Vegan Eating Out
Posted by veganeatingout on Jul 14, 2008 · Member since Jul 2008 · 71 posts
Hi! When I used to be out with a friend I never knew what I could order to eat being a vegan. I thought, how great would it be if I had a list to look over in advance before I do something? I decided to gather information from a number of popular chain restaurants and fast food places and put it together on a website. Please check it out and let me know what you think!
http://i308.photobucket.com/albums/kk322/veganeatingout/veo-1.gif
Excellent! Thanks for posting!
That's a great idea, thanks!
Maybe I'm just blind but I didn't see where you'd split the "have vegan options" versues "does not have vegan options" It was just one long list on each page(i.e. fastfood or restaurant).
dennys uses boca burgers. its not on the menu, but they all have them. i'm not sure about the bread though. but yeah. you can get any burger with a boca burger. its awesome! i dont think thats enough hard evidence to put it on the vegan list. but for others who arent sitcklers for details when stuck at a dennys after driving 10 hours in a strange town with a group of 12 that dont know anything about veganism. yeahh.
the list of vegan and non vegan restaurants is at the top of the list of restaurants. just click on the words.
Thank you for your kind words everyone!
I posted this in the Chit Chat forum but maybe I should have put it here! Like many of you I found it hard to know what to order while I was out. I made a website with popular chain restaurants and fast food places listing what menu items they have that are vegan. I try to update at least every other day when I have the time. Let me know what you think!
http://www.veganeatingout.com
that's not a bad list, i dig that it includes west and east coast locations.
i guess i'm a big ol' jerk, but i wouldn't eat in a fast food place for anything; however, i won't deny it's good there *are* vegan options for those who do.
nicely done, thanks for sharing it.
It looks like you put a lot of work into the website.
I do wonder why you list Papa John's as not having any vegan options though.
They will gladly make a cheese-less veggie covered pizza. You need to order their original crust and then it is vegan.
http://www.papajohns.com/menu/faqs.htm
Reminder: the garlic sauce is not vegan. (Our garlic sauce contains lactic acid, but this is not classified as an animal derivative because it has been fermented.) I'd still call it an animal derivative no matter what you've done to it, it doesn't change where it came from.
In the Chicago area there are a few vegan restaurants or vegetarian restaurants that are not on your list:
Karyn's Fresh Corner - http://www.karynraw.com/Raw-Cafe/
The Chicago Diner - http://www.veggiediner.com/
In DC metro area
Java Green - http://www.javagreencafe.com/
Nirvana - http://dcnirvana.com/
Vegetate - http://www.vegetatedc.com/portal/
Sticky Fingers Bakery - http://www.stickyfingersbakery.com/
Yuan Fu Vegetarian - http://cityguide.aol.com/washington/restaurants/yuan-fu-vegetarian/v-102303481
Vegan-friendly in DC Metro area
http://www.vegdc.com/restaurants.php
http://www.friendsofanimals.org/programs/vegetarianism/restaurant-guides/washington-dc-vegan-restaurant-guide.html
Maybe you'll add some of these establishments to your list. Thank you for your hard work. I'm positive it will help someone in the restaurant quest.
Oh wow thank you for all the tip offs! I had contacted Papa John's about 3 times via their contact form and never received a response. I'll be sure to add them soon. It's become a lot of work to maintain - I'm doing things behind the scenes to hopefully make it more user friendly. I'm glad that people are finding it useful and I hope it only gets better for everyone in the future.
I do want to add 100% vegan places because I think they need our support. With regards to the other places I'm trying to stay mostly with the chains because I don't want to take support away from places like happycow.net and vegdining.com which are geared more locally.
Once again thank you for your list! I'll be sure to look things over and add them with time.
Reminder: the garlic sauce is not vegan. (Our garlic sauce contains lactic acid, but this is not classified as an animal derivative because it has been fermented.) I'd still call it an animal derivative no matter what you've done to it, it doesn't change where it came from.
IMO, I think that what they mean there is that the lactic acid is derived from fermentation, not that they got lactic acid from an animal and then fermented it. Vegan lactic acid is a product of fermentation, no?
I'm a little puzzled as to what they mean by that. I'll try sending them an e-mail (for the forth time!) and hope for a response.
Well here's the response I got:
Not very comforting. On the site it does say that nutritional values can vary because ingredients vary by location so that's not too reassuring either. Just as a contrast, this is taken from the wikipedia article on Lactic Acid:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lactic_acid#Lactic_acid_in_foods
For my site I'm going to leave it as non vegan simply out of caution unless I can get a better answer but if you personally feel it's most likely vegan then by all means have it.
Now all I need to know is where there are good places to eat in NEPA.
Dining for me here in PA is almost no existent. If I go to a big city area like NYC than I am ok.
I usually just bring a cooler with me when I am out for the day or traveling.
Will not eat fast food either.
I did browse this list on the link. With Johnny Rockets I knew about there veggie burger only problem there is the HFCS in the roll. They do have another roll option that is HFCS free just can not remember it right now.
Very concerned with HFCS and GMO foods.
Have you also tried Veg Dining and Happy Cow Vegetarian Restaurant Guide?
Happy Cow and Veg Dining are both good sites.
If I search for restaurants in my area it says sorry.
There is a vegan café opening near me next week first one in the area.
Living in Carnivore country is very challenging.
I am up here near Scranton.
Although if I am hanging out the house and decide to go out.
Scranton is 30 minutes from me.
I've been going to Carraba's Italian Grill thinking their Angel Hair Picchi Picchi (or however it's spelled, it's basically olive oil, tomatoes and lots of garlic) thinking it was vegan! What did I miss? Do I have to cut out another restaurant now? :'(
Ok, I just found this posting online from 2005
"I called the corporate office!
Ok, I called corporate, and here is a rough vegan guide for Carrabba's:
Bread is vegan, along with the dipping sauce.
Salad dressings are not vegan, they have egg and cheese in them. Ask for red wine viniagrette and olive oil if you want a salad.
The fresh pasta contains eggs. (fettucine, tagliarini, and maybe others - ask the server because they should know)
They have dry pasta which is vegan. (penne, spaghetti, etc... - again ask the server because they should know)
The marinara sauce has anchovies in it, as does the pizza sauce which is just a reduction of the marinara sauce. Always ask for the pomodoro sauce which is definitely vegan.
The Tagliarini Picchi Pacchiu is not vegan because of the pasta itself. The other ingredients are vegan. You can order the Tagliarini Picchi Pacchiu with a dry pasta instead of the fresh tagliarini.
Just so that everyone knows, the woman that I spoke to was very helpful, professional, and knowledgeable. She mentioned that Carrabba's does not use any trans fats in their foods. She said that she is working on a menu that is going to clearly list which items are safe for people with allergies, and she said that vegan items will probably be listed as well. Yay! :silly:"
So I guess I can still have the Picchi but ask for different pasta. Sigh.
I e-mailed them and they confirmed that the dry pastas and bread do not have animal/dairy products. I e-mailed them back to confirm on the sauces and when I get a reply I'll change it on my website.
Thanks for the tip off! I wonder why they said they don't have vegan products initially...
I'd like to make a request- Izzo's Illegal Burrito!
I haven't done any research other than asking the servers. They said their beans and rice are vegetarian, but I never did ask about vegan. Their stuff is really great, it's like Subway with burritos instead of subs!
I trust you guys to do better research than I could... y'know... if you're bored or curious... because I'd like to know! I want MDVegan to visit me and I gotta know if I can take her to Izzo's!
;D
Pages