Nice and cheap veggie resterants in San Fran ?
any ideas?????
please help

Not cheap, but Greens is one of the city's finest restaurants and is vegetarian.

Corby, Greens is first rate but is not cheap, and you'll need a reservation, for sure. We use their two cookbooks asa result of an excellent meal there in May 1993. I assume their standards aee the same. I would suggest you also search on SF and vegetarian restaurant, and possible check out the Zagat's site for more veg. places. I don't know f you're into oysters, but if yes, then try Swan's Oyster Depot. If fish, then try Plouf in the Financial Dist. a few blocks off Market Street, near the Palace Hotel.

Greens is the opposite of cheap: expensive. The cookbooks are great, but while I haven't been in some years myself, I have to say that by all reports from people I know, L's assumption is off and it has gone way downhill. The upscale veggie place to go in SF is Milleneum. But you want cheap. Here is the URL for a personal web page devoted to listing veggie restaurants in SF: http://daveola.com/Pages/Vegetarian/Restaurants/

Corby,

There's a Cambodian place on California between Polk and Larkin. I can't remember the name of it but it's the only one there. It's not a vegetarian restaurant but they have a large number of Vegetarian dishes. The prices aren't exactly cheap but they're a lot cheaper than Greens and the food is excellent.

SF has a ton of ethnic restaurants, most of which serve a variety of veggie dishes (Chinese, Thai, Indian, etc.). If you eat seafood so much the better.

Greens would be a great answer for what are the most expensive veggie restaurants in SF but some people can't resist answering every question asked, regardless. Lucky Creation in Chinatown is a very good chinese veggie place and Axum is an unbelieveably cheap ,$10 for two combo plate {very spicy stuff}, neighborhood Ethiopian place in lower Haight , about 2-3 blocks above Filmore.There is also a neat veggie dim sum place in Chinatown I think near California on I believe Grant St but can't remember it's name.

??????, I really am having difficulty understanding the advice you are offering. I get the idea that you don't like Green's but can't come up with an alternative that you can remember the name of?

I named two places. Lucky Creation in Chinatown. And Axum in lower Haight. I couldn't remember the veggie dim sum place near California and Grant. I don't understand your confusion. And the question was asking for CHEAP veggies and as a previous poster had already pointed out Greens is the exact opposite, VERY expensive veggies. Whas up? Perhaps it would be helpful for you to go back and read both the question and my answer. And on the side Greens isn't as good as it used to be but that was neither the question nor the intent of my answer.

True, the original poster did request "cheap" ... but wow, forgive me, I was intentionally non-responsive ... because I was hoping that price wouldn't be the determining factor. Not when one travels to that magical place by the bay. So, shame on me for attempting to instill some class into this rather pedestrian thread. I can get you all the cheapies you want, so where's the challenge in that? We all know that type of place. Greens of course came to mind as being stylish, creative, satisfying ... who could argue with that? Or has it changed, as some would suggest? But incidentially, if one intends to denigrate the place, perhaps it would be preferable to do so with firsthand experience to back it up, not some second or thirdhand hearsay. It seems so careless to report one has heard Greens has gone downhill, etc. Where is your firsthand information ... step up ... show and tell time. Sorry if this rubs you the wrong way ... I guess I'll chance it. Greens on a bad day I would think beats grub on a good day, hands down, first, second or third. Ciao

L, you went to Greens eight years ago, and you're assuming that your experience back then speaks to the quality of the restaurant now over what others have heard from people they know well and trust? I'm sorry, but restaurant quality is--unfortunately--rarely a static thing, and I do trust my friends and family who live in the SF Bay Area (where, incidentally, I grew up and lived until six years ago, and visit fairly often; my experience is not as a tourist). They have invariably been disappointed by Greens in recent years, except for the stunning setting and a good wine list, and have found the best high-end veggie dining in Sf to be at Millenium. I have not returned to Greens precisely because of their experiences.

As an aside, clearly price is an object for some travelers, particularly those who ask specifically for "cheap" suggestions.

Hi, Caitlin ... your reply contains substantiation, from family and friends who have been eating at Greens, unhappily, in recent years. Your words, more or less. So, we now have firsthand information, which was lacking before, and this was one of my points, as I trust you'll recognize. But an assumption about goodness? Nay, I said quite clearly that Greens came to mind, and of course, being an eastablishment of some reputation (formerly you say), why not? A varitable starting point, and only that, in the search of the good veggies of today. Discard the old in favor of the new. That in no way assumes anything, certainly not that it is good or bad. My experience in 1993 was just that, nothing else. I can remember it as a good experience. I can hope it is still so. One may also suggest that several posters took it upon themselves to assume very dire conditions at Greens based on secondhand information, as big an assumption as one could reasonably assume, I assume. I must regretfully disagree that one needs to be responsive to the "cheap" request ... some may believe cheapness an object for some travellers, but cheap is never a worthy goal, and always a hinderance in reaching for .... well, something higher, less cheap. Those who ask for cheap live cheap daily, so when they go on vacation, lets all encourage them to leave their old cheap ways at home and try to expand a bit as they enter new territory. Never fear, their old cheap will be eagerly awaiting their return. I believe persons openly seeking the cheap should post elsewhere. Take care, and SF is among the best, in my view. It is not a cheap city, by any measure. I will make that assumption, openly. Ciao

Try Herbivore on Valencia Street. It is vegan. I have eaten there numerous times. It is casual yet stylish. Lots of choices on the menu, and moderately priced. I have eaten there with carnivores, vegans, and vegetarians like myself, and we all left happy and satisfied. I am eating there tomorrow night!

Well, L, in my first post on this thread I said, regarding Greens, "I have to say that by all reports from people I know, L's assumption is off and it has gone way downhill." I guess "people I know" was too vague for you to consider proof.

But more important, why should someone looking for budget options not post a query here? Is there a minimum level of expense that people must meet to qualify as Fodor's Forum users? Or is there a certain travel philosophy (yours) that they must subscribe to? Give me a break. If it's possible for people to get knowledgable answers to their travel-related questions here, why shouldn't they post them? And finally, while I too like to splurge when I can while traveling, for a lot of people, the only way they can afford to travel at all is to travel cheap. Better they should travel cheap than not at all, IMO (and experience).

Sure, Cailtin, your earlier comments about my assumption caught my eye. So be assured I do pay attention to your views. And they are valuable, to be sure.

True, if one has a specific source for a view, it never hurts to give it. Should I give up Greens based solely on a relatively vague reference? Am I being unreasonable in your view to desire one specific?

As far as "budget" and "cheap", I do see a difference, a rather big one. More than semantics. My point of course was that it cheapens our process if people hem us in at the get-go by demanding "cheap" ... that pushes me out of the process, and why would you wish to lose a valuable source like me by catering to someone who makes a big deal out of choosing between Micky D and Big Boy. In the long run, who is more likely to keep the bop in the bop-she-bop ... the value in the value-added ... El Cheapo or Leone? Gosh, that all life's quandries were that simple. But no matter, every opportunity's an opportunity, and this has been mine to communicate with you, and that's not cheap. Have a nice day, catch you on the flip side, and ciao. I am assuming you're the west coast C., not the east coast version. Oregonian, or is L's mind a bit veggie?

Too many peas, perhaps. Or whatever. I'm the "East Coast" Caitlin in NYC; I do consider my self "West Coast" as well, however, having lived all but the last six years of my life in the SF Bay Area and close to it.

I see your point about "cheap," but to read into the semantics of the original query, I believe that in asking for "nice and cheap veggie restaurants," Corby probably means budget, not cheap in terms of quality or atmosphere. This is how I took it anyway.

So, the east coast C ... sorry. I believe I last saw your post on the NYC french restaurant thread. Nice and cheap can actually connote very cheap ... in the southern idiom, where I am from. But judged otherwise, I see an inherent contradiction, not to mention realistic impossibility. So, I suppose we will have to differ ... and I would think most will favor your thinking. Which is fine. I'm satisfied that Corby and I travel on different planes. Ciao

L, can't imagine why you're bent out of shape. The original request was for cheap, and Green's is certainly not. In fact, it's a ripoff. Why try to shame someone into spending more than they care to on vacation, especially when they have already stated their parameters? This isn't class warfare, just a simple travel forum. If, as you say, "I can get you all the cheapies you want," why not just do so instead of making snide comments. This wasn't supposed to be "a challenge."

By the way, I'm a Bay Area native and have to agree with recent unfavorable reviews of Green's.

Ciao, indeed!

Just a thought - Corby did ask for "nice and cheap." My first thought on reading the post was that a vegetarian or vegan wanted soem veggie variety on vacation. Recommending only expensive restaurants isn't going to help someone who wants to eat veggie at every meal.

Boy , talk about a condesending pompous ass.