The Most Vegan-Friendly Restaurant In Every State, According To Yelp

There are 327.2 million people in America and of those, an estimated 1.62 million are vegan, meaning they don't eat meat (including fish and shellfish), dairy, eggs, gelatin, honey or figs because some might contain dead wasps. The plant-based diet avoids animal products completely and instead is primarily comprised of fruits, vegetables, nuts, grains, seeds and beans.

While this may sound boring to some, there are incredibly creative chefs out there who know how to turn the simplest ingredients into something really special, and Yelp has rounded up the very best vegan-friendly (if not completely vegan) restaurant in every state and Washington, D.C.

It's not always easy sticking to a plant-based diet in a country that loves its burgers, butter, steak and pepperoni pizza, but you won't miss the meat at these rockstar restaurants, all of which offer some seriously delicious vegan options.

The Sunflower Cafe has locations in Fairhope and Mobile, Alabama, both of which serve brunch and lunch. The healthy, vegan-friendly menu boasts classic plant-based options such as hummus and grilled pita, six different salads, baba ganoush and tabouli, plus a chipotle black bean burrito, Tofurkey avocado melt, Thai curry stir fry and a Jamaican jerk wrap with jerked tofu or tempeh, spring mix, tomatoes and smokey pineapple sauce in a grilled spinach wrap.

Vegetarians, pescatarians and meat-eaters can enjoy the menu, which features spinach artichoke pizza, crab cakes, a chicken salad sandwich and more. All sandwiches and wraps can be made with gluten-free or low-carb bread and you can substitute regular noodles for low-carb kelp noodles. Plant-based proteins including tofu, tempeh and tofurkey can be added to any salad. Sunflower Cafe only uses organic and, when available, locally sourced ingredients.

Tumerico Vegetarian Food in Tucson, Arizona, makes its food from scratch daily, so the menu is constantly changing. Some recent boards show jackfruit carnitas, mushrooms, poblano pepper, tortillas and cilantro sauce; crispy potato tacos; and tostadas with zucchini, mushrooms, huitlacoche and pesto. Many come with rice, beans, salad and pico de gallo with cashew crema. Everything on the menu is vegan, but you can add cheese to a dish if you'd like.

The Sun Vegan is a mom and pop restaurant that serves plant-based cuisine in Fountain Valley, California. The menu is 100% vegan, non-GMO and made without MSG. Better yet, almost every dish costs $10 or less.

Some fan favorites include the "Chick'un Burger" made with Gardein crispy chicken topped with vegan ranch, grilled onions, lettuce, tomato and pickles on a soft bun; spring rolls with soy protein, cabbage, cucumber, spinach, carrots and mint wrapped in thin rice paper and served with organic peanut sauce; and the "Claypot Ocean" featuring seaweed-wrapped soy protein and mushrooms cooked in dark sauce and black pepper, served with salad and multigrain rice.

Ninth Square Market Too Caribbean Style is a no-frills, cafeteria-style Caribbean restaurant that serves massive portions of all-vegan food on the cheap in New Haven, Connecticut. The smallest offering comes with three sides (including one protein), a medium plate comes with five sides (including one protein), and the large comes with seven sides (including three proteins) and clocks in at just $12.99.

For proteins, you can choose from curried soy curls, jerk tofu, BBQ drumsticks, brown stew chunks, veggie fish curry and ginger chik'n. Side options include curried chickpeas, ital dal stew, nine bean stew, steamed greens, green beans, mixed vegetables, stewed eggplant, sweet potato, curried potatoes, rice and peas, white rice, mac n' cheeze and yam, dumpling and green banana.

Vegan & Juice is a family-run vegan and vegetarian restaurant in Miami, Florida. Latin-inspired plant-based offerings include wraps, sandwiches and salads, plus soy, veggie, spinach, tofu, veggie Tofurky and salteña empanadas. There's also a hot bar that changes every day. Okra, eggplant lasagna, sweet plantains, pumpkin soup and spinach pie were recently served.

Those with a sweet tooth can choose from the extensive dessert list featuring raw key lime pie, vegan cheesecake, raw cinnamon rolls, pineapple cake, ice cream and more. Feeling under the weather? The health-forward menu boasts "power juices" like the "Detox" with lemon, apple, cucumber and cayenne; the "Fat Burner" with grapefruit, pineapple and apple; and the "Flu Blaster" with orange, lemon and ginger.

What It Dough hails itself as Honolulu, Hawaii's first artisan vegan pizza kitchen. Three to four times a week for the past two years, What It Dough has served plant-based wood-fired pies out of a tent near Kapi'olani Regional Park. The regular menu highlights 100% plant-based pizzas including Margherita, white, and pesto, each made with fresh, local, organic ingredients with house-made "cheese" and "meat."

There are also typically one or two specials; recent ones have included Potato Cauliflower Masala with vegan mozzarella, masala, garlic naan crust, coconut raita, cilantro and lime; Loaded Baked Potato with potato, cheddar, meatless maple bacon, vegan sour cream, green onion and chives; and spicy Buffalo Jackfruit with vegan mozzarella, jackfruit, celery and house-made ranch.

This restaurant is temporarily closed until Jan. 1, 2020.

Loving Heart in Chicago, Illinois, is a 100% vegan cafe that makes its own sauces, soups and more using mostly organic ingredients. The small but mighty counter-service cafe is best known for its Green Diva salad with spinach, romaine, avocado, red bell peppers, cilantro, seaweed, roasted peanuts, special green ginger pesto made with almonds and your choice of vegan Korean BBQ or seasoned garbanzo and black beans.

Other favorites at this eco-friendly eatery include a Curry Bowl made with house curry (sweet potato, carrots, onion, chickpeas and yellow curry), spinach, red bell pepper, romaine, brown rice and cilantro; the Eden Wrap with avocado, spinach, tomato, apple, pickles, roasted peanuts and a cashew-based house-made vegan cheese spread); and a blueberry banana smoothie with soy milk.

Rest assured, there's no dirt in the burgers at Dirt Burger. This quick-service vegan restaurant, located in Des Moines, Iowa, makes nutrient-dense plant-based burgers without sacrificing taste or burning a hole in your pocket. Everything here is certified organic or verifiably grown without chemicals.

A few fan-favorites include the Bombay Burger with a Mumbai curry-spiced patty, green chili "yogurt" and poppadom chips; the Volcano, with a spicy patty, hot pepper cheese, jalapeño broccoli slaw and red hot onion rings; and the Spartan with olive pepper relish, tzatziki, arugula, spinach, avocado and crispy onions. Don't miss the Dirt Balls, potato croquettes with quinoa and flax.

When Sue Zhao and her young daughter made the switch to veganism, they found that vegan cookies and cakes were hard to find. Zhao perfected plant-based dessert recipes in her own kitchen and in 2013 opened Half-Peach Bakery and Cafe in St. Matthews, Kentucky.

The menu at Half-Peach was inspired by Zhao's Chinese roots, but she's also created fun twists on southern classics. For example, there's a banh mi with mushrooms and soy protein along with pickled cabbage and carrots, cucumber, cilantro and vegan mayo on a house-made baguette; and "Nashville Hot Chickn" with a spicy breaded fried soy cutlet with pickles and spicy chipotle aioli on a sesame bun. For dessert, go for the chocolate chip cookies.

Green Elephant is a vegetarian bistro in Portland, Maine. Chef and owner Dan Sriprasert created the menu using locally sourced meat-free ingredients and flavors influenced by Malaysia, Japan, China, India and Thailand.

Even though this is technically a vegetarian restaurant, there are tons of vegan options like deep-fried veggie and mushroom-stuffed spring rolls, crispy wontons, dumplings, fried Brussels sprouts, veggie citrus "spare ribs," hot and sour noodle soup, pad Thai (just order it without egg) and curry.

Don't let the size of this humble restaurant deter you from trying some of the best plant-based food in the Bay State. Belmont Vegetarian Restaurant in Worcester, Massachusetts, serves vegan and vegetarian dishes inspired by Jamaican and American cuisines. Portion sizes are generous and the meatless meat tastes just like the real deal.

The menu at Belmont is super simple: Order a medium or large plate and fill it up with any (or all) rotating hot bar items like barbecue, "unsteak," curry, faux chicken, collard greens, veggie stew, steamed vegetables, tofu, black beans and rice.

Seed Cafe in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is all about good people, good food and good community. Nothing is deep-fried, everything is plant-based, all sauces are made in house and lots of items are naturally gluten-free.

Some favorite flavors from this colorful, comfy cafe include a chickpea frittata; kale caesar salad; a wrap with turmeric rice, Thai peanut sauce, Asian coleslaw, seared tofu steaks, carrots, ginger, garlic, cilantro and chopped peanuts; a "grilled cheese" with sourdough bread, plant-based cheese, spicy kimchi and fermented chili sauce; and a breakfast sandwich with crispy tofu, greens, avocado, oozy cheese aioli and sweet potatoes on focaccia.

Lulu's Local Eatery is a sustainable neighborhood cafe in St. Louis, Missouri. The quick-service restaurant, which started out as a food truck, recycles and composts 95% of its waste and offers a 100% plant-based menu using all-natural, local and organic ingredients as much as possible. If you ride your bike there, you'll get 15% off your meal. There's a craft beer, wine and cocktail ping pong bar upstairs, too.

Some popular menu items are the Buffalo Caesar wrap with house-made crispy cauliflower bites, shredded kale, Brussels sprouts, from-scratch Caesar dressing and chickpea croutons on a whole wheat tortilla; loaded nachos featuring tortilla chips topped with jackfruit carnitas, house-made butternut squash cheese sauce, salsa, sour cream, green onion, pickled jalapeño and cilantro; and latkes Benedict made with crispy potato pancakes, house-made breakfast sausage, tofu egg, avocado and hollandaise.

Modern Love serves "swanky vegan comfort food" in Omaha, Nebraska. Must-orders include a barbecue tofu bowl with tofu "ribs," black-eyed peas, jasmine rice, sauteed collard greens and crispy shallots; nachos with walnut chorizo, cashew cheddar, pico de gallo, guacamole, pickled red onions, house hot sauce and cilantro; and risotto with creamy butternut sauce, tempura broccolini, roasted butternut squash, caramelized onions, pepita "Parmesan" and radicchio.

For dessert, choose from pumpkin or chocolate cheesecake, cherry trifle, fig bread pudding, a soft serve sundae or a milkshake.

Susty's Cafe in Northwood, New Hampshire, has been serving delicious vegan food for more than a decade. Some popular items from the extensive menu include nachos (tortilla chips, black beans, fresh salsa and house-made cheesy sauce); a sandwich with marinated fried tofu, marinara sauce, pesto and soy parmesan on warm focaccia; and "tofu fries" battered in cornmeal and herbs, fried and served with ketchup.

Susty's also serves soy-based fritters, hummus, soup, salad, wraps, burgers and other vegan twists on classic dishes including seitan shepherd's pie, gluten-free mac and cheese of the day, enchiladas and burritos. You can even pick from a limited list of frozen entrees to go.

An Hy Quan Vegetarian Restaurant is a family-run restaurant in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The kitchen uses eggs and dairy in some of its offerings, but it does not serve meat, poultry or seafood in any capacity. Most dishes are vegan, but some are vegetarian. If you're unsure, just ask.

People rave about the cashew mock pork with rice, clay pot tofu with mushroom, crispy chow mein and a mung bean crepe with bean sprouts and mushrooms. The portion sizes here are quite generous, so you might be able to make two meals out of it.

Plant is an all-vegan, 90% organic and mostly gluten-free from-scratch eatery with open kitchen-side dining and a seasonal patio. There's a very strict policy on animal products: You can bring in your own bottle of wine (there's a $10 corkage fee), but it has to be vegan. You can't wear fur (you'll be asked to remove it from the building) and if you need to feed your child, you can only bring in plant-based food. There are no exceptions.

Innovative dishes at this romantic restaurant include "Something Nice & Grits" with wild mushrooms, vegan cream cheese, Georgia white grits, Calabrian chile, dried olive and watercress; an all-vegan cheese plate; and seitan chile con queso featuring a tamale, grilled romaine, cilantro mojo, pickled jalapeño and onion. Plant also serves ravioli, raw lasagna, curry, crispy potatoes and more.

Earth Bistro Cafe serves contemporary American cuisine with Cuban influences. The restaurant, located in Cleveland, Ohio, serves meat and plant-based food, but the entire menu can be made vegan upon request.

Favorites include the veggie grilled burrito, black bean veggie burger and fried tofu sandwich (with fried seasoned tofu, lettuce, tomato, onion, spring mix, alfalfa sprouts, avocado and jalapeño mayo served on a rosemary focaccia roll). If you're a fan of meatless meat, Earth Bistro offers the Impossible Burger and the Beyond Burger.

Supernova Vegan in Portland, Oregon, is a food truck with a completely vegan menu and many gluten-free options. The business, which opened in 2017, celebrates a plant-based diet without heavily depending on soy products or meat substitutions.

Menu standouts include the mac and cheese (rich and creamy "cheese" sauce over regular or gluten-free pasta tossed with steamed broccoli and topped with BBQ glazed tempeh and nutritional yeast), fish tacos and a sandwich with crispy tempeh, citrus slaw, warm BBQ sauce and melted Chao cheese on a ciabatta bun.

Garden Grille is a vegan and vegetarian restaurant in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, perhaps best known for a giant tree growing through the bar. (Some say it reminds them of James Cameron's "Avatar").

Innovative eats from the extensive menu include cauliflower risotto cakes with frisee and garlic-red pepper aioli; roasted butternut squash quesadilla with black beans, jalapeño jack cheese and avocado in a whole wheat tortilla with salsa; carrot and egg biryani with basmati rice, hazelnuts, dried fruit and pickled carrots and grilled eggplant parmesan with almond "ricotta," warm sorghum and broccoli pesto.

Devine Delights is an all-vegan ice cream parlor and deli in Rapid City, South Dakota. Everything on the menu is geared toward comfort. Offerings include brownies, chocolate chip cookies, cinnamon rolls, caramel rolls, cake and pie. Protein options for sandwiches include meatless sliced turkey, shredded chicken, bologna and a beef-like burger, and if you're in the mood for greens, there's a garden salad and a kale salad. For dessert, check out different flavored ice cream scoops or go big with a brownie sundae.

Li'l Nonna's is "all vegan all the time." The pizza trailer, located in Austin, Texas, has a simple menu with just one appetizer — crispy Sicilian Brussels sprouts with balsamic, shallots, garlic, capers, crushed red pepper and golden raisins — and one option by the slice: Sicilian.

For pizza by the pie, choose from a 12-inch gluten-free or 14-inch New York-style classics like cheese and Margherita. Specialty pies are made with organic tomato sauce, housemade vegan mozzarella and toppings including "beeteroni" (pepperoni made from beets), pineapple, pickled jalapeños, roasted garlic, baby spinach, marinated artichokes, lemon and balsamic glaze, mushrooms, Italian seitan sausage and smoky tempeh.

Revolution Kitchen opened in 2013 and claims to be the first restaurant in Burlington, Vermont to serve an all-vegetarian menu. Here, you'll find dishes crafted with fresh, local and organic ingredients inspired by Asian flavors. Revolution Kitchen is vegan-friendly with gluten-free options.

Dinner highlights include seitan piccata with crispy seitan cutlets, sauteed spinach and garlic mashed potatoes in a lemon white wine caper sauce; stir-fry with Japanese eggplant, cauliflower, red peppers, carrots and tofu in a spicy curry ginger sauce served with jasmine brown rice; and tacos with grilled sweet potato, oyster mushrooms, sauteed kale, guacamole and salsa fresca with Cuban black beans and rice.

Harvest Beat is 100% organic, serving seasonal vegan and vegetarian fare. The Seattle-based restaurant only offers a pre-fixe menu that "respects food of the moment" and eliminates "the need to stock, and most likely waste, food that may not be ordered." Each offering is paired with an alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink.

If you visit, your meal may start with roasted pumpkin bisque with cilantro chimichurri, a fall salad with smoked maple carrots, roasted Ambrosia apples, cauliflower, golden raisins and baby bok choy with thyme ginger dressing and spiced pumpkin seeds. Then might come romanesco cashew cheese souffle followed by lemongrass scented baby gold potatoes, saged cider-poached fennel and more. A sample dessert is a flourless butter cookie with chocolate, huckleberry mousse and huckleberry sauce.

Ben and Sondra Kelley went vegan the day before Thanksgiving in 2016 after watching a documentary called "Forks Over Knives," and two years later they opened Kelley Farm Kitchen. The business started as a farmers market vendor selling homemade spaghetti sauce, pickles, salsas, jams and baked goods before blossoming into a brick-and-mortar eatery in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.

The 100% plant-based cafe uses products like Impossible Meat, Beyond Meat, Just Egg, Yves and WayFare to make gourmet burgers, ramen, nachos, Buffalo cauliflower dip (a hot take on Buffalo chicken dip) and eggs Benedict with two English muffin halves topped with a faux-egg patty, meatless Canadian bacon, tomato, sliced avocado, housemade hollandaise sauce and fresh locally-grown sprouts.

Sweet Melissa's has been "serving comfort food to the homesick vegetarian" in Laramie, Wyoming since 1999. According to the company, it's the only restaurant in Wyoming that can guarantee a 100% vegetarian menu. Sweet Melissa's offers a wide variety of vegan-friendly and gluten-sensitive options as well.

The menu is pleasantly lengthy with vegan items such as cashew queso, sweet potato black bean fritters, cauliflower wings in Buffalo or barbecue sauce, roasted winter squash salad (ask for this without goat cheese and, if you don't eat honey, get a different dressing), the Impossible Burger, falafel pita and much, much more. Now that you know where to find the best plant-based eats, make sure to add these vegan-friendly resorts to your bucket list.

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