San Francisco for a cheap vegetarian

I'm going to San Francisco for the first time over New Years this year. Does anyone have any recommendations for affordable vegetarian eats out there? I know San Fran is expensive and has some really nice restaurants but there have to be some hole-in-the-wall places that will rock my socks off too, right?

Do you like Indian? Then check out:

http://www.vikschaatcorner.com/

I didn't have my camera the last time I was there, but the food is phenomenal. Fresh and lively spices, not greasy at all as most typical Indian restaurants are, and quality ingredients as dictated by northen California clientele.

Samosas were not greasy with light crispy pastry and fluffy but chunky (not mushy) potato filling. The yogurt/raita sauce was perfect accompaniment.

We didn't order the Cholle Bhature, but saw several coming out of the kitchen. Big puffy things of beauty.

Dosa is a must have if you are there on the weekends. We saw a family of 3, mother and 2 blond boys about 7 and 9, each ordered their own crepe. One kid savored the crepe only, little piece at a time, working around the filling. While the other kid carefully peeled open his dosa to get to the filling, and scooped out the filling only. We left before seeing if they traded filling for crepe, but it was such a joy to watch them savor their individual dosa.

We had other non-veg entrees were outstanding.

VIK'S CHAAT CORNER
2390 4TH ST.
BERKELEY, CA 94710

Phone: 510.644.4432
Fax: 510.704.8573

Did I mention cheap? Cheap! Cheap! Cheap! without sacrificing quality. There is a grocery store next door that has great prices as well. The spices are fresh and inexpensive, as well as the basmati rice.

Where will you be in SF? By the way, what is cheap by your standard? Are you looking for hard core vegetarian or restaurants with good vegetarian choices? Are you strictly vegan? Vegetarian or can tolerate seafood?

Don't know if you will have access to Berkeley, but here is a good list as well.

http://www.mit.edu/~kedlaya/berkeley-eats.html

Place that I'm planning to visit soon is Mission Chinese Food, there are some vegetarian options here:
http://www.missionchinesefood.com/
http://blog.missionstreetfood.com/

2234 Mission St
San Francisco, CA 94110
(415) 863-2800

Google "Mission Chinese Food", there are quite a bit of buzz about the chefs and their inspirations.

I'm going to San Francisco for the first time over New Years this year

Where abouts will you be staying. Vik's is great, but its a hike if you're not staying in the East Bay.

If you're near Civic Center/Market Street/Union Square, there are a bunch of very good Indian/Pakistani hole in the wall places nearby on the edge of the Tenderloin with plenty of veg options.

I like Punjab Kebab House (Eddy at Mason) the best (& this place is Indian). Chutney (Jones between O'Farrell & Geary) & Shalimar (a couple of doors down) do good Pakistani food, with more veg options than most.

We all have different price points, but lunch/brunch at Greens (at Fort Mason) will not set you back more than $50 for a three courses ($35 plus tax and tip - wine would be extra). Greens is surely one of SF's most essential (and beautiful) restaurants. It is anything but a hole-in-the-wall.

Sai Jai Thai in the Tenderloin is one of my favorite places there. They have a large menu of seafood dishes and 5-10 vegetarian dishes on their menu.

http://sanfrancisco.menupages.com/resta ... -thai/menu

Hi, all:

Thank you so much for your suggestions, I really appreciate it and will definitely look into these places!

I'm staying on my cousins couch and I'm not sure which neighborhood he lives in, but I'll be there for 5 days and my goal is to explore as many neighborhoods as possible (being from Chicago and all and understanding the diversity of cities).

My roommate and I just graduated college in the spring, so we don't have tons of money to spend, but really "cheap" in my mind can go from sandwich shops or cafes with a handful of good veggie options to sit down dinners maxing $20 a plate. Is that possible?

I'm a strict vegetarian, no meat or fish, but my roommate is not. She enjoys eating vegetarian food, but I'm sure she wouldn't be opposed to places that offer meat dishes as well.

Are there any other places that use more local ingredients than Asian? I love Asian food and will definitely get my fill while I'm there, but I would like some variety, especially if there is anything that offers some good quality California food.

Thank you again for your input!