Dine Out and 'Veg Out'

I love the thrill of dining out while traveling and searching through tantalizing menu items, anticipating the tastes and flavors of previously unknown dishes. I am lucky in that I am able and willing to try just about anything. 

Lets see there was the sea urchin in Japan (tastes like tuna tartare,) bone marrow in New York City, and the unidentified object in Thailand. However, I find it a tad intimidating and frustrating trying to search for that perfect restaurant while traveling. Therefore, I can only imagine how difficult it is to search for restaurants abroad for people who have dietary restrictions or preferred dining habits. In addition, being a vegetarian must especially difficult in countries where meat is the main ingredient i.e. Brazil or Argentina. 

So for the vegetarians or vegans out there I found two online resources that hopefully will make it a little easier to find the perfect restaurants while traveling abroad. 

Happy Cow - In my opinion this is the best site for searching international vegetarian or vegan restaurants. It is very user friendly, covers a vast range of destinations, and the recommendations are authentic, good eats. You can also submit your own recommendations for veggie eats as well as join the community of vegetarian travelers. I also found their Facebook Fan Page to be a valuable source if information. 

VegDining.com - I am not a fan of the design of this website. However, it seems to be very popular. It isn't as user friendly as Happy Cow. However, I think it houses more content and resources than Happy Cow. VegDining.com features travel destinations and their vegetarian delights as well as extensive profiles of various restaurants. You can also access recipes, special offers, and join their VegDining rewards program. Their Facebook Fan Page has over 6,000 fans so apparently they are doing something right.