Hanging out in Berkley for a conference on online journalism, I have already found this town to be extremely vegetarian friendly. Started with a great dinner at Herbivore - The Earthly Grill for some obvious reasons.
They have an all vegan menu with tons of fruit juices and smoothies and an extensive list of entrees and sandwiches that rivals any omnivorous restaurants, but way better because I can eat everything on the menu. This makes it hard to decide, since most places the vegetarian options consist of a small handful of choices and sometimes just a veggie burger that they thawed out just for me.
I got the taco appetizer which was great, then the potato-soy pie with mushroom gravy which was one of the best things I've eaten in a long, long time.
Also had the carrot-apple-ginger juice because fellow JRCer and award-winning blogger Kelly Metz had it and I couldn't resist.

Pretty amazing restaurant. Super-friendly staff. Cool looking building.
Now if only the vegan cinnamon bun place was open on Mondays....

The season for cookouts and other outdoor gatherings is upon us.

For many vegetarians, it means having to explain repeatedly why we don’t want that veggie burger cooked on the grill with the beef and that popping it in the microwave will be just fine, thank you.

It also means it is time for the abundance of side dishes and salads that often make those cookouts even more enjoyable than whatever does or doesn’t come from the grill.

This is one of those standards that every party should have because it is so simple and yet a light, healthy alternative to the heavier, mayo-based salads.

Start by dicing the veggies and setting them aside.

Clean the seeds and stuff out from the middle of the tomato before you dice it. All of that just makes the salad too watery.

Rinse and drain all of the beans well making sure to get as much excess water out of the mix from there as well.

Mix the beans and diced veggies in a large bowl.

In a separate bowl, mix the vinegar, oil, sugar and spices and whisk together to fully incorporate them.

Pour this mixture into the large bowl and stir well, but gently to make sure the dressing gets on all of the salad.

Cover and put in the fridge for a few hours to allow all of the flavors to mingle properly.

Toss again before serving.

Ingredients:
2 cans garbanzo beans (15 oz.)

1 can black beans (15 oz.)

1 can kidney beans (15 oz.)

1 tomato, diced

1 red onion, diced

3 stalks of celery, diced

1 tsp. basil

1 tsp. garlic powder

2 tsps. salt

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup sugar

1/3 cup olive oil

Peta posted this recipe for raw wraps with corn and avocado that I will have to try pretty soon.

I'm not big on the raw food movement, i understand how it's good for you and the benefits, blah blah blah. But raw food can taste good too, and I'm all about good food.