Canadian foodies share favourite vegetarian restaurants, resources and recommendations
ARE YOU VEGETARIAN? Are you worried that you might not find vegetarian food when you visit Canada? Or, do you want to eat more vegetarian food for health and weight reasons? Canada may not be famous for vegetarian food, but it is available from coast-to-coast. There is no shortage of options for buying vegetarian produce or finding vegetarian dishes at most restaurants or even finding “pure veg” restaurants, especially in the big cities. And Indian food is extremely popular in Canada too: there is a plethora of Indian restaurants in most of the bigger cities and especially Vancouver and Toronto — where a significant percentage of the population is of Indian origin. This blog post is a guide to vegetarian Canada by Canadian foodies.
Toronto’s Vegetarian Feast
I live in Toronto, and I don’t eat meat, and I find no end of good, fresh food. In summer, there are farmer’s markets all over the city — Toronto is ringed with rich farmland — and all year-round, you can get fresh produce at St. Lawrence and Kensington Markets, both old-time markets beloved by locals. The city caters to an alternative scene of vegetarians, vegans and raw food eaters, so you can find a lot of restaurants like Fresh (several locations), Live Food Bar, Annapurna, and Govinda’s in the Hare Krishna Centre. The Toronto Vegetarian Association has a list of restaurants, events and other resources.
Indian restaurants proliferate in Toronto, and there are lots of good ones, but my favourite is Udupi Palace on Gerrard St. E., in the India Bazaar. Owner Hubert Dabello opened Udupi Palace in 2001, introducing dosa, iddly and uthapam to the North Indian dominated street. Udupi is pure veg, and pure delight, and eating there transports me to India, if only momentarily.
Vij’s Is a Vancouver Hot Spot
Adrian Brijbassi, co-founder of Vacay.ca, spear-headed the Top 50 Restaurants in Canada list, and he is also one of the judges. Two of his personal favourite vegetarian restaurants in Canada are Acorn in Vancouver and the popular Zen Kitchen in Ottawa. He adds, “Two in Vancouver that aren’t strictly vegetarian, but what we could call vegetarian-forward are Burdock & Co. and Vij’s Railway, the food truck that serves Indian cuisine and whose menu is often about 80% vegetarian dishes.”
Vij’s in Vancouver won the top spot on the list of Top 50 Restaurants in Canada for 2012, and bagged the #3 spot in 2013, so Vij’s Railway, with Vikram and Meeru Vij behind it, is bound to be tasty. Here are just some of the dishes on the menu:
- Rice-Puff & Chickpea Salad with Mint Mango Chutney
- Jackfruit Curry
- Mushroom Medley Curry
Vegetables Are Magic, Too
