Outside of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, sometimes vegetarian options get a little sparse. But the fresh, local and organic-focused Duluth Grill has vegetarians and vegans covered. Not only does the farm-to-skillet diner have plenty of meat-free breakfast options, it also has a dedicated vegan section with entrees such as the "Living Nutty" taco with vegan walnut taco "meat" and "Raw-Ghetti," zucchini noodles with raw walnut marinara sauce, kalamata olives, basil, tomatoes and nutritional yeast.

The world's beating a path to the door of The Herbivorous Butcher, a brother-sister team that's slinging some of the most flavor-forward and ambitious faux meats in the country. (Guy Fieri even filmed a segment about the shop.) Everything from "pepperoni" to "chorizo" to "breakfast sausage" is available for purchase and takeout, and the decor is hipster-meets-butcher shop. In other words, it's both a shop and an Instagram-worthy destination for herbivores, omnivores and even emotionally stable carnivores.

This charming little wine and cheese bar in Stillwater doesn't aim itself at a vegetarian crowd, but its small menu offers a great many pleasing options for non-meat eaters regardless. From its cheese plate to tomatillo bisque to mushroom pappardelle, the offerings at this sophisticated spot are able to please large and diverse groups of diners. And a little wine never hurt anybody.

Vegetarians hoping to dine like royalty always have an ace up their sleeves—namely, the often vegetarian-friendly cuisines of Asian nations like Vietnam, Japan and India. Add Cambodia to that list. The rightfully renowned Cheng Heng in St. Paul does some lovely curries and special entrees that can be prepared without meat—but with a ton of rich, layered flavor.

For that matter, University Avenue in St. Paul is chock-a-block with great spots like Thai Cafe and Tay Ho that can do everything from vegetarian banh mi to lovely salads and rice plates.

The 100-percent-plant-based J. Selby's will have even meat eaters reconsidering their dietary choices. The menu reads like many others: burgers, wings, nachos and buffalo "chickin"; even the kids won't be able to taste the difference in the mac and "cheeze."