Restaurant Reviews: We have many new reviews to be added soon.   California Pizza Kitchen California Pizza Kitchen is a high end gourmet pizza restaurant that has several vegetarian and vegan options. You can order the Tuscan Hummus appetizer which is vegan. The vegan entrees consist of the Split Pea and Barley soup or the Vegetarian Pizza with Japanese eggplant without cheese. The Vegetarian pizza has mushrooms, grilled corn and eggplant on a tomato marinara base. I will typically order the hummus and the vegetarian pizza but I will add black olives and any other vegetable that they have in the kitchen. Be aware that you can order the honey wheat crust but I avoid it due to the honey. While the value for the dollar is not as great as you might find at other restaurants, the meal mentioned above will typically run around $20 if you order a soda or beer. At best, this meal will feed two but usually I can eat it all by myself. There are two locations in the Birmingham area. The original location is within the Summit off of highway 280. The newest location can be found on the ring road of the Galleria. I find the Galleria location to be a little more stylish than the Summit location but the food quality is quite similar. I recommend CPK if you are at either of these malls as the typical fare that you find in the malls is of poor quality and very unhealthy.   Cocina Superior Cocina Superior is a new wave Tex-Mex restaurant in the Colonial Brookwood Village. The interior is very sleek and modern as is the menu. There are several dishes that are vegetarian or could be made vegetarian by removing the meat. I highly recommend the Baja Veggie Wrap which consists of grilled vegetables such as squash, corn, peppers and smoked mushrooms all wrapped in a sun-dried tomato tortilla. It comes with a side of Spanish rice but I substitute a small baby green salad instead since I cannot tell if there is stock in the rice. The staff is very attentive and the food portions are huge. If you find yourself downtown or in the Homewood area, this is a great place to stop for Tex-Mex with a twist. Seriously, how many pomegranate dishes have you seen at a Mexican restaurant recently. Keep in mind that since Cocina Superior is on the ring road for Brookwood Village, you will need to park in the mall's parking deck and then walk to the revolving door to enter. There is only one word that can describe Cocina Superior, sabrosa!   Cosmos Pizza Every time I think of Cosmos, I think of chrome, glass, neon and pizza. I love that fact that Cosmos is so well placed in 5 Points South. It really enhances a good meal to peer out of the big windows at 5 Points South in motion. Cosmos has several vegetarian and vegan options. You can order pesto (contains dairy), yellow pepper (contains dairy) or marinara sauce on a wheat or white crust. I tend to order 'Stix and Sauce' and a 'Heart Of Palm' salad or I have a Vegetarian pizza without cheese on a whole wheat crust. The service is very friendly and responsive. The beer selection is good as well. The atmosphere is quite good and is even better now that no smoking is allowed inside. I highly recommend Cosmos for its vegetarian options and their concern for getting the order right when it comes to food allergies.   Dave's Pizza Dave's Pizza may very well have the best pizza in Birmingham. Like Cosmos, Dave's Pizza let's you pick your sauce and crust; the significant difference to me is that Dave's pesto does not contain dairy. This being the case as a vegan, I order a Vegetarian pizza with no cheese on pesto. This is truly a fantastic pizza. The atmosphere is not as entertaining as Cosmos for example, but considering that Dave's is near the old 'Curve' in Homewood, there's not too much to really see. The service has always been good for me as I've never had any order malfunctions. I highly recommend Dave's Pizza for the quality of their pizzas. They definitely put effort into their dining experience.   Mellow Mushroom The Mellow Mushroom is a 60's retro style pizza restaurant covered in psychedelic art awash with day glow colors. Originally from the Atlanta, Georgia area, this restaurant was the cause of many trips to Atlanta. There are currently two locations in the Birmingham area. As with most pizza joints, you can order a litany of vegetarian options from pizzas to calzones and hoggies. What sets Mellow Mushroom apart from the other local pizza restaurants is that they have two vegan hoggies, the marinated Tempeh and Tofu. Each comes smothered in grilled onions, peppers and mushrooms. You can order half hoggies or full size. Personally, I found that the half size was overflowing with ingredients so much so that it was hard to keep the sandwich together. For five dollars, this is an incredible value. I must also mention that the newest addition of hummus to the menu was a very pleasant surprise. All in all, I really enjoy the atmosphere, service and most importantly, the food. If you are in the 280 area near Shelby county or on Southside, I highly recommend that you stop in for a bite. You won't regret it.   Naji's Pita Gourmet Restaurant Naji's is a great little mediterranean cafe, located off of West Valley, that makes a pretty mean falafel. Some find that the falafel balls are a bit too spicy but enough hummus can drown that out if its a problem. I usually get the Falafel sandwich to go as the restaurant isn't the greatest when considering decor and location. One thing to keep in mind though, is that you may need to verify that chicken fingers or something similar have not been cooked in the oil used to fry your balls. If this happens, you are in for a rough night.   PF Chang's China Bistro As part of a large restaurant chain, PF Changs has many pluses which include several vegetable and tofu options and a great bar but there are two down sides. First off, the necessity to have a reservation during evening hours can be problematic. The second issue is the noise level. I suspect that the overhead drums are amplifying the background noise. With that out of the way, I can say that the service is consistantly good as are the meals. I truly enjoy being able to substitute the 5 Spice Firm tofu for the Silken tofu. My friends and I tend to go off menu at times and order something like Kung Pao Tofu (which they call 'Zipper Style tofu'). This is a great dish but when I'm not eating this, I will have the Coconut Curry Vegetable substitute firm Tofu for the silken. These meals are consistantly tasty and well priced and if you get a little rice to go when you leave, you should have one more meal when you get home.   Silvercoin Indian Grill I like to consider myself somewhat of an Indian cuisine aficionado considering that I cook it and I try a different Indian restaurant everytime that I travel. With this in mind, I must say that the Silvercoin Indian Grille is definitely on par with Golden India from Birmingham back in the '90s. While Silvercoin is not the best Indian that I've ever had (that was at Akash India in Cincinnati), it is the best Indian cuisine in Birmingham hands down. Taj India is a distant second. The menu is well laid out and they have many Vegetarian and Vegan options. I love to get the extra spicy Chana Masala or Aloo Gobhi with several Samosas. Don't let that fact that Silvercoin is located in a strip mall concern you. The quality of the food is amazing and the staff are so attentive that you will be glad that you gave it a try.   Stix Stix is located in the perimeter of the Riverchase Galleria. It can be difficult to get a parking place at times but you can park at the mall and walk over if necessary. I was surprised that I could find a Vegan dish on their menu but Stix does have a tofu in brown sauce with steamed vegetables and rice dish. While the tofu is silken, this is a flavorful meal. You can also sit down for the traditional teppanyaki style vegetarian meal, if you can stand to have your vegetables diced and handled with the same instruments used for meat while you watch; however, I suppose if a group of vegetarians got a teppanyaki table by themselves it would be much better. Another backup option is veggie sushi such as Cucumber rolls. All in all, its nice to have a Vegan option at the Galleria if you are in the Hoover area.   Thai Emerald Thai Emerald is located in the Greystone area of Highway 280. The atmosphere is a little higher end than some restaurants which may explain the prices. They tend to run about twice as much as PF Changs for example. I found the wait staff to be quite pleasant while I waited for the only Vegan dish that they have which is silken tofu triangles smothered in a peanut limegrass sauce. It really is good but the portions are a little small. The commute to this restaurant can be problematic considering its location but if you find yourself in the area, its an option.