Whether you’re a dyed in the (imitation) wool vegan or just trying the “Meatless Mondays” trend, Columbia’s got you covered.

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For local herbivores, Main Squeeze Natural Foods Cafe and Juice Bar is the most obvious choice. Central Missouri’s only strictly-vegetarian restaurant’s extensive menu is sure to please vegans, vegetarians and the veg-curious alike.

Main Squeeze’s owner, Leigh Lockhart, says that vegetarians and vegans can be “completely comfortable” eating at Main Squeeze, as all its offerings are safe for lacto-ovo vegetarians, and many are completely vegan.

Upon opening in 1997, Lockhart used the phrase “natural foods” to widen Main Squeeze’s appeal.

“I never used the word (vegetarian) to describe (our food),” Lockhart says.

However, 15 years later, attitudes toward vegetarian and vegan food have changed.

Lockhart notes that consumers in a college town are more open to meatless meals.

“People in an academic community are more educated in a wide variety of things, including health and nutrition,” she says.

Senior Kaylyn Stoll, founder and president of MU’s Veg Club, agrees. Stoll says that compared to most places in Missouri, Columbia restaurants are pretty understanding of vegetarian and vegan diets.

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One restaurant happy to accommodate vegetarian patrons is Cafe Berlin, whose menu features options like veggie sausage, tempeh bacon and tofu scrambled with locally sourced veggies. The popular breakfast spot also offers typical breakfast offerings like bacon and eggs to satisfy any carnivores in your midst.

Another local restaurant featuring vegetarian and vegetarian-modifiable meals is Ingredient. Its general manager, Matt Porter, says the menu’s flexibility offers suitable (and delicious) options for both vegans and carnivores. For instance, when patrons order the house-made veggie burgers, their patties are cooked on a separate grill in either butter or canola oil, depending on whether the customer is a lacto-ovo vegetarian or vegan.

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Feeling more like a slice of pizza? Fear not, herbavoracious friends: In addition to offering a veggie pie, the dough and sauce at Shakespeare’s contain no animal products, and they’ll even leave the cheese off to make your pizza vegan-approved.

Up for a dinner and a movie? Don’t panic if your date’s a vegetarian. Uprise Bakery, housed conveniently next to Ragtag Cinema, is the perfect solution with five meatless sandwiches on house-baked bread as well as fresh salads and sides.

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Whatever you’re hungry for, be it kale and quinoa at Main Squeeze or a vegan pizza at Shakespeare’s, downtown CoMo offers plenty of meat-free choices.