If you ever did want to try a Top 10 in this area, I think you'd have to call it "Top Ten places to Get Vegetarian Food" - because a true veggie restaurant has no meat at all on the menu (including fish, usually) so a vegetarian could confidence close her eyes and run her finger down the menu and anything she ended up on would be "safe".

As far as I know, there are only about 3 places in the area (Great Sage, Liquid Earth, and Yabba Pot) that have no meat at all. Even One World has some fish dishes. I'd love to stand corrected...

Michelle,

Vegetarians have eyes?

Men. Can't live without them. Can't shoot them.

True what Michelle said. But as a vegetarian for more than 10 years in Baltimore, these are my fave places to get vegetarian food:

The Helmand – the pumpkin, the pumpkin, the pumpkin…
Liquid Earth – easily the best veggie sandwiches anywhere.
Dukem Two – LOVE the vegetarian sampler.
Iggie’s/Joe2 – two places to get great thin crust pizza.
Kawasaki Café – lots of pretty creative veggie options (veggie onion roll…).
Thai Landing/Thai Restaurant/Thai Arroy/MyThai
Mezze – some of the best falafel & lotsa other stuff
Rocket to Venus – veggie wimpies!!!
Saigon Remembered – heavenly.
One World – the Philly cheese steak-less is to die for.

I don't know if this would qualify as "best," but there's Red Emma's @ 800 St. Paul St. On their website (www.redemmas.org) you will find the following:

"Welcome to Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse, a worker-owned and collectively-managed bookstore and coffeehouse located in Baltimore's Mount Vernon neighborhood.

In the coffeehouse, you'll find delicious fair trade, organic coffee and espresso as well as a selection of vegan and vegetarian food. In the bookstore, you'll find books and periodicals on a wide range of topics, with a focus on radical politics and culture. We also offer free internet access, both through our wireless network and our public internet terminals."

I have time to kill between the office and rehearsal so I'll check it out this evening.

Most Indian restaurants have tasty vegetarian dishes, though I can't guarantee there is no animal ingredient. Since many Indians are vegetarians it's worth asking at the door. The South Indian restaurant that used to be on Lombard Street downtown had a good selection, but it's gone. Is there another South Indian restaurant in the area?

What is that, beans and celery? It looks like a heaping bowl of poverty.

Have you ever heard the line: "I wonder what all the poor people are doing today"? Now at the very least I know what they are eating: beans and celery.

To Paraphrase Rodney Dangerfield in CaddyShack: "Did you get a free hat with that bowl of soup?"

Now, how about we talk about my dinner at Petit Louis last night? The wife and I had foie gras, charcutierie, sweetbreads and beef bourguignon. I'm sure I'm going to pay for this lifestyle when I come down with gout by age 40, but I think it will be worth it.

A heaping bowl of poverty

Hilarious!!! I've only met one person with gout and he was/is a vegan and runs one of the above-mentioned places. Okay, one other guy, but he was an alcoholic who lived on Bud Lite and Certs.

Eat on, RfCK! I had some tasty duck at Rocco's Capriccio this week that would be right at home on Henry VIII's table, hearty and succulent. Mmmmm, duck.

Michelle, last I knew, Mango Grove in Columbia was all veggie. Although while it was pretty good, I must admit I didn't care for it as much as... well, most of the other Indian places I've been to.

Is there another South Indian restaurant in the area?

Mango Grove is vegetarian and South Indian.

And Tree of Life is a newish vegan place in Lexington Market. (The City Paper reviewed it in April.)

Owl Meat and Robert, what you eat is a heaping bowl of torture, abuse, and cruelty. Why bother coming to a vegetarian-specific page like this just to be a jerk? Oh, and maybe after you die of gout or a heart attack, you'll be reincarnated as a factory-farmed animal; perhaps a pig castrated without anesthesia at birth, or a dairy cow milked and milked painfully for years and finally slaughtered for meat. Go vegan!

That doesn't look very compassionate to me.

To paraphrase Mel Brooks: It's good to be the king....of the food chain.

Vegans seem to be quite angry. No problem, get a little protein in them, and they'll cheer right up.

Thank you, Janet and Robert fCK!

What "Vegans are compassionate" doesn't seem to realize is that this particular thread may be vegetarian-specific, but the blog as a whole is anything but!

Okay, I thought the "heaping bowl" was pretty funny. As a long-time vegetarian, I'm pretty used to the jokes and puns - no big deal. Some of them are rather amusing - e.g., "If we weren't supposed to eat animals, then why are they made of meat?" So yeah, we need to lighten up a little bit here. On a side note, though, most of us herbivores get plenty of protein. And it is true that I know quite a few omni/carnivores who have had heart attacks, but not a single vegetarian... :)

Thanks so much for steering this conversation back on track.

Nobody ever mentions Mr. Chan's in Pikesville, not only do they have great chinese food but they have 2 full pages in their menu dedicated to vegan dishes, and even have a few vegan desserts.

Also Zia's Cafe in Towson is Veg/Vegan friendly.

Oh, I get it. I forgot what "compassionate" means in Newspeak.

Housekeeping! Housekeeping!!

Some answers from Dr. Gravy: Survey sez ... One-year period prevalence for gout from the NHIS were 0.94% for adults. Alcohol abuse is associated with gout, as is eating purine-rich foods such as: brains, kidneys, liver, sardines, anchovies, dried beans and peas.

Sweet fancy Moses, I didn't see that one coming! My tofurkey makes me hurty! Beware of the "I'm rubber, you're glue" karmic-rebound when veg-smiting. Now let's dance Hannibal Lecture!

Actually, while many Indian dishes (curries come to mind) may not necessarily be vegan, they do not have meat in them. Properly made by a chef that knows what they're doing and how to extract flavour out of veggies, they're wonderful (which typically means they're from/influenced by Africa, Asia, or certain parts of South America). If that doesn't do it for you, Aida Bistro does a wonderful pomodoro sauce which appears to be meat-free. but plenty of basil and garlic.

There...I've been nice. Now I'm calling Petit Louis...sweetbreads and charcuterie is sounding pretty good!

Oh, OMG, you think you're so smart with all your "science"; however, I would say that your argument is lacking in other areas, such as ad hominem attacks and irrational sentimentality.

Now, I would love to discuss your lack of debating skills, but I'm on my way to go build a straw man.

All emotions are irrational, you cyborg. My argument is only that things are not so simple and I am fully aware that science can be twisted to prove almost anything. Thanks for making me look up ad hominem. Live long and prosper. (See how bad I am at debating? I started out with cyborg and ended with Vulcan. USA! USA! USA!)

Are Vulcans vegans?

I'm sure some Trekkie can answer that.

Oh no, foodies plus Trekkies!

I'm sure some Trekkie can answer that.

In English or Klingon. They (trekkies) tend to be bi-lingual.

I think it was a rare occurrence indeed that dietary restrictions and/or preferences were discussed in any of the myriad "Star Trek" canon, whether it be omni/carni/herbivore or vegan/vegitarian. No cyborgs, however, if you please; leave them to "Battlestar Galactica."

At any rate, I'm here to say that a good, balanced diet - learned from mother's menus that included plenty of red meat and more veggies than I can recall (everything, sadly, prepared with little or no seasoning) - has kept my cholesterol and bp on the low end for nigh these XX years. Nevertheless, I am compelled to type that there is still plenty of room on this planet for gastronomical choices of all kinds - so please, kids, let's not be judgmental.

Ahem...
"Vulcans are vegetarians, though they are known to consume seafood and were omnivores in ages past. In the Star Trek original series (TOS) episode "All Our Yesterdays," Spock willingly consumes meat; partly due to the effects of time-travel 5,000 years into the past, and partly because he reasons there is no other suitable food available given the harsh, ice-age climate in which they are trapped. Vulcans are repeatedly stated to be herbivorous in the (non-canon) TAS episode "The Slaver Weapon," by the carnivorous Kzinti."

Thank you Mr. Sean. Now stop playing with the pocket protector and fix the tape on your glasses. Oh, and my I borrow your slide rule? [ ;- ) ]