The Resy Guide to Vegetable-Forward Dining in Nashville

It’s all vegan, all the time at Avo, the plant-based, kosher-certified restaurant operating out of a midtown shipping container. Those desiring protein-packed burgers can order a lentil-walnut burger topped with beet ketchup and chickpea mayo; snackier options include nachos topped with walnut chorizo, cauliflower, and coconut queso. There are also plenty of cocktails, spirits, beer, and wine, to go along.

The menu at Lou, chef Mailea Weger’s fashionable East Nashville restaurant, is no slouch in the vegetable department. Weger manages to combine flavor and texture in each of her vegetable dishes to create something that even the most carnivorous diner will love. That means umami bombs like a tamari-roasted mushroom and fried-egg sandwich on sourdough at brunch; and roasted brussels sprouts with mole vinaigrette, warm honey, and walnut dukkah at dinner.

Most anything can be made vegetarian at this trendy Asian spot, from pad Thai to drunken noodles. Three locations — Bellevue, the Gulch, and Thompson Lane — serve Thai curries with the option of tofu, edamame, vegetarian spring rolls, and more.

Is there a lot of really good ham on the menu at Husk? Yes, there is. But does Husk also have one of the best vegetable plates in town? Resoundingly, yes. Each night, the kitchen comes up with five separate components using what’s in season, like house-milled grits with tomato and cherry pepper puree, and grilled radishes and carrots with caraway and celery slaw. And unlike most Southern restaurants serving vegetables, they make sure not to hide meat in these dishes, keeping them vegetarian all the way.

Yes, City House is known for its pizzas, which come perfectly charred in their wood-fired oven. Many of those pies are easily vegetarian, including a spectacular combination of kale, turnip, cheesy mayo, Parmesan, lemon, garlic, and chilies. But it’s the non-pizza plates that really demonstrate the true potential of a vegetable, even in winter. A combination of red dragon cabbage with pink celery, blue cheese, walnuts, red onion, and sorghum dressing is an excellent start, to be followed with fusilli and cauliflower ragu. Follow it up with a fruity Italian red, and it’s game on for meatless Monday (or any day of the week).

The menu leans heavily on vegetables at chef John Stephenson’s Sylvan Park restaurant, where just a handful of dishes are meat-focused. Lentil and ricotta croquettes with smoked mustard, carrots glazed with sunchoke hoisin and green tomato relish, and gnocchi with mushroom ragu demonstrate Stephenson’s ability to layer flavors in remarkable ways.

A diner could eat their way through the majority of the menu at this East Nashville gem without even realizing they’d skipped the meat. The flavors skew Middle Eastern and Mediterranean, including an entirely meatless mezze spread – think mushroom bourekas, and turnip noodles – and a swath of entrees like a cauliflower “steak” n’ potatoes, with date and tamarind steak sauce, potato puree, and herb salad. Carnivorous dining companions can satiate their cravings by adding proteins like chorizo and shawarma chicken to almost anything.