Restaurant industry picks the best in Vancouver

no vegetarian category?

Is there any meat only restaurants? Hunting and Gathering is so much easier nowadays with corn-based animal products.

Veggie option would be delightful... although i think the bigger prob is a lack of veggie restaurants. (it seems like only the same couple of restaurants gets awarded under veggie restaurants most the time)
Finding a *good* vegetarian dish, served in a omnivore restaurant is hard enough.

Do we have any restaurants that allow you to slaughter your own animal?

where can i take the wife for bulls balls i here its quite the new thing.

The Golden Plates readers' choice awards has categories for best vegetarian, most vegan-friendly, and best veggie burger:
http://www.straight.com/goldenplates/grouping/2010/all

@Charlie (the Straight's editor everyone)
- Ok, apparently your readers do think enough to eat vegetarian now and again, but when will the city's chef's and restraunters catch up? Haven't they heard of meals without meat?

At least the reader's choice selections came up with some vegetarian faves! Rahda & Bo Kong are wonderful! And now I've got a new place to check out - this Foundation place. Although no thanks to Vancouver's "restaurant industry insiders".

If the chefs of the city don't even have a single vegetarian place on their list of favorites, I don't think it is very likely we will be seeing any fresh, new veggie spots opening up anytime soon. I guess we're stuck eating at Naam (I mean really - it's getting kinda stale don't you think?), until our city's culinary power brokers decide to take some risks and open some new vegetarian places.

Whose going to take the leap? If you build it, we will come! (and I'm not even strictly vegetarian)

- Pauline, Kitsilano

Regarding the vegetarian options out there - there are plenty of restaurants that have veggie options on their menus, so just because they aren't specifically a vegetarian/vegan restaurant, doesn't mean they don't have plenty of great 'veggie' or non-meat options.

The category here is 'best restaurant' so perhaps the vegetarian restaurants out there just don't measure up when their competition offers something for everyone. (Most "vegetarians" I know actually include seafood in their diet anyway)

Besides, as Charlie posted, there is a category for best vegetarian restaurants as well - but unless someone is a vegetarian, when asked to think of the BEST restaurant, most people wouldn't think of a vegetarian place as the best, strictly because they are limited in what they are offering - whereas most restaurants that serve meat on their menus also have seafood and veggie options. More and more places are now catering to vegans as well - you just need to ask the chef.

My guess is that there isn't a whole lot of money to be made if you exclude meat and/or seafood from your menu, so that's why there aren't many options available. That would be like opening a restaurant and not being licensed to serve alcohol. You might get a small percentage of the population coming to your restaurant, but people who drink alcohol usually spend a lot more eating out - so for your restaurant to survive, you need to be licensed. Just my two cents.

I think these polls are always the most accurate when coming from industry insiders. They really know the people who work in the establishments and how food is really prepared, not to mention staff morale. There things all translate whether consciously or subliminally to the guest's dining experience. There's a new place that will be one to watch for 2011 called the Helm. Apparently their chef from Toronto is one to watch.