eating out VEGAN

rachyrach1234

just wanted to know if there were some vegan friendly choices at regular restaurants....valentines day is coming up and ill probably go out but my bf wot go to a vegan place

beancurdie

Is there a certain type of restaurant that you want to go to?

I don't have a ton of experience eating vegan, but I have noticed that I have the most options at asian restaurants. I struggle the most with Italian restaurants. It's easy to avoid meats, but eggs and dairy are hard to avoid especially if they make their own pasta. I usually get pasta with broccoli and request it without parm cheese.

rachyrach1234

i was thinking more like applebees tgi fridays kida like that thats usually what he likes

oceanrose78

I just wrote a blog post about this.

Look for a place that makes their own food, rather than gets it frozen. A lot of chains unfortunately don't prep their own food.

GOOD choices:

Red Robin (can do boca burger patties, take anything off salads)
California Pizza kitchen (my FAVORITE! They even have a Vegan menu, and a lot of choices)
Any Chinese place I've had great luck getting anything made with tofu and extra veggies.
Mexican can be easy too with a few questions to the chef.

BAD:

Applebees I always end up eating a baked potato, or else an asian chicken salad no chicken, no dressing.
Olive Garden is really difficult, as is Red Lobster.

I haven't eaten at Fridays since I switched to a plant based diet.
Almost any restaurant can make you a salad, or an entree, just explain exactly what you want. Restaurants want you to eat there.

kalepowered

http://www.veganeatingout.com/

Go take a look at this website. They have just about every chain restaurant under the sun listed, plus some local ones in vegan-friendly areas. Just look under the "restaurants" section at the top, or you can search on the ride side. It lists all vegan menu items and usually includes the email the company sent regarding their menu as well. This website has been an absolute life-saver for me, it's amazing.

Unfortunately the two restaurants you listed offer next to nothing for vegans. If a locally-owned or fine dining restaurant is an option, oftentimes the chefs are more experienced & willing to work to create a special dish for you. Otherwise I usually have pretty decent luck at non-Olive Garden types of Italian restaurants - just be careful to ask which of their pastas are made with egg (usually dry pasta is not, fresh pasta is) - as well as various Asian restaurants.

The biggest thing to remember when eating out as a vegan is don't be afraid to ask the server questions! A little politeness goes a long way, and you can tell pretty quickly if your server knows what he or she is talking about or not. If you get any rudeness or a lot of "I don't know" from them, ask if you can speak to someone who can answer your questions. I've always had super helpful staff whenever I lay on the questions, and they always get a nice big tip and a returning customer in thanks.

rachyrach1234

California Pizza Sounds GOOD!!!