FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — The fake meat at this upscale vegan eatery doesn't taste like mystery meat. Depending on the night it's more like hearty meat loaf with a mushroom sauce, pork tenderloin or Mediterranean grilled chicken skewers.

At Sublime, waterfalls trickle from 10-foot windows in a low-lit dining room filled with live palm trees, and customers sampling $19 caviar — made of seaweed, not fish eggs.

Once a network of grungy, obscure cafes, the vegetarian and vegan experience in some cities has blossomed on par with its carnivorous counterparts, complete with Zagat ratings and celebrity clienteles.

There are between 1,000 and 1,200 vegetarian restaurants in the U.S., almost double the number seven years ago, according to Dennis Bayomi, president of www.VegDining.com, an online guide. He estimates there are more than a dozen fine-dining vegan eateries like Sublime nationwide.

Part of the transformation owes to advances in cooking that allow restaurants to prepare proteins like tofu with a taste and texture similar to meat. They can do the same thing with tempeh, which consists of fermented soybeans with a more grainy texture, and seitan, a concentrated wheat gluten. Experts also attribute the rise to an expanding global pantry, where vegetarian dishes are no longer relegated to the back of a menu.

"The door is wide open," said Eve Felder, an associate dean at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y. "It's been going on in pockets for years, but it's much more of a trend across restaurants now."

New York-based Candle 79 has carved a profitable niche among foodies with New York Times reviews, a popular cookbook and takeout items. Paul McCartney, Alicia Silverstone and Woody Harrelson are all regulars, said owner Bart Potenza.

"We've taken it to a whole other level. It couldn't have happened 5 or 10 years ago," Potenza said.

The place does about $3 million in annual business, serving up seitan picatta with lemon caper sauce and ancho-seared tempeh with roasted sweet potato puree and pomegranate reduction.

No matter how sumptuous the stir fry, Potenza admits vegan restaurants can have trouble becoming cash cows.

"They say it's harder to change people's food habits than their religion or politics," he said.

It's also more expensive. Potenza says it costs 40 percent more to serve organic products.

Sublime owner Nanci Alexander has never turned a profit since opening in 2003 and doesn't receive a paycheck. The animal-rights activist had no experience in the restaurant business, and says she only opened Sublime to help carnivores stop eating meat. All proceeds, if there are any, would go to the Animal Rights Foundation of Florida.

"They can't stop if they don't have someplace to go," she said. "I thought, 'How else can I help the animals?' I never wanted to be in the restaurant business."

Celebrities like Pamela Anderson, Bob Barker and Alec Baldwin are fans of the fare and philosophy.

Chef Rich Landau and his wife opened Horizons in the Philadelphia suburbs 11 years ago. He expected to be serving coffee and hummus to college kids, and was surprised when his restaurant filled with suits and ties.

Now they've moved downtown, where diners wait an hour for a table on weekends to sample pan-seared tofu with hearts of palm, poblano cream and agave baked beans, or a maitake and smoked eggplant empanada.