Best vegetarian restaurant

In a town that, for all its progressive leanings, still barely accommodates vegetarians, Grasshopper leaps to the rescue. And its clientele is eternally grateful. While the Allston café isn't much to look at, and while the seitan- and tofu-laden menu may -- in a strange turning of the tables -- cause your carnivorous friends to turn green (physically, not politically), you, noble friend to fauna, will be as happy as a vegi-clam. Actually, there are plenty of dishes everyone can share; the sesame soba noodles are satisfyingly rich, and a whole slew of sautéed leafy greens naturally appeal both to the senses and the sensibilities.

With its second birthday at hand, Veggie Planet -- owned and operated by veggie heroine Didi Emmons -- has settled comfortably into the Harvard Square space it shares with folk venue Club Passim. While the well-meaning menu has experienced a growing pain or two, it has emerged with its most delightfully inventive dishes intact. Caesar salad, burrito filling, and peanut-curried rice all become toppings for an organic pizza crust; the dough is made for Emmons by a homeless-services provider. And for details on the superb "Dinner for Henry" pizza, you need only, as the menu puts it, "ask your waitron."

Grasshopper, 1 North Beacon Street, Allston, (617) 254-8883. Veggie Planet, 47 Palmer Street, Cambridge, (617) 661-1513.