chain restaurant vegan items (USA & Canada)

[Haniska]

I received a less than helpful response (I was very specific about what a vegan would NOT eat--especially about not wanting any dairy products) and got a form e-letter to vegetarians from Olive Garden including:

Depending on your personal philosophy, we can suggest the following
items as meatless, but not necessarily vegetarian or vegan as they may
contain some ingredients which do not comply with your personal
philosophy:

Minestrone Soup
Garden Salad
Marinara Sauce
Capellini Pomodoro
Eggplant Parmigiana
Fettuccine Alfredo

I think it's pretty obvious that a few of these have dairy in them (especially the alfredo sauce), but they seem to imply that some other non-vegan in the possibility of broth or the like

Olive garden has assured me that their minestrone soup is vegan and made with vegetable broth. Pretty tasty too, you can order unlimited

[Haniska]

You should not eat the fries but are welcome to substitute them for mashed potatoes or a vegetable/mixed greens.

Substitute mashed potatoes???????? HAHAHAHAHA.

[Haniska]

im not much of a chain food eater, i dont know if i would even drink the water at most chain reastaurants.

but yesterday my roommate really wanted to order pizza, and it didnt sound like the most horrible thing in the world....(i was real hungry)

so i did some research online...

pappa johns pizza is a good option for vegans.... crust and sauce is vegan & msg free!
thier faq's page breaks it down pretty good...

http://www.papajohns.com/menu/faq.htm

but they concider lactic acid a non-animal product, because its fermented....(????)

little ceasers was ok also (surprizingly)

http://www.littlecaesars.com/menu/ve...?category=menu

altho i do not like the statment :"Strict vegetarian diets require a little more planning for nutritional adequacy because there may be special conditions - no animal by-products."

who the hell are little caesars to be lecturing us on nutritional adaquacy!?!?!

pizza hut on the other hand just goes right ahead and throws egg, milk, & msg in EVERY thing they make crust & sauce!!

http://www.pizzahut.com/menu/allergen.asp

but they are the only ones to give a complete ingredients list:
http://www.pizzahut.com/menu/nutriti...ngredients.pdf

in case anyone cares.

My understanding is that Pizza Hut is cool.

[eclectic_one]

What about the bun?

Yes, according to the person I spoke to, only the cheese and mayo made it vegetarian as opposed to vegan, the bun is supposed to be OK.

[eclectic_one]

I just received this from PF Chang's (I also included my inquiry so you could see what I asked):

I am a vegan and wondered if any of your menu items are vegan (or can be made vegan easily). I do not eat meat (or any meat byproducts such as fish sauce, oyster sauce, meat broths, etc), dairy (including whey, butter, milk, cheese, etc), eggs, or honey. Thank you for your attention!

Thank you for your note and inquiry. There are a couple of items on our menu that are vegan and others that can be when modified. If cane sugar is not an issue for you, I recommend any items from our “Vegetarian Plates and Sides” and vegetarian marked menu items. If cane sugar is an issue, I recommend the following:

Steamed Buddha’s Feast - you can add soft tofu or pressed tofu to this dish
Stir-Fried Spinach - garlic, salt and pepper. You can add soft tofu or pressed tofu to this dish.
Garlic Snap Peas - garlic, salt and pepper. You can add soft tofu or pressed tofu to this dish.
· You can also order any vegetable or tofu with a modified sauce. Please ask to speak to a manager and they will be happy to accommodate you accordingly.

Have a wonderful day!

Tiffany Hamby
Guest Relations/Training & Development
P.F. Chang's China Bistro

[Pete Teoh]

I just got this response from Carrabba's today:

Dear Pete,

Thanks for taking the time to contact us. Tagliarini Picchi Pacchiu
(using dry pasta instead of fresh) is the only dish that would be
considered vegan. You could also request our Pomodoro Sauce served over
one of our dry pasta cuts. Please feel free to speak to a Manager. They
will be happy to prepare something vegan for you at your request.

Sincerely,

Your friends at Carrabba's

[sandra]

In jjdaiquiri's post lactic acid was mentioned. To my understanding lactic acid hasn't anything to do with lactose. I googled it once to find out and was convinced it was vegan. Does anyone have any views on this?

[rantipole]

I just received this from PF Chang's (I also included my inquiry so you could see what I asked):

I am a vegan and wondered if any of your menu items are vegan (or can be made vegan easily). I do not eat meat (or any meat byproducts such as fish sauce, oyster sauce, meat broths, etc), dairy (including whey, butter, milk, cheese, etc), eggs, or honey. Thank you for your attention!

Thank you for your note and inquiry. There are a couple of items on our menu that are vegan and others that can be when modified. If cane sugar is not an issue for you, I recommend any items from our “Vegetarian Plates and Sides” and vegetarian marked menu items. If cane sugar is an issue, I recommend the following:

Steamed Buddha’s Feast - you can add soft tofu or pressed tofu to this dish
Stir-Fried Spinach - garlic, salt and pepper. You can add soft tofu or pressed tofu to this dish.
Garlic Snap Peas - garlic, salt and pepper. You can add soft tofu or pressed tofu to this dish.
· You can also order any vegetable or tofu with a modified sauce. Please ask to speak to a manager and they will be happy to accommodate you accordingly.

Have a wonderful day!

Tiffany Hamby
Guest Relations/Training & Development
P.F. Chang's China Bistro

Wow! That was actually informative and helpful. It wasn't even the least bit evasive. Good for P.F. Chang's. If there was one in my area, I'd eat there.

Cheers,
rant

[eclectic_one]

Olive garden has assured me that their minestrone soup is vegan and made with vegetable broth. Pretty tasty too, you can order unlimited

I was told that by an employee of a local Olive Garden as well...though she said the salad isn't (I don't know if that's because of the dressing--perhaps it has parmesan cheese in it or the croutons or what). I don't know if it's accurate, but she also said the the pastas (i.e., spaghetti, linguine) are vegan as are the marinara and pomodoro sauces. I think I'll call another Olive Garden to be sure on those...

[Lydia_Sorrow]

On that pizza hut pdf the thin and crispy base looks fine.. whats wrong with it?

[RedWellies]

In jjdaiquiri's post lactic acid was mentioned. To my understanding lactic acid hasn't anything to do with lactose. I googled it once to find out and was convinced it was vegan. Does anyone have any views on this?

See here, Sandra.

[Sheila]

On that pizza hut pdf the thin and crispy base looks fine.. whats wrong with it?

The Pizza Hut site shows the crusts having Milk as an allergen: http://www.pizzahut.com/menu/allergen.asp

[Sheila]

I was told that by an employee of a local Olive Garden as well...though she said the salad isn't (I don't know if that's because of the dressing--perhaps it has parmesan cheese in it or the croutons or what). I don't know if it's accurate, but she also said the the pastas (i.e., spaghetti, linguine) are vegan as are the marinara and pomodoro sauces. I think I'll call another Olive Garden to be sure on those...

Here is the email I got from them: They cannot guarantee either vegan or veggie!


"We appreciate the challenges you face in honoring your personal convictions. Veganism and vegetarianism take many forms. A few of our menu items can be adjusted to accommodate a vegan or vegetarian diet, but none wholly meet the criteria. Our current nutritional database does not include information to the level of specific detail you require.


Depending on your personal philosophy, we can suggest the following items as meatless, but not necessarily vegetarian or vegan as they may contain some ingredients which do not comply with your personal philosophy:

Minestrone Soup
Garden Salad
Marinara Sauce
Capellini Pomodoro
Eggplant Parmigiana
Fettuccine Alfredo

We certainly empathize with the challenges presented to you when you weigh decisions regarding dining out. We recognize that we do not meet the needs of everyone and our objective remains to offer what our guests, through their selections, indicate are favorites."

[sandra]

Thanks RedWellies, I'm glad I was right about lactic acid being vegan [with the exception of lactic acid used in dairy products, but we wouldn't use them anyway.]

[Pete Teoh]

From Maggiano's:

September 15, 2006


Dear Mr. Teoh,

Thank you for contacting Maggiano's Little Italy for information on our vegetarian menu
items. Since there is no single vegetarian eating pattern, our company dietitian has
compiled the list below of suggested menu options for the 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, 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 food items are certified vegetarian. Additionally, 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
cooking process.

When visiting a Maggiano's, please make your special dietary needs known to your
server. Our chefs are available to visit your table and personally assist you with meal
recommendations as well as create a dish specifically suited to your needs. Please do not
hesitate to ask, as no request is ever too great. Maggiano's takes great pride in meeting
guests' special dietary requests.

Suggested Menu Options for Lacto-Ovo-Vegetarians (contain egg and dairy, but no
meat):
? Any of our salads can be prepared without meat
? Any of our pastas can be prepared without meat
? Blue Cheese Salad Dressing
? Caesar Salad Dressing

Suggested Menu Options for Lacto-Vegetarians (contain dairy, but no meat or egg):
? Any of our salads can be prepared without meat or eggs
? Any of our pasta dishes can be prepared with only Garlic and Olive Oil
? Any of our string pastas only (does not include Ravioli, Gnocchi, Lasagna or any fresh
pasta)
? Spaghetti Marinara
? Joey Z's Angel Hair
? Aglio Spinach
? Alfredo Sauce
? Shells & Vegetables with Tomato Pesto Broth
? Sliced Tomato with Fresh Mozzarella Appetizer
? Pesto Sauce
? Diavlo Sauce

Suggested Menu Options for Vegans (contain no meat, dairy or egg):
? Any of our salads can be prepared without meat, eggs or cheese.
? Any of our pasta dishes can be prepared with only Garlic and Olive Oil.
? Any of our string pastas only (does not include Ravioli, Gnocchi, Lasagna or any fresh
pastas)
? House Salad Dressing
? Italian Dressings

On your next visit to Maggiano's, 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.

Maggiano's
Guest Relations
Ref # 562072

[Haniska]

I had a GREAT experience at Maggianos in Richmond.

[assilembob]

I have not heard of Maggianos...sounds like a really positive place.

FYI - Abuelos (tex mex place) gave me a very similar response and when we went the chef and manager came to the table twice, before I ordered and after I got my food to make sure it was okay. (and they have kick butt margaritas if you drink )

[Wildflower]

Here is the email I got from them: They cannot guarantee either vegan or veggie!


"We appreciate the challenges you face in honoring your personal convictions. Veganism and vegetarianism take many forms. A few of our menu items can be adjusted to accommodate a vegan or vegetarian diet, but none wholly meet the criteria. Our current nutritional database does not include information to the level of specific detail you require.


Depending on your personal philosophy, we can suggest the following items as meatless, but not necessarily vegetarian or vegan as they may contain some ingredients which do not comply with your personal philosophy:

Minestrone Soup
Garden Salad
Marinara Sauce
Capellini Pomodoro
Eggplant Parmigiana
Fettuccine Alfredo

We certainly empathize with the challenges presented to you when you weigh decisions regarding dining out. We recognize that we do not meet the needs of everyone and our objective remains to offer what our guests, through their selections, indicate are favorites."

Shelia - have you posted that here before? Becuase I swear I have seen it before and wonder if that is just the standard letter they throw to anyone with a special food question. I think some of their products ARE vegan, but I think they do not want to take the time or the responsibility to verify the origin of all preservatives, etc.

Personally, I do eat there, and when I order a salad with no cheese or croutons, and I put olive oil and vinegar on top of it, I cannot see how this is not vegan! It is only a bunch of iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, onions, perpperoccini and black olives with the added oil/vinegar.

I also eat the minestrone soup, which several people have assured me is vegan, but that I can't 100% guarentee, allthough it certainly doesn't look or taste like there is any egg/dairy in it. A lot of people mention being told it is vegan (including myself!) maybe next time we can ask for an ingredients list so we can check it ourselves?

[Sheila]

I posted it but realized after that someone else had posted the same thing earlier.

I just don't have a warm fuzzy feeling when a restaurant cannot confirm what is in their stuff!

I think you can almost always be safe with a salad and the one you described sounds so good.

The problem I am running into is that some of these restaurants are pointing me to nutrition sheets. After reading through the ingredients a lot of things have sugar in them. They cannot tell me how the sugar is processed and think I'm nuts for asking. The lady at Wendys that I called yesterday was less then helpful! Also there are a lot of breads with a lot of questionable ingredients. I never realized how many salad dressings and breads have corn syrup in them. YUCK!

I'm going to see if I can track down an ingredient list for them.

Sheila

[Wildflower]

I am glad you posted it - it is interesting to see that they took ZERO time to research your question and instead sent a canned response.

I think sugar is always a problem here in the US. I am not even entirely convinced that products marked vegan use sugar that isn't processed with bone char due to the fact that almost all sugar here is processed this way. I don't have any basis for this assumption, so I don't want to cause alarm, I just wonder...

Corn syrup should be vegan, but could be made with GMOs and basically makes everything it touches taste like crap! It is definately in a lot of salad dressings, especially lower fat ones, they seem to use it to replace oil. It is also on all of those salads (pasta, bean, etc) they sell in the deli at regular grocery stores. It makes all of the salads taste the same and they all taste pretty awful IMO - just like vinegar and corn syrup.

If you come accross an indredients list I would be interested to see it! Thanks for all the research everyone is doing - this is awesome!

[Wishin986]

Cheesecake factory now has edamame and strawberries for dessert - that was a pleasant surprise!

[chickendude]

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.

[Sheila]

Yea, the listing "sugar" in all Tofutti products is bone char processed.

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

[eclectic_one]

Recently Macaroni Grill stopped having their Pomodoro sauce

[Pete Teoh]

Recently Macaroni Grill stopped having their Pomodoro sauce

Yes, they did. Here's an email I received from them today:

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

[chickendude]

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.

[vegaspaz]

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

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!

[Wishin986]

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.

[Davey]

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.

[Mermaid07]

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?

[HappyVegan]

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.

[mamegoma]

Cracker barrel says the following are vegan: vegetable soup, oatmeal, baked potato, and tossed salad.

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.

[Roxy]

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?

[sleepydvdr]

Well, as some of you have mentioned in other subjects, Peta is a bit "sloppy" in their definition of what is OK for vegans to eat (per the above link)...

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:

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

[bugaboo]

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.

[eclectic_one]

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.

[sleepydvdr]

I emailed Brixx Pizza, who has soy cheese, asking if it contained casein. Here is their response:

Yes it does. Hopefully we will find a totally vegan cheese in the near future.
Thanks for your interest in Brixx,
Jeff Van Dyke

[Wishin986]

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

[Guacamole Gal]

Oh sweet mother of all that is holy, I think I've just fallen in love!!!

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*

[Otter_]

TJ's delivers to my apartment

[Guacamole Gal]

TJ's delivers to my apartment

Well stand-by, because you're about to have a Lakini delivered to your apartment!!!

Cafe Viva - Herbal Pizzeria in NYC has plenty of vegan options of pizza, salads and desserts, but TJ's just looks MMMmmmmmmMMMMmmmmmm

[Otter_]

Well stand-by, because you're about to have a Lakini delivered to your apartment!!!

Cafe Viva - Herbal Pizzeria in NYC has plenty of vegan options of pizza, salads and desserts, but TJ's just looks MMMmmmmmmMMMMmmmmmm

Well, I do have a spare room ... most days.

[Guacamole Gal]

Sweeeeeet as! But hang on, "most days"? Dare we ask what happens in the room other days?!

[Otter_]

Sweeeeeet as! But hang on, "most days"? Dare we ask what happens in the room other days?!

Every other weekend I get my kids

[Guacamole Gal]

Every other weekend I get my kids

Aha, kids! I can do kids! Good wholesome fun...

Well, I'm willing to work in exchange for feeding on a purely pizza-based diet..Scratch that, pizza and Mexican-based diet! Yessum!! I'll pack my bags...

[Otter_]

Aha, kids! I can do kids! Good wholesome fun...

Well, I'm willing to work in exchange for feeding on a purely pizza-based diet..Scratch that, pizza and Mexican-based diet! Yessum!! I'll pack my bags...

Well, all three are teenage now, so there isn't much work.

[Guacamole Gal]

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)

[Otter_]

Well, I have to admit Maggie's Spinacoli (spinach, broccoli, & garlic) pizza is my favorite

[Guacamole Gal]

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!!

[sleepydvdr]

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

I just checked out TJ Scallywaggles' website. Holy crap! The whole place is vegan... I wish there were one near me! No vegan restaurants near by at all.

How do you know about Brixx Pizza? I assume you visited NC or SC, since that's where all their locations are.