The Resy Guide to Vegetable-Forward Eating in Chicago

Comfort staples like sloppy joes and biscuits and gravy — through a mostly veg lens — is what to expect at this staple biker bar. (It is still winter, after all.) The huevos diablos — fried eggs, jack cheese, hand-pressed corn tostadas, chipotle sauce, black beans, and brown rice — is a never-fail hangover cure, best washed down with the vegan Bloody Hammer, comprising Tito’s and house Bloody Mary mix, and topped with a fried pickle, natch. Due to its small size, the bar isn’t taking walk-in orders; call ahead or order online.

Dining status: Pick-up and delivery are available.

This Midwestern pasta restaurant benefits from the peakest of produce, since chef and owner Joe Frillman’s brother Tim supplies it with vegetables from his nearby farm, Frillman Farms. That means local braised kale tops the oozing mushroom melt; raw Frillman butternut squash gets shredded and tossed with brown butter and pecans; and sweet potato gnocchi with burnt cabbage and pickled cherries contains ingredients mostly from 30 miles away. Heads up: Daisies’ onsite retail market peddles fresh produce, pasta by the pound, beverages and all manner of handpicked sundries.

Dining status: Curbside pickup and delivery are available.

This vegetarian snack shop serves up iconic street food dishes like bhel puri, puffy rice mixed with potatoes and onions, served with chutney; textural, savory idli and kachori chaats; and rotating thali platters. You’ll also find some harder-to-find snacks like khaman dhokla (savory steamed chickpea cake) and fafda (fried snack made with besam).

Dining status: Pickup and delivery are available.

Recreate the joy of communal dining out at home with a meatless Ethiopian feast, served with tangy injera, from this Edgewater institution. Ras Dashen’s hearty, slow-stewed veg entrees such as spicy pureed chickpeas with lentils and flaxseed, and pumpkin berbere stew, stand up beautifully in transit. Use your tangy injera raft to scoop said fillings ’til your fingers are stained crimson from warming berbere sauce. In addition to numerous meatless entrees, you can build your own five-item sampler platter from the all-veg sides. (We love the chilled lentils with bell pepper.)

Dining status: Order delivery here or call 773-234-9954.

This casual, family-owned spot is one of the oldest Black-owned vegan restaurants in the country — serving up meatless comfort dishes to the city’s South Side for more than 30 years. The “BBQ Twist” sandwich is about as close as it gets to real barbecue pulled pork (without pork). Meanwhile, the crispy battered cauliflower tastes uncannily like … chicken.

Dining status: Call 773-224-0104 to order takeout.

A longtime favorite for plant-food lovers, Lula Cafe all but pioneered farm-to-table cooking in Chicago when it opened more than 20 years ago. Chef Jason Hammel is still churning out inventive and familiar dishes alike for carryout. Our best Saturdays usually begin with the satisfying breakfast burrito, or a tofu-veg scramble slicked with ginger-miso. With January’s chill in full swing, warming sweet-potato French curry soup is the perfect lunchtime salve.

Dining status: Pre-order online for carryout.

It’s hard not to feel instantly cheered just by looking at the vibrant dishes from the Gundis, which offers restorative Kurdish fare from the Turkish-Syrian border for takeout and delivery, including multiple veg-friendly options. The sampler platter is a colorful, textural delight of crimson ezme and parsley-flecked baba ganoush with puffy flatbread. Salads boast a rainbow of vegetables and dried fruit, while silky, goat cheese-stuffed baklava crepes make weekend brunch extra special (breakfast menu available 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekends).

Dining status: Contactless pickup and delivery are available; also Middle Eastern pantry essentials.

This Ravenswood storefront remakes traditional Thai and Asian dishes with plant-based proteins with satisfying results. Think spicy soy-chicken larb with lime, red onion, carrots and rice powder; spicy lentil loaf with brown rice, noodles of every shape tossed with fresh vegetables, and a veritable spectrum of soothing veg curries.

Dining status: Contactless pickup and delivery are available.

Opting for plant-based doesn’t get much easier than at this airy cafe inspired by Indian street food, where every starter, traditional and Indian-fusion entree comes with a vegetable or paneer option. We love the toothy samosa chaat with marinated chickpeas, crisp sev and tamarind, and mint chutney. There are fun mashups, too, like paneer tikka pizzas and vada pav (spicy potato sliders).

Dining status: Contactless pickup and delivery are available.

You might not think of a modern Korean barbecue as a solid vegetarian option, but chef Andrew Lim has a gift for plant cookery. Take the humble sauteed brussels sprouts, wrapped in a brown butter and Parmesan umami hug. Or the roasted broccoli laced with Calabrian chiles and garlic butter. Supplement with crispy scallion pancakes and savory glass noodles with mushrooms and you’ve got a soul-satisfying meal.

Dining status: Carryout is available; also heated patio seating.

You can’t write a list of essential vegetarian cooking without including this South Indian Devon St. staple. You also can’t go wrong with any order on the all-veg menu, so long as it begins with the famous dosai — cone- or burrito-shaped crepes stuffed with savory goodies. We also love the grilled uthappam pancakes, lush vegetable korma and tandoor-roasted eggplant curry.

Dining status: Takeout and delivery are available.