Cheesecake factory now has edamame and strawberries for dessert - that was a pleasant surprise!
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Cheesecake factory now has edamame and strawberries for dessert - that was a pleasant surprise!
Yea, the listing "sugar" in all Tofutti products is bone char processed.
And I was P.F. Changs has a vegan oyster sauce that they substitute in vegan dishes. I wasn't aware of the cane sugar, however! But other than that, pretty much anything on the menu can be veganized.
I NEVER realized that! How much does that suck?!
I looked at the cream cheese and sour cream in my fridge. They both have sugar!
The website says:
9. Are all Tofutti products vegan?
No, not all of our products are totally vegan. Although all of our frozen dessert and cheese (except smoked salmon Better Than Cream Cheese) products are completely vegan, all of our frozen food entrees (except our Pizza Pizzaz) and all four of our cookies do contain egg whites. Of course, every product that uses egg whites will have it clearly listed in the ingredients. We never use whole eggs, as we are always cholesterol free."
So if the cream cheese has sugar it isn't vegan or don't they consider it cheese? (confused)
Sheila
Recently Macaroni Grill stopped having their Pomodoro sauce:(
Yes, they did. :( Here's an email I received from them today:
Quote:
September 20, 2006
Dear Mr. Teoh,
Thank you very much for taking the time to send us an email and for your interest in
Macaroni Grill. Since there is no single vegetarian eating pattern, our company dietitian
has compiled the list below of suggested menu options for various types of vegetarian
diets. We hope that you will find this list helpful during your next visit to our restaurant
If an item you desire does not appear on the list below, please keep in mind that our chefs
will gladly try to accommodate your special dietary needs by custom-preparing a meal
using any ingredients that we have available in our kitchen. However, please be aware
that none of our menu items are certified as vegetarian. Many of our recipes contain
meat, fish, egg and dairy products and normal kitchen operations involve the sharing of
cooking and preparation areas, including common fryer oil. Therefore, it is possible for
any food item, including fried vegetables, to come into contact with animal products
during the preparation and/or cooking process. Additionally, please be aware that our
tomato sauce contains butter.
On your next visit to Macaroni Grill, please speak with the manager about your dietary
restrictions as they are happy to assist you with menu recommendations and ensure that
your meal is carefully prepared with your needs in mind.
Based on our supplier ingredient information, the menu items you may consider are as
follows:
Suggested Menu Options for Lacto-Ovo-Vegetarians (contain egg and dairy, but no
meat):**
? Mozzarella Alla Caprese
? Mushroom Ravioli
? Tomato Bruschetta
? Pizza Margherita
? House or Garden Salad
? Insalata Blue
? Salad Dressings: Balsamic Vinaigrette, Honey Mustard, Fat Free Creamy Italian,
Italian, Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette, Ranch Dressing
? Fettuccine Alfredo
? Eggplant Parmesan
Suggested Menu Options for Lacto-Vegetarians (contain dairy, but no meat or egg):**
? Mozzarella Alla Caprese
? Tomato Bruschetta
? Pizza Margherita
? House or Garden Salad
? Salad Dressings: Balsamic Vinaigrette, Italian, Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette
? Fettuccine Alfredo
Suggested Menu Options for Vegans (contain no meat, dairy or egg):**
? Any String Pasta with Garlic and Oil
? Tomato Bruschetta – order without Cheese
? House or Garden Salad – order without Cheese and Croutons
? Salad Dressings: Balsamic Vinaigrette, Italian, Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette
** Note: All desserts and fried menu items may come into contact with animal
products during the normal kitchen preparation and cooking processes due to cross-
contamination.
On your next visit to Macaroni Grill, please speak with a manager about your dietary
restrictions to ensure that your meal is carefully prepared with your needs in mind. We
hope that you are able to choose a meal to your liking and look forward to serving you
soon.
Macaroni Grill
Guest Relations
Ref # 563376
From the Tofutti website:
26. Does Tofutti use sugar that has been refined with animal bone char?
Most of our frozen dessert products use cane sugar. We assume that the sugar is refined with animal bone char since this is a fairly common procedure in the sugar refining industry.
i called in- n-out and they said that their frenchfries are suitable for vegans. i asked them for the ingedients and the nice lady at the end said that they were just potatoes . i asked if there was any seasoning and she sed just salt.
also this is a letter i recieved back from the old spaghetti factory
Quote:
Hi,
We do, in fact, have a number of vegan and vegetarian offerings, which are listed below:
Vegan Menu Offerings:
* Minestrone soup
* Mediterranean White Bean soup (served as Monday lunch soup special)
* Spaghetti with Tomato and Mushroom sauces
* Broccoli side dish without Mizithra Cheese
Vegetarian Menu Offerings (have dairy products but no animal parts or chicken base):
* All items listed above under “Vegan Menu Options”
* Spinach & Cheese Ravioli with Tomato Sauce
* Spaghetti with Browned Butter & Mizithra Cheese
* Fettuccine Alfredo (ask for dish without the chicken)
* Manicotti (Thursday lunch special)
· Broccoli side with Mizithra Cheese.
Animal Rennet
Mizithra and Alfredo sauce have no animal rennet.
The Tortellini that we get has animal enzymes in the Romano cheese inside of them.
The cheese in the Ravioli has microbial enzymes, not animal, so there is no animal rennet.
Soy Free Items
Thanks for your email! We double-checked with our Director of Kitchen Operations and the following items are the only menu items that contain any soy product. The soy content of these items comes from a small amount of soy oil in our margarine:
* Garlic Cheese Bread
* Grilled cheese sandwich (on kid’s menu)
* Butter and garlic butter for bread (ask for olive oil if you’d like a soy-free substitute)
Peanut Oil
We’d be happy to provide the information you requested. The following is a breakdown of all the menu items in regards to nut or peanut oil content:
* None of our made from scratch items are made with peanut oil. This includes:
o Sauces: Meat, Tomato, Mushroom, Clam, Alfredo and Marsala sauces, Mizithra cheese & brown butter
o Salad dressings: blue cheese, 1000 island, balsamic vinaigrette and pesto dressings (pesto dressing has basil but no nuts of any kind).
o Other items: baked chicken, broccoli, grilled cheese sandwiches, house and Caesar salad, meatballs and minestrone soup do not have peanut oil in them.
* There are some items that we do not make from scratch. To our knowledge these items do not contain peanut oil, but we can’t verify for sure since they weren’t made from scratch in our kitchen. Items not made in our kitchen include:
o ravioli, tortellini, honey mustard dressing, croutons, breaded chicken breast.
o The desserts are also not made in our kitchen so we can’t say for sure that absolutely no nut product was used in their preparation – some desserts may even contain a nut as their main ingredient depending on the specific OSF location. The exception to this is the Spumoni and Vanilla, which we are certain do not have peanut oil in them.
o Our breads are made by local bakers. Most bread companies only use flour, water, salt and possibly a sourdough starter, but we can double check the specific bread company in your area if you wish. If this is a concern, we can look into this further for you.
* The one item that has nuts in it is the sauce used for the Eggplant Parmigiana (it contains pine nuts). This is a new item that has just been added to all of our menus.
We hope this information is helpful and allows your family to safely enjoy many items on our menu. Make sure to alert your server of any food-related allergies as well so he or she can best assist you during your experience. Thank you again for your question and we look forward to serving you soon!
I know Bertucci's rolls are vegan - they only have soy in them. But their olive oil dressing and one they bring to the table is not bc it has cheese in it so you have to ask for them to bring plain oil out. Their pasta is fine and so is the sauce, make sure to ask for no cheese though. Their house dressing (an italian) is also suitable for vegans. The minestrone soup is not suitable for vegans. Thats all I remember.
This thread has been very helpful reading for me so thanks to all involved.
I'm travelling on my holidays to Orlando again this November and although I try, it's hard to avoid the chains.
Apart from the independent Garden Cafe (amazing) and the two indian restaurants that have vegan options I would surely starve.
I ate in the Olive Garden last year and just about managed. It's a shock to discover that not many people know what a vegan is in Florida.
So I found it helpful on occasions to say I have severe reactions and my throat swells up if I have any animal derived products in my diet :-)
It worked, apart from my plain salad with olive oil the nice waitress brought me the packaging that my pasta and sauce come in to show me the contents for my re-assurance. I was assured that clean cooking utensils would be used so I may incurr a delay with my order. Kewl.
She even checked back on me several times just to make sure I was ok.
I also think the more pressure we apply to these establishments will certainly make them change their ways to accomodate customers accordingly to show we count as a part of every day society. Maybe then everyone will realise that what we're doing is because we care and not because we're being difficult for the fun of it.
Thanks again friends.
I live in California and we have a restaurant called Louises Tratorria. It is an Italian food place. I e-mailed the company to ask which items were suitable for vegans. I told them I do not eat meat, dairy or egg products. This is the response that I got:
Thanks for writing. We have an abundance of fresh salads and seafood on our menu for you. Please take a look at our web page @ www.louises.com for more menu information.
Regards,
Rob Serritella
Should I bother writing them back and explaning that seafood is NOT vegan?
After working at a Panera I decided that it was best not to eat there anymore. They make substitutions without informing the customer and when I brought up the fact that they were subing a non-vegan bread for a vegan bread, I was told that we were too busy to worry about it and just to do it. That was when I finally quit. Also, a lot of sources list their bagels as being vegan but they all contain mono & di glycerides.
My husband works at an Olive Garden and while they have different suppliers for their pastas (which means that some stores may have pasta that contains eggs), there are some things that are universally vegan. So, just ask a manager (not your server lol) about the pasta and if it's eggless you have a few options.
Plain breadsticks (no butter)
Palmadoro sauce
Marinara sauce
Salad with no croûtons & the light Italian dressing (the regular dressing has cheese)
Minestrone soup if the pasta is eggless
Whenever he's given free meals we always get angel hair pasta with palmadoro and add mushrooms & artichokes which is really good. And with the soup/salad & breadsticks it's a really filling meal.
He's tried to tell the corporate office that their form letter isn't helpful and is costing them business but they just say that legally they can't guarantee anything because of possible cross contamination (like a bit of one soup getting spilled into another). So it seems that the letter is written with allergies in mind.
I know this is an old post, but I just wanted to say that's likely wrong. I was working at a Cracker Barrel in college and the vegetable soup was made with a beef broth. And "made" is a misnomer because it arrives at the restaurant pre-made in a big bag. Maybe there are different suppliers in different areas of the country, but we were always told the soup was not vegetarian. (Which pretty much leaves a potato and side salad as your options, which isn't bad because the rest of the food is nasty anyway.) Their sourdough bread might be vegan, although I honestly can't recall what's in it. They sell in in the store half of the restaurant, so you can pop out into the shop and read the label on the bread for yourself before you order.
I got a couple of coupons for Taco Del Mar in my junk mail this week. I looked up their website and they have some vegan items listed on their menus. Anyone tried Taco Del Mar before?
I have been reading Peta's website and I noticed this myself. I saw them recommend many things that were not vegan from my own research. What's up with that?
Anyways, I just got a response from CiCi's Pizza from my asking what all they have that is vegan. Just thought I'd share it:
Quote:
Dear Josh,
Thank you for your inquiry. At CiCi's, we are always happy to help you work around any dietary choices or restrictions. I'm not totally familiar with the vegan diet, however, I would say that our red pizza sauce is fine but the red (Marinara) pasta sauce contains Romano cheese, so I would say that it will not fit into your diet. The only salad dressing that I would consider vegan friendly is the French. All of the others contain milk, cheese or both.
I hope this helps you make more informed choices. If you have any other questions, please let me know. If I don't know the answer, I'll find someone who does. I hope you will visit with us again in the near future so that we may offer you exceptional service. It will be our pleasure to have you as our guest.
Sincerely,
Pam Goodgion
CiCi's University
972-745-9319
pgoodgion@cicispizza.com
http://www.vegetarian-restaurants.ne...stFoodRest.htm
I know it says fast food in the link but there are some sit down restaurants on there too. But I would be careful as restaurants are constantly changing their ingredients.
Thanks for the info, sleepydvr. I wonder though if Cici's pizza crust or pasta is OK for vegans? I know some pizza places have dairy products (including cheese at times) in the crust and some Italian places have pasta that contains eggs. It sounds like they really didn't know how to answer your question.
As far as the PETA list goes, a few vegans have told me (on forums such as this) that PETA doesn't want to make veganism look "too impossible," so they list restaurants and products that are, according to them, "95% vegan." The argument being that they would rather have people become mostly vegan than continue to be omnivores. I even emailed PETA and asked them to at least put an * or something next to truly vegan items, but this has never happened.
bugaboo, you're definitely right about restaurants changing ingredients. That's why some of the info on here may well be out of date...I should probably email some of the restaurants I haven't in over a year to see if anything has changed.
I emailed Brixx Pizza, who has soy cheese, asking if it contained casein. Here is their response:
Quote:
Yes it does. Hopefully we will find a totally vegan cheese in the near future.
Thanks for your interest in Brixx,
Jeff Van Dyke
They said that over a year ago too so I told them to use follow your heart and i dont think they listened. sigh. TJ Scallywaggles - an all vegan pizza place uses it and it works just fine up here
Oh sweet mother of all that is holy, I think I've just fallen in love!!!:eek::D
That TJ's looks PHENOMENAL....*Now considering an immenant relocation to Ma*....Actually, I was already planning on visiting Boston for a day or two when I go to NYC anyways, so is Allston far from there (or actually part of Boston itself? It'd be worth the hike just for a nosh at this pizza-heaven alone!!)
*Drooooooooool*:D:)
TJ's delivers to my apartment :cool:
Sweeeeeet as! But hang on, "most days"? Dare we ask what happens in the room other days?!:eek::p
Glad they're not going through the "terrible teens" stage then:)....Still, I wouldn't refuse the pizza-feeding side of the bargain!;)
(Yes, I realise I'm a fixated, greedy, pizzaholic:o)
Well, I have to admit Maggie's Spinacoli (spinach, broccoli, & garlic) pizza is my favorite :)
Cafe Viva in NYC have a similar sounding pizza, with added green-tea miso, can't remember the name of it...All seriously yummdiddlyumptious though!!:D:o
sleepydvdr, sounds like you're a fellow NC'er. I guess you live close to Charlotte? I live closer to Asheville, which seems pretty vegan-friendly too:D
yay! a discussion about TJ's that I didn't start! whoo!
come support us, as we are having financial troubles of late. any rich vegans who want to support an eatery that is intending to be a chain someday: we are looking for donations and/or loans. holler at your boy!
Sorry to hear the business is having troubles Trudatman :( Why do you think it's happening?
Anyway, if you're opening a chain, come north of the border and I will certainly eat there! :)
I even called PE customer service # to complain about their "vegetarian" dishes containing chicken broth. I explained to them how chicken was NOT vegetarian and was told "sorry, we think it isn't labeled wrong, it's your problem with eating chicken, not our labelling." WTF? :confused:
Talk about waving a red flag in front of a bull! I wrote them a SEVEN page complaint letter. That was in August.... still waiting for a reply. :mad:
Is the problem with Panera just the hot sandwiches? I usually order the Med Veggie with no problems (at any time of day), but now I'm worried that they're just picking the cheese off my sandwich or something....
Unless I can physically see [name of restaurant] make me a [type of food] with no cheese, I always assume they simply pick off the cheese.
I have had too many instances of little bits of yellow or white blobs on the lettuce for me to think otherwise.
I wish that more places would accommodate but the ones that do I love dearly. I tend to stick with local Vietnamese and Thai restaurants, they are lovely and so willing to help.
I guess I figure they would have a hard time picking off all the feta crumbles?
I live in denial.
Reading this made a very heavy frown come to my face. I was under the "too good to be true" impression that Qdoba had vegan items. This website is the reason behind my conclusion. While L-cystine isn't brought up, the artificial butter, amylase, thiamin mononitrate, natural flavoring, and disodium inosinate are. There's also copies of letters both to and from Qdoba head quaters. Alas, there's a reply from an ex-Qdoba employee stating that their grilled veggies are cooked on the same grill they use for cooking meat. Maybe not every Qdoba's does that...? (fingers crossed)