67 Best Restaurants in USA

In a town known for its beef, WaterCourse stands out as a devoted vegan eatery in spacious digs uptown. This casual, low-key place serves herbivores three meals a day, most of which are based on fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and meat-like soy substitutes. There are also macrobiotic dishes available. The Reuben, with sauerkraut, portobellos, and Swiss on grilled rye, is amazing, as are the seitan-based faux Buffalo wings and the cauliflower-based "chicken and waffles." They also offer a small but nice selection of organic wines as well as slow-pressed organic juices. The delectable desserts in the case are, surprise, all vegan.

If you're packing a picnic for the park—or if you just need a meal that's not fried—this long-standing organic spot is an outlier in a town built on pancakes and pizzas. The simple menu of wraps, sandwiches, and salads is made to order but ready almost as fast as grab-and-go.

This hip, bustling Union Street destination proves that plant-based cuisine can be exciting and delicious, along with being virtuous for the body (well, at least most dishes are) and better for the environment. The highly eclectic menu includes dishes from wild mushroom "zeppole" fritters to a spicy yellow Thai curry. The plant-filled space has a fun, breezy vibe with a bar on one side, plus plenty of sidewalk seating, and many seats are filled by diners who don't follow vegan or even vegetarian diets.

The charms of this festive bar and grill near downtown theaters and Pioneer Park include quirky decor (both a chandelier and a disco ball), a superfriendly staff, a focus on organic spirits and wines, and healthy farm-to-fork–inspired plant-based cuisine. Drop in for a thyme-infused grapefruit-vodka cocktail (with CBD on request) and cashew-quinoa–stuffed poblano pepper before a show or a smoothie, jackfruit pizza, or miso ramen bowl to break up an afternoon of exploring.

Veggies with a view could be the subtitle for this venerable Cardiff-by-the-Sea restaurant that grew from a simple juice shack. Ki's is well known for heart-healthy, gluten-free, vegan, locally sourced, ovo-lacto, vegetarian-friendly dishes like huevos rancheros, filling tofu scrambles, taco plates, chopped salads with feta and nuts, watermelon juice, and carrot ice-cream smoothies. The menu also includes turkey wraps piled on wheat bread and dinner entrées such as Thai seafood curry, roasted Jidori chicken, or Asian salmon salad on a bed of organic greens, all prepared with minimal fat. Get a table up top for incomparable ocean views, but be prepared for a wait, as service is rather slow.

When Wicker Park's veggie-centric Earwax Café closed, vegans and vegetarians decamped to this new California transplant. Even devoted carnivores scarf down the café's satisfying vegan dishes featuring house-made tempeh, seiten, and other faux meats. Don't miss the decadent-tasting desserts, made without refined sugar. Additional locations in Lakeview and the Loop.