Best Vegetarian Southern Food: Top Spots from Our NYC to NOLA Road Trip
We love food. One of the joys of travel is discovering local cuisine, and our NYC-to-NOLA road trip delivered unforgettable flavors. While Southern staples often feature pork, chicken, and shrimp, we found exceptional vegetarian options across Georgia and Louisiana. Here are our top recommendations for vegetarians craving authentic soul food:
Vegetarian-Friendly Southern Dining
Atlanta, Georgia: Mary Mac’s Tea Room
An Atlanta institution since 1945, Mary Mac’s Tea Room offers classic Southern hospitality and dishes like country-fried steak and chicken pan pie. Though meat-focused, vegetarians thrive on the vegetable plate featuring four sides. All diners start with potlikker (greens broth) and cornbread—we requested vegetarian versions. Our picks included broccoli soufflé, cheese and vegetable soufflé, fried green tomatoes, mac 'n' cheese, coleslaw, vegetable medley, fried okra, and homemade cornbread. Desserts like banana pudding, bread pudding, and Georgia peach cobbler were highlights from our visit with a local friend.
Savannah, Georgia
Savannah welcomes vegetarians with diverse veggie options amid its vibrant dining scene.
Breakfast at Clary’s
Featured in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, this century-old diner serves Stuffed French Toast, Eggs Benedict, and the Elvis (peanut butter-banana stuffed sourdough). Southern classics like griddle cakes, caramel pecan sticky buns, grits, and biscuits round out the menu.
The Westin Savannah Harbor Golf Resort & Spa
Staying at the Westin, we challenged General Manager Mark Spadoni to create a Southern vegetarian dish. Head chef delivered grit cakes with cherry tomatoes, asparagus, and tangy sauce—transforming our view of grits. Blueberry crumble cake followed. Sunday brunch at Aqua Star boasts omelets, waffles, salads, pasta, seafood (skip for veggies), and a dessert extravaganza including bananas foster.
The Distillery
A craft beer haven, it wowed us with black bean burgers, grilled cheese, deep-fried pickles, soft pretzels, hummus plates, and sweet potato fries. Owner Michael's deep-fried moon pie a la mode is a must-try Southern indulgence.
New Orleans, Louisiana
Amid gumbo and po-boys, we uncovered vegetarian gems in the Big Easy.
Jazz Brunch at the Court of Two Sisters
In a flower-filled courtyard with live jazz, the buffet offers eggs, potatoes, waffles, salads, and desserts like pecan pie and bananas foster. Skip the Gospel Brunch at House of Blues—opt for this authentic experience.
The French Market
Fresh picks: black bean soup with avocado at Meals from the Heart and salads with feta, pistachios, apples, walnuts, or gruyere at Alberto's Cheese & Wine.
Mahony’s Po-Boys on Magazine Street
Veggie po-boys like eggplant parmesan (solid, though NYC-style edges it out), grilled cheese, or fried green tomatoes. We loved the side fried green tomatoes.
Café du Monde
Iconic beignets dusted with powdered sugar and chicory café au lait—a vegetarian sweet tooth's dream. We ordered seconds!
This isn't exhaustive. Share your favorite vegetarian Southern spots and must-try dishes in the comments for our next trip!
