"Pass the Vegi-Squid, Please."

There is a lot of information out there about the environmental impacts of eating meat, including carbon and methane emissions, air and water pollution, and deforestation (depending on the source). After learning all this and reading a really frightening brochure on animal slaughter, I converted to vegetarianism for several years.

During that time I discovered several restaurants in the Boston area that offer more than just salads and sides to vegheads like me. The Boston Vegetarian Society has a great list, and even sponsors a vegetarian Food Fest every fall. Here are a few of my favorite veggie restaurants:

- Veggie Planet is an iconic vegetarian restaurant, and a staple for those of us north of the Charles. Their inventive dishes, like Vegan Peanut Curry and Open Face Grilled Cheese, are offered on either organic pizza dough or rice. They also have salads with tofu croutons, incredible organic Mac and Cheese, soups, and desserts. Veggie Planet also donates a portion of its profits to Food For Free, a non-profit helping to feed the hungry in Cambridge.

- Grasshopper in Allston raises the bar, with all-vegan cuisine. They do fake meat like you wouldn’t believe, but also noodles, soups, spring rolls, and of course, veggies. The last few times I went there I found that everything just tasted like the sauce, but it’s still a fascinating safari into the world of fake meat (and yes, they have vegi-squid).

- All-Vegan Buddha’s Delight in Chinatown also specializes in faux meats galore. I once ordered a seafood platter there, and they made a really impressive looking lobster tail out of goodness knows what . . . again, not the most flavorful meal I’ve had, but it's fun for vegans to have a whole menu to choose from once in a while.