Spend Meatless Monday In One Of These 5 Places

If you're spending today meat-free, consider all the places around the world where you could be doing the same thing — and having an equally, if not more, amazing experience. Meatless Monday-ers, we pulled from our list of the world's best vegan destinations to give you ideas for where to travel next.

Mexico City might be one of the best destinations for gluten-free travelers, but for vegans, not so much. Fear not: Vegans can eat Mexican food to their hearts' content on the other side of the border in Austin — yes, the one in Texas, which is not exactly a state known for its vegetarian amenities. Enjoy a vegan Frito pie at the Vegan Yacht, delicious chalupas with soy chorizo at Guero's Taco Bar, "Guac the Casbah" (hummus mixed with mashed, seasoned avocados topped with cucumbers, raisins, toasted sesame seeds, and mint) at Guac and Roll, and top it all off with a sweet, dairy-free snack at Sweet Ritual. 

New York tends to swallow up a lot of attention for being one of the food capitals of the world, but part of the reason it is so popular is because it has not just something for everybody — it has a lot of things for everybody. Restaurants like Dirt Candy and the Butcher's Daughter are even popular with non-vegetarians. Vegans can enjoy grubby, not-healthy-but-delicious mac and cheese pizza from Vinnie's in Brooklyn, or decadent vegan and gluten-free cupcakes at Babycakes. However, the most delicious vegan treats we know of aren't even trying to be vegan: La Newyorkina ice pops on the High Line. It is difficult for vegans to feel excluded from much in the Big Apple. 

Start your vegan vacation by waking up in the Cherokee Rose Inn, an all-vegan bed-and-breakfast. Portland has a vegan strip mall and even a vegan strip club. The mini-mall is home to businesses like the Herbivore Clothing Company, which is stocked with an awesome section of vegan cookbooks and vegan lifestyle books. You'll find one of the many best vegan eats at Sonny Bowl: a black-eyed pea bowl with barbecue sauce and kale tossed in tahini dressing, served over brown basmati rice with green chili-corn relish and "soy curls," a meat-like topping that is popular all over Portland. Portobello Vegan Trattoria is a meatless boucherie and Italian restaurant that serves perfectly crisped gnocchi and beet tartare that is just as good, if not better, than the beef tartare you'll find at any French restaurant.

The first hint of a vegan craze in Tel Aviv was spotted in 2012 by Tablet Magazine, but a few years later, Tel Aviv's vegan scene is as robust as ever. "Almost one in 20 Israelis describes themselves as vegan, a number that feels much higher in the country's second city," writes Hardeep Singh Kohi in High Life, British Airways' in-flight magazine. Even Domino's in Tel Aviv serves vegan pizza. You'll find many bearded hipsters enjoying the simple fare at Port Said, and the Georgian restaurant Nanuchka has a fresh take on meat-heavy Eastern European food. Of course, the vegan staple of falafel can be found virtually everywhere, but you can even get vegetarian shawarma at a restaurant appropriately named the Veg Shawarma.

In addition to Vancouver's Stanley Park being one of the best parks in the world for picnicking, Vancouver has some of the best vegan food in North America. Earth-conscious Bandidas serves excellent Mexi-vegan fare; Dharma Kitchen is your spot for tempeh burgers; the Wallflower Modern Diner certainly won't make vegans feel like wallflowers, especially with that vegan breakfast poutine; and even Yew in the Four Seasons Hotel, famous for its seafood, has an excellent vegan menu. The critically-acclaimed Acorn restaurant serves beer-battered halloumi, coconut cashew and kimchi dumplings, and raw beet ravioli.