureen that says 'spicy,' sample it before ladling out a whole bowl. I love spice, even very hot, but there've been a couple times that someone has sought to spice it up with black pepper instead of cayenne.

One World Café is vegetarian-based, however, there are meat items available daily. Simply make the staff aware of your vegetarian or vegan status, and you can't go wrong with the menu. Beverages include hot teas and coffee. The café is within walking distance from the heart of downtown Salt Lake City at 41 South 300 East. Hours: 7 days a week, 11am-7pm. There are several cozy dining rooms inside, and a nice patio outside in good weather.

Shanghai Café

Shanghai Café has a full, great vegetarian menu. The food is absolutely excellent, and you cannot go wrong here. The prices and unbelieveably low (entrees range from $5.50-8.50) and the décor is positively kitsch. The service is notoriously indifferent, but not rude. Recommended veggie choices include: General Tso's vegetarian chicken, and the Lemongrass tofu. Like I said though, you can't go wrong here. The iced jasmine tea is tasty too.

Shanghai specializes in vegetarian food-as a matter of fact, the words "vegetarian food for a long life" are hugely emblazoned across their window front. Meat dishes are also available. Location and hours: 145 East 1300 South (in the southeast area of a the strip mall) Mon-Thu 11am-9:30pm, Fri-Sat 11am-10pm, Sun 12:30pm-9:30pm.

Other vegetarian and veg-friendly restaurants of note

Long Life Vegi House, 1353 East 3300 South, Mon-Thu 11:30am- 9:30pm Fri-Sat 11:30am-10:30pm Sun 5:00pm- 9:30pm. Try the vegetarian fried rice, steamed potstickers, and Treasure of Eight. Entrée prices range from $6-$8.

Cedars of Lebanon, 152 East 200 South, Mon-Thu 11:30am-3pm, 5pm-10pm, Fri-Sat 11:30am-3pm, 5pm-11pm, Entrée prices around $15. Bellydancing performers!

Café Med, 420 East, 3300 South, Sun-Thu 11am-9pm Fri-Sat 11am-10pm. The large Middle Eastern Plate is fabulous. The baba ganooj is the best I've had in Salt Lake. Prices around $10 for entrees.

Hires Big H, 425 South, 700 East, Mon-Thu 10:30am-11pm, Fri-Sat 10:30am-12:30am. While this is not a vegetarian restaurant, I had to include it here because it is the home of the absolute best fast food veggie burger in the world. They're made from scratch, and literally addicting. Try the Mountain H-the same veggie burger heaped with grilled mushrooms. And of course, you have to have a mugh of the famous rootbeer. It's so good. Prices are comparable to McDonald's.