Post Punk Kitchen Forum

I'm heading to Waterloo today and wondered if anyone knew of a good veg or veg friendly restaurant there.

zen garden is pretty yummy and mostly vegan (clearly marked) asian food. i still have cravings for that place...

zen garden closed down about 2 years ago.
in waterloo: go to lotus tea house on regina street! it's yummy. there's also raintree cafe on regina which is omni but has some vegan food, they make the best chickpea curry i've ever had.
seven shores on regina is good, it's like a cafe-market type place.

there's a place in kitchener i want to check out, called cafe pyrus on charles across from the bus station. it's really cute in there but i've never tried the food but it's all veg*n.

ah, fork it. go to lotus tea house! it's got awesome asian food, and all vegan. it's a really nice atmosphere, they even have a meditation room upstairs. they make amazing dumplings and marinated cabbage and curry triangllllles omgomg

dude really? i just assumed, since the one in london is still open and doing well (last time i was there). lotus tea house sounds yummy though!

I found out there is a zen Gardens in Cambridge though, which isn't too far. I went to the one in mississauga last week, love them! I really wanted to try the Lotus Tea House but they are closed on Sundays. I'll be heading up that way again so I'll get a chance to try it out some day, and the others. I'm sold on that chickpea curry, so Rainbow is on my list!
We ended up going to a Viet/thai restaurant in Waterloo (can't remember the name), and it was excellent. Had a giant mango salad with a simple sautee of veggies with steamed rice. They served tofu & gluten with all their veg meals.

damn it! if you remember the name let me know! was it uptown, right on king street? there is a thai place there that i've been meaning to check out....

I found it with google. It's Ben Thanh Viet Thai Restaurant, 36 Northfield Dr E Suite 1. It's in a small plaza just off of king street, so I don't know it it's the one you were thinking of.

ohhh yeah i've seen that place. it's not the one i was thinking of, but i want to check it out!
thanks. :)

oh yeah, ben thanh's not bad at all! tasty place.

if you ever head out to guelph, there's a few great options too!

i usually go to cornerstone. their cowboy cookies are amazing. also, bollywood bistro! that place is forkin awesome!

yes, cowboy cookies are the best!! i just moved to toronto from guelph and every time i head back to visit my bf i get a bag of them. i'm glad someone else appreciates their awesomeness.
diana downtown is also amazing, salsateria for baangin burritos, WOW (raw), and carden st cafe... mmmm.

Is cornerstone the one downtown that's a coop? I think I was there a few months ago. Had breakfast, it was very yummy! I really liked guelph too, very cute town.

i live in guelph!
there are some great vegan options, but it's still pretty limited. (whenever my partner and i go out, it's like we're kind of cycling through three or four options).
don't forget zen gardens!

you live in guelph?! you are so close to me!
i've heard bad things about zen gardens. that it's overpriced food that isn't made from scratch or something..but there was once a store here called Green Door Vegan Variety and in their freezer section they carried all the foods that zen gardens served, all the fake seafood (those wraps with seaweed leaves, rice and mushrooms/soy bits; the fake oyster seaweed wraps or w/e the fork they were), etc. and the dumplings! oh my god, those dumplings! fork man i gotta get to zen gardens. i'll be in guelph soon.

question - are you familiar with the bookshelf cafe (if that's what it's called)? do they have any vegan food?

mmm the cafe/restaurant part is called artisanale now, and it's great! the vegan options are pretty limited, but the chef is great and everything is SO fresh. the fries and falafel burger-y thing (minus the mayo or whatever they have) are tasty and a half. i don't know if it was just a special, but i had pizza there once that was the best!
my bf and i used to go really often but always ended up getting the same thing, but i don't think there are many other options.
god, i'm hungry. and going to be in guelph this weekend enjoying it's food.

i finally made it out to ben thanh...holy shiitake, it was amazing.
i got a cup of hot ginger tea which was really strong and spicy and perfect, and a plate of udon noodles with stirfried veggies, tofu and gluten.

so. delicious. and they had a full two pages of veg*n options :D

Ben Thanh is the forking best! We have 2 here in London and the portions are gigantic, the food is good. The pad thai has delicious chunks of gluten in it. Yummm.

I had that ginger tea too. The best!

my friend is coming to visit me from ajax; i'm hoping to take her to ben thanh! there are too many restaurant options here. :(

I love that I search for my city in post history, and Cafe Pyrus is mentioned! Love that place, on my way there in a wee while. So good, best environment and sweet staff. Oh, and uh - the food rules. Can't forget that part.

my partner and i are going to check out ben thanh tomorrow; any particular recommendations on what to order?
i had a look at their menu, and i'm thinking the thai red curry with tofu, gluten, bamboo shoots, and eggplant with vermicelli sounds good (vermicelli are just rice noodles, right?).
are the fruit shakes vegan? i'd like to try a durian shake..

nevermind, we ended up going tonight, and i had what i said above (no durian shake, though; the menu says they're made with condensed milk, but since they're made to order, tell them if you don't consume dairy, and they will accommodate, so next time!).
oh my forking god, you guys, it was so so so good. and ridiculously cheap (even with my partner ordering a glass of wine, the total was only $25 for two entrees and the wine). the portions were huge; the vermicelli bowl was loaded with tofu, bamboo shoots, some of the best gluten, and definitely the best eggplant, i've ever had, and lots of noodles, topped with crushed peanuts and a super flavorful, spicy sauce.
i can't wait to go back.

Mmm...you've convinced me to have Ben Thanh's red curry tonight for dinner. Hell yes. Their fresh rolls are so good too. You guys are all sooo close to me, everyone should come to London so we can have a meeting at Veg Out! http://vegoutrestaurant.com/index1.htm

Oh yeah, Veg Out is fantastic! We had lunch there last summer when we were in London for the day!

Biorobotics, have you ever tasted Durian?

i have now (went to ben thanh again and got a durian fruit shake with my meal).
it was.. strange, like:
*sip* yum.
*sip* .... but kind of gross.
... but i want more. *sip*
*sip* yeah, gross.
*sip* *sip*
but i like it.

i couldn't drink it all at once, that would have been too overwheming, but it was quite good sipped slowly between bites of delicious spicy curry.

also, my partner and i are going to lotus tea house next saturday for a double date lunch. recommendations?

veg out looks great! how far is london from guelph?