Best Vegetarian

Some people go to Govinda's, the Hare Krishna compound, twice a year: on Thanksgiving, to sit elbow-to-elbow with other anti-conquistador and bird-loving types from the foothills and midtown; and on their birthday--you get a free meal. But others go more frequently just to slam gooey TVP and goulash mush onto a plastic plate and forget about food combinations; to dine in the communal eating rooms-one, a sanctuary with a wax-like statue of the dude Krishnas pray to; the other, with tables slung way too close together-or to check out the incense or books on Krishna philosophy; or to wander around the itty-bitty creek, the peacocks and turkeys squawking amid desert night breezes. It's a director's dream for an on-location shoot of the bucolic and bizarre.

Runners up:

2. Oasis Vegetarian Eatery and Food Company, No longer in existence

3. Casbah Teahouse, 628 N. Fourth Ave., 740-0393