Vegan Eats Around Columbus, OH

[virtualannette]

So, while most Columbus vegans know about the obvious vegan hotspots like Pattycake Vegan Bakery and the Rad Dog vegan hot dog cart,  I've been thinking for awhile about how many good places there are for me to order food--even at restaurants that aren't obviously vegan friendly.  At least one or two of the ones I'm going to include here are chain restaurants, but ones I didn't have access to when I lived in the middle of nowhere and appreciate having around... and also, it's always good to know things you can order when going out with friends.  So, here goes:

Annette's Top 10 Choices For Vegan Meals in Columbus:

1. Mad Mex:  My all-time favorite place to eat in Columbus is Mad Mex down by campus in the Gateway area.  Parking is $1 in the garage next door, or you can take the #2 bus down High Street.  They actually have vegan cheese, vegan sour cream, and vegan chipotle ranch, and you can substitute for the regular cheese on any meal without an additional charge.  They also have a lot of already-vegan meals such as the Herbivore Tacos and the Raw Wrap, two of my favorites.  The enchiladas and burritos and guacamole are also all awesome.  I like the food here, too, because it's food with character... not just basic mexican food, but food with flair and variety.  Super good.
2. Whole World Natural Restaurant:  Whole World is an obvious vegan friendly pick in the city, since it's a vegetarian/vegan restaurant, but I want to point out that their tofu scramble on Sundays is the best thing in the universe (they do brunch from 10-2, but go on the early side of that range or they start running out of things).  On a weekday I love their soups and specials, as well as the grilled cheese.  They also do pizzas with whole wheat crust and a variety of toppings, including one topped with guacamole.  This place is in my neighborhood, and my favorite thing to do is stop by for lunch or brunch after a run.  Yay for living in an awesome neighborhood.
3. Cornerstone Deli:   I probably give Cornerstone half of my paycheck a month... not because they're expensive, but that I go there so often they remember what I order.  They have an Herbivore Wrap, several sandwiches you can veganize and add guacamole, big salads they make in front of you, and sushi.  Their coffee is also bottomless.  I want to persuade them to put a vegan breakfast burrito on the menu, and I might almost know them well enough to try to talk them into it... we'll see.
4. Sun Tong Luck:  On Bethel Rd., Sun Tong Luck has some of the best chinese food in town.  The owner remembers your name, and she knows what "vegan" means and takes pride in not using hydrogenated oils.  They have vegan spring rolls.
5. Lavash Cafe:  Lavash just opened in my neighborhood and it's a great value for food that really seems fancy and tastes awesome.  It's counter-style ordering and you bus your own table, and it's all mediterranean food.  They have a different vegetarian entree daily, and a wide variety of cheap vegan appetizers (only $2.50 for a pretty big thing of hummus+pita).
6. Tip Top:  Tip Top is a recent discovery of mine--a place downtown (which is cool in and of itself) where you can get a vegan philly cheesesteak!  And it's so, so good!  They have some other vegan entrees too, but I haven't been able to bring myself to try anything else when i love the philly cheesesteak so much.  They also have good beer.
7. Taj Palace:  In Hilliard, so a bit outside of the city, but Taj Palace has a killer vegetarian buffet (Indian food) on Tuesdays.  You'll spend about $12 a plate, but it's all you can eat and completely worth every penny.
8. New India Restaurant:  On Bethel Rd, New India Restaurant knows how to make actual spicy food and really good chana masala.  And samosas... mmm.
9. Red Robin:  Yes, I patronize a burger joint.  They will sub a vegan boca patty on any burger.  I usually order the veggie Gardenburger, but sub a boca, and then add guacamole (and they've checked, there USED to be dairy in the guac, but there isn't any more).  You also get bottomless fries.  This is my favorite chain restaurant ever--well, second to maybe Chipotle.  It's in Easton and Hilliard.
10. Thai Orchid Restaurant: Thai Orchid has kinda a cool environment, and really really good food.  My favorite is the vegetable curry made without the fish sauce.  It's just north of 270 in Dublin.

Notably omitted here is Northstar Cafe, which I feel is highly overpriced and full of itself (don't get me wrong, the food is good, but it's just not my kind of thing), and Benevolence Cafe, which I shunned on World Vegan Day when I went in and their menu was extremely disappointing for the third time in a row.  I consider myself EXTREMELY lucky that I live in a city where I can luxuriously turn my nose up at not one but TWO vegetarian restaurants, while still leaving plenty to choose from.  Columbus is so amazing for food.. I cannot impress upon you enough how much I love this city as a vegan.

Also omitted is Dragonfly Neo-V, which had the best food I've ever eaten in my life, but is something the ordinary person can't usually afford (if you have seventy to a hundred bucks for dinner, run, don't walk, to eat there).  
I also want to give a hat tip to Mac's Pizza Pub in Cincinnati... while about an hour and a half or a little more from Columbus, this hole-in-the-wall place has delivered by far the best vegan pizza I've ever eaten.

There are several more restaurants I love in this city, too...maybe I'll list 10 more soon.

My Dream Weekend:  
Sleep in on Saturday, go for a run, stop by Pattycake for their Saturday Stickybuns on the way home.
Sleep in on Sunday, go for a run, stop by Whole World for their Sunday Brunch.
I love my neighborhood.