A New Way to Find Veg-Friendly Restaurants

For vegetarians and vegans who love to dine out, Opposing Views has launched an interactive restaurant database. It looks like a spreadsheet and provides a place for vegetarians and vegans to search for delicious finds.

The long list can be a bit overwhelming, but the search box is very effective. You can even search within your initial results until you find exactly what you want, where you want it: We typed in “Middle Eastern,” then “San Francisco,” and the site served up two great finds.

A benefit to having this specialized database is that you don’t have to weed through hundreds of restaurants that aren’t exactly vegan or vegetarian on restaurant-review sites. If you want feedback on the restaurant (which the database lacks), the entries provide links to outside sites such as Yelp. If your favorite place isn’t on the list, you can add it. And if you find incorrect or partial information, you're free to edit.

Other sites with vegetarian and/or vegan restaurant guides include HappyCow,  VegGuide, and the Vegetarian Resource Guide, all of which allow you to narrow your search by region, state, and city.

--Julie Littman