Vegan Recipes, Ideas, and Living » Eating out

Kumamoto Vegan: Bunzo, a Nice Italian-like Place Downtown

Benjamin Jones — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 13:35:10 +0000

Not exactly sure what Bunzo means, but it is a great place in downtown Kumamoto that calls itself Italian, though how authentic it is is, frankly, a little debatable. Some Italian, some French, and some uniquely Japanese things like potatoes on pizza.

The first time I went it was on the recommendation of a professor at the local college, the second time I returned with a traveller who was looking for good food in town. Though the place isn’t the most vegan-friendly, they have a few good items on the menu (just be sure to mention no cheese!).

Bunzo brings your food out on a few big communal dishes for sharing, which combined with the dark, comfortable atmosphere of the restaurant makes it a great place to go for conversation or friendship.

Anyway, on the menu last night was “mushroom tomato sauce pasta” and pizza. Though the name sounds a little weird in English, it is some of the best pasta I’ve ever had, made with delicious mushrooms of a generous amount and in a very light sauce.

The pizza, unlike any that I have had anywhere else, is a simple, yet delicious thing. Baked on delicious, slightly crispy crust, they are happy to make a cheeseless pizza topped with tomatoes and potatoes (which are the only topping options besides cheese). Unlike anything I’ve eaten before, it is quite good delicious.

Overall, Bunzo is a great, reasonably prices restaurant. For two main dishes, a pizza, and oolong tea for two, the price comes out to only 4,000 yen (40 dollars). And according to my Swiss companion, it was unexpectedly good.

Amakusa Vegan: Baobab Cafe, Indian Food and Reggae Music

Benjamin Jones — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 13:01:13 +0000

One day when I was rumbling around town visiting temples and shrines after I meeting I happened by an Indian place that wasn’t on the local map. What luck, I thought. I love Indian food and was wondering if there was any around.

So I decided to stop in. The place is small and has a good atmosphere. It is run by a husband and wife couple who are extremely interested in reggae music. The husband spent his youth travelling around Jamaica and India learning about music and food, which was where he became a cook.

The husband, like many Jamaicans and Indians, is a vegetarian as well and both of them are familiar with what “vegan” means, which is a very, very surprising thing to find in Japan.

When I asked for a recommendation, the husband said he would make me a special plate. Though it is not the curry you are probably used to, it was quite good. Amakusa is well known for having tasty vegetables, and the mushrooms especially were great.

I had this curry, rice, coffee, and tea all for a very nice 1000 yen (about 10 bucks), but I also got to stay and chat with the couple, who were pretty interesting people. The husband even took me over to a local historian’s place for tea to help with my research and showed me some of the more interesting local sites.

Though we spoke in Japanese, I got the impression that at least the husband knew English pretty well from his travels and the menu is partially in English, so I would call this a foreigner-friendly place.

They also have occasional events where they perform live music and have food and those sorts of things.

Curry: The Best Thing Ever Injected Into Bread

Benjamin Jones — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:57:33 +0000

It is called curry pan (curry bread), and while I can’t speak to its origins, it is good stuff. Although I’ve known of its existence for some time, I never asked what was in it. Today I finally stopped into the panya (a fresh bread store) and took a look.

Turns out they make curry pan with a tomato curry that does not have any meat ingredients: success! I got some to go and took it home with me.

It was as everyone else had said: the best thing since coconut milk ice cream. While the taste is something like a high collar hot pocket, this is probably a good thing since tasty foods stuffed inside of other tasty foods seems to be a pleasant theme.

I’m not yet sure on how easy it would be to make at home, probably a bit like making a calzone, but more Indian. With curry being an incredibly creative sort of dish, you can imagine the possibilities with curry pan.

Amakusa Vegan: Sun Gourmet Pizza

Benjamin Jones — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 12:50:12 +0000

Sun Gourmet is a pizza delivery place in downtown Hondo, Amakusa City. Though I never ordered delivery, their pizza is quite great and if you order in the shop you get a 10% discount.

In the US it can be difficult to get a pizza place to make an order like you want it, but in Japan it is a bit easier. Japanese pizza places aren’t used to the same norms and will often do wild things like put potatoes on as toppings and such, so you can imagine they might be more open to accommodation.

Well, Sun Gourmet was the first place I tried and they are definitely willing to do things however you like it. While they had the normal shock over a person unable to eat meat or cheese, there was no problem for them making a cheeseless pizza with whatever veggie toppings I wanted.

For 1,080 yen (about 11 bucks these days) I got myself an L-size pizza with mushrooms and black olives that was quite good. I felt the pizza itself was modest in its goals and that suited me well. The crust was just right and the toppings good. Overall, a good pizza.

I ended up ordering all three nights I was in town. Besides the good pizza, the owners are nice people and they have a cute son who hangs out with them after school doing child things.

Anyway, certainly one of the better places I have eaten since being in Japan, even if it is something as mundane as a simple pizza.

Restaurant Review: Wildflower Cafe in Watkins Glen, NY

Benjamin Jones — Tue, 05 May 2009 18:19:16 +0000

This weekend I had the pleasure of being in Watkins Glen, NY for the Green Grand Prix (more on that here). Despite the area being wonderfully pretty, just off of Seneca Lake, one of the largest of the Finger Lakes, Watkins Glen was also a cute town.

Both nights I ended up eating at a place called Wildflower Cafe. The first night we were guided there by an ecomodder I didn’t know what vegan until later, and then the second night by a guy with a Prius painted to look like a shuttle craft from Star Trek. Certainly interesting company.

Day 1: Mushroom Burger and Sweet Potato Fries

The first time we went to Wildflower Cafe it was late on a busy Friday night. Despite the ruckus, we received good service and our food was out promptly, which I think reflects well on the quality of service at the establishment.

I didn’t know what to order so I let my fiancee chose for me: a burger made of some sorts of mushrooms and together we split an order of sweet potato fries. Overall, the burger was a little bland, but not unpleasant to eat. The fries were much better. I am a big fan of yam fries and the Wildflower Cafe definitely gets a thumbup for theirs. They also came with delicious dipping sauces, including avocado and some sort of spicy catchup. Good stuff.

Day 2: Moonrose Ribs and Haystack Onion Rings

Returning for a second time, I decided to order my second choice from the night before: Moonrose Ribs. The ribs were, of course, not real ribs, but a soy-based concoction in a tangy sauce (picture above). The onion rings were not traditional rings, but rather thinly shredded and without the breading. This time, it was the onion rings that were slightly bland and the main course that was delicious.

The Moonrose Ribs did not disappoint, and were even enjoyed by one of my omnivorous companions. I will definitely return to Wildflower Cafe next year for more of these ribs.

Overall, this was a great restaurant with good service and reasonable prices (dinner for 4 was less than 50 dollars). I look forward to returning and would recommend it to anyone.

7 Tips for a Good Vegan Road Trip

Benjamin Jones — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 13:52:43 +0000

Because I am a cyclist with my college’s team, every year I end up travelling all about the country on the weekends, staying in hotels, and trying to get enough food to live properly. Based on what I learned last year and the obstacles I anticipate in the coming year, I decided to write a little guide on the necessities of travel.

1. Case the location online

Before I go anywhere I like to give a quick look over the place on google maps, searching not only for vegan restaurants, but restaurants in general. If the places look like they’ll be full of chains, I might check out the vegan options of each of them in advance. From this you can learn a whole lot, and do anything from plan where you’ll eat to where you might want to stay. If you’ll be in a larger city, a site like Yelp might also help.

2. Cook in advance

There’s nothing worse when you’re on the road than eating food that makes you feel like you’re on the road. For that reason I like to cook something that keeps in a container and that I can heat up quickly. Most times it will be something like rice and beans, chili, or even curry. It also helps if you can find something that you like both hot and cold.

3. Bring more than enough food

I can’t stress enough how important it is that you bring more food than you expect to need. Travel is tiring, so oftentimes you find yourself needing more nourishment than you thought. Also, you never know when you might be delayed by something like a rainstorm or whatnot, which might mean you’ll need more than you thought beforehand. The key to good planning is going overboard, and you don’t want to be stuck in the middle of Kansas with nothing but an Arby’s.

4. High calorie, salty drinks

Gatorade isn’t the favourite drink of many people, but calories and electrolytes are important for keeping your energy up. If you’re like me and you can drive from Missouri to New Jersey in 22 hours with three stops for gas, you don’t want to get tired from too much water and no calories.

5. Know what you’ll be eating along the way

On my most recent road trip, I was decently sure of what I could eat coming back. I’d done the 15 hour drive before, and I knew that I could either pick up stuff along the way or get a pizza at Papa John’s on the way out. However, since I would’ve had to wait for Papa John’s to open at 11am before I could leave, I decided it would be best to just get some food along the way. Well, the next day I didn’t feel so good. When you have a sure thing, take it instead of trying to roll the dice.

6. Dried fruits and nuts

Not only are they good for you, but they’re easy to lay your hands on and easy to eat while you’re in the car. This is one great way to stay healthy when you’re on the road, I wish I did it more often. Thanks to @muhajaba for the tip!

7. Homemade trail mix

Like the previous tip, but with a bit more granola and the possibility of creating some sort of bar-shaped food. Thanks again to @TheHumaneLeague for the tip!

Have any other ideas for taking the pain out of road trips? Share them in the comments.

Vegan Valentine’s Day at Molly’s in Hanover

Benjamin Jones — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 03:47:00 +0000

I’ve been trying to avoid mentioning this, but I recently became engaged to a very nice woman. I’m sure she doesn’t want to be talked about, but even though she doesn’t live around these parts we happened to find ourselves together for dinner and went out for a nice Valentine’s Day dinner at Molly’s.

I’ve always liked Molly’s, because even though they’re lacking many vegan options, they’ll usually accommodate special requests and have really good sweet potato fries. It’s also a nice restaurant with a nice atmosphere and good service.

So, while my fiancee is not vegan, I got some tasty pasta in a chunky garlic marinara sauce and split the fries with her. As always, it was good and vegan. I feel like I need to try out other things at Molly’s so I can judge them more harshly, but as I said, the main problem with Molly’s is the lack of options.

Moral of the story: if you’re in town, stop in for some sweet potato fries.

San Francisco Vegan: Cafe Gratitude

Benjamin Jones — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 02:25:18 +0000

Well, this is definitely the prettiest food picture I have ever put on collegevegan, which is too bad because it’s going to be one of the few times when I feel relatively negative about something that involves food. When I was in San Francisco my friend took me out to Cafe Gratitude, as it’s known to be a good, all vegan place in town.

The place has a very nice atmosphere, I won’t debate that, but I felt overly silly ordering “I am elated” even though it seemed like it would be very delicious. There’s something to be said for a pleasant demeanor and nice service, but it’s another thing to spend money to tell yourself good things. It just seems stuck up and while I get that a lot of vegans (and other people that believe in things) can get pretty stuck up about it, it’s still a turn off.

When the food came, it was undeniably pretty:

However, and I hate to say this because I hear it so much about vegan food, the food was pretty bland. For $15 bucks or so I felt like the best thing on my plate was the quinoa. What’s worse is that in the end I wasn’t even full.

Grr. There were some things on the menu that really looked good, so I might give it another chance, but it’ll be hard to get over the stupid menu, .

San Francisco Vegan: Blue Front Cafe

Benjamin Jones — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 14:12:15 +0000

Firstly, I feel like the world’s worst food blogger right now. I could’ve sworn that place with the great falafels was called the Blue Moon Cafe, but when I looked it up I found out that was the name of an Asian fusion restaurant all the way on the other side of town. So right now, I really have no idea what this place is called, I just know that it’s somewhere on Haight street, where all the hipsters and people with bad fashion like to hang out (it’s actually less than a block from Coffee to the People).

Anyway, I have nothing but good things to say about this nameless place. I’d heard about falafels for a long time, but honestly, I didn’t know anyone who was into Mediterranean food so I had never eaten one. That certainly changed with a band. Not only was this avocado, rice, burrito, falafel thing the first of its kind that I had ever eaten, but it was delicious. Even though the hummus was much to spicy and just about killed me before I realized I shouldn’t put more on my falafel, it was great.

Like Coffee to the People, I was lucky enough to return a second time to get a falafel for the plane. For about 8 bucks you can get a foot long, foot around falafel that stuffs even me, with my ability to enhale an entire 14″ pizza without much concern for my health. Definitely worthwhile. I wonder if you can get half orders but even if you can’t I think it’s totally worth it since the falafels keep well and you can just toss the second half in the fridge for another time.

Anyway, if I can remember what it’s called I swear I’ll update the post!

EDIT: Thanks to Sharon for jogging my memory on the name of the place!

San Francisco Vegan: Pizza Orgasmica

Benjamin Jones — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 21:48:27 +0000

You’ll have to excuse the horrible camera phone picture, but we make do with what we have. You’ll also have to excuse how late all of my San Francisco reviews are, but you know how life gets in the way sometimes. As long as I have time to eat, I think it’s okay if I run out of time to talk about it.

Anyway, one of the nights I spent in San Francisco involved a rather lovely dinner at Pizza Orgasmica. I absolutely love pizza, so even though I was slightly turned off by the name (I don’t want to know what they do in the backroom!) I figured it could be pretty good, and I wasn’t let down. It was a little pricey, but hey, it’s not Papa John’s so what do you expect.

My friend and I had a large sicilian pie with tomatoes, black olives, and mushrooms, and, of course, no cheese. Sadly, there was no medium sicilian option, but I thought we could finish it. Even though I managed to eat 3/4s of the pizza by myself, even I ended up stuffed and couldn’t go on. She, on the other hand was full after the first piece. I don’t know what it was, but the pizza was incredibly filling.

I guess I should mention now that besides being incredibly filling, it was also incredibly good. Probably some of the best pizza I’ve ever had, and I highly reccommend it. Pizza Orgasmica has a few cheeseless speciality pizzas and they even have soy cheese, though I don’t know if it’s tasty since I don’t really like soy cheese in general.

Anyone else been there?

San Francisco Vegan: Coffee to the People

Benjamin Jones — Sun, 14 Dec 2008 05:58:43 +0000

Recently (though not too recently, these posts are a little backed up), I spent some time with a dear friend in San Francisco. She wasn’t a vegan, but that’s okay. She seemed to know where everything was so I had a relatively lovely time in San Francisco as far as food is concerned (she’s nice too)!

Anyway, just near her house was a very lovely coffee shop called Coffee to the People. Personally, I think the name is much too cheesey, but the coffee was rather good and above that they had some delicious vegan pastries. I was only in town for a short period of time so I could only patronize this fine establishment twice. However, they were well worth it.

The first time I went I had a very tasty cranberry scone. Now, I’m not the biggest cranberry fan in the world, but I do go crazy for scones, so I decided to give it a try. It was so worth it. It was incredibly satisfying, and even made me think about giving cranberries another chance.

When I returned the next time I was even more pleased to see that they had vegan cornbread. It’s not like cornbread is that special, since I eat it all the time, but this cornbread looked particularly moist. And it was! It was incredibly delicious and well worth the visit. I hope to make it back if only for this cornbread…except some experimental recipes in the future.

Anyone else been there?

Laziest Vegan Ever: Room Service at the Sheraton

Benjamin Jones — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 02:38:49 +0000

Last week I was at the LA Auto Show press days as a journalist for my other life at EcoModder.com, and before going I really thought I was going to hit the town and get some good eats while I was there. Little did I know I would be waking up at 6:30, jetlagged, and completely unprepared to walk around a show room floor for 9 hours without eating or drinking!

So, needless to say, after the days events were over I tended to walk home to my hotel and fall into bed. Luckily, the Sheraton room service people were incredibly accomodating with my vegan requests, and both days I ended up with some pretty good food. The first night I had the pizza you see above, and the second I had this delicious pasta dish with a name I forget:

On the whole, I’d have to say the Sheraton was a pretty nice place for food for such a lazy person like me, but next time I’m going to brave the haze and eat in some nice restaurants!

Baja Fresh at LAX

Benjamin Jones — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 18:09:55 +0000

One of the most annoying things about traveling for me is the need to eat. Sure, eating is a luxury that really only needs to be done every couple of days (har har har), but it’s especially hard to make that happen when your only options can be found in the crappy food court at some crowded, overpriced airport.

Luckily, when I wound up in LAX before my flight to San Francisco, I had no trouble finding something tasty and familiar. That something was Baja Fresh. Baja Fresh is a national chain of Mexican food. I’m tempted to call it fast food because it is both fast and food, but it doesn’t have that same horrid taste and sense of impending, greasy doom that most fast food would give you.

Anyway, my usual fare at the baja fresh is one burrito with black beans and rice. The ingredient are always great and the burritos are made fresh and toasted to a crispy perfection while you wait. To top it off they always come with chips and a great variety of salsas from which you can choose.

I forget how much I ended up forking over at the airport, but usually I can get a burrito like this for about 4 bucks and by the time I’m done I’m positively stuff, so Baja Fresh is a great value. It’s also someplace I enjoy going to more than I feel forced to by convenience.

I haven’t tried much else at BF yet, but I’m sure there are some other vegan options (and tons of vegetarian ones). Does anyone eat there?

My Theory on Eating Out and Cross-Contamination

Benjamin Jones — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 06:50:08 +0000

Recently a comment on my post about vegan pizza got me thinking about my policy on cross-contamination when eating out. Obviously, this is something I have thought about for a few years, so I’ll try to some up my views in just a few points, since I don’t want to bore you.

Anyway, here was the original comment:

I work at a pizza place that sounds a lot like Ramunto’s…and “cross-contamination” happens all the time. Your hand goes straight from the ham to the pineapple or sausage to the black olives. Or cheese accidentally get dropped in the sauce…actually, the cheese gets everywhere.

Just out of curiosity…is this a concern for you, that animal products are likely mixed in to your vegan pizza even if only in minimal amounts?

To answer this, I’ll first get into the reasons why I am a vegan, and how I try to flesh that out in practice:

Ethics: Basically, I think it’s an ethical obligation to reduce suffering wherever possible. I believe that animals have developed enough nervous systems to feel pain, and as such, it’s reasonable to expect that they do not like dying or being kept as slaves for food. Because I can be perfectly healthy without animal products, I feel ethically obligated to be vegan.
Environment: Eating lower on the food chain reduces waste and environmental impact. Don’t believe me? Look it up, :p. I don’t feel like explaining. But imagine how much food and water it takes to keep a cow alive for long enough to get to the dinner table. It’s a lot more than it would take if it were just the human eating veggies and such. Cows aren’t efficient power converters.
Health: I’m not super worried about my health, but I try to take care, and I see where veganism can fit in there.

Now, how does this apply to cross-contamination? Well, first I should talk about what that is in a broad sense, I guess. Cross-contamination happens when things are fried in the same oil, cooked in the same pan, or when something might get dripped when moving stuff around. It’s why a lot of products say “manufactured in a facility that also produces blah, blah, blah.” In those circumstances cross-contamination could harm people with serious allergies. Here’s how I feel in regards to the reasons why I’m vegan:

Ethics: I am still electing vegan choices and I can’t expect restaurant workers to be infallible. My family owns a farm, and you’d be surprised how many snakes and stuff get chopped up when you’re harvesting crops, but does this mean you’re not going to eat soy beans? It wasn’t the intention and isn’t really preventable without extreme means, so I don’t think it bears much ethical concern here.
Environment: Since you’re not electing extra non-vegan things, and the quantity is almost non-existent, I don’t see how this is an issue.
Health: See above.

Now, to sound a little angry about it, I think getting overly concerned with cross-contamination when eating out is pretty worthless. Are you vegan because you like the label and seeming hardcore or because you’re acting in accordance with convictions? Personally, I tend not to tell people I’m vegan, because people thinking whatever about me isn’t going to affect what my vegan actions are doing. In the same way, not eating out or having unrealistic expectations of chefs isn’t going to change the impact of vegan dining choices.

My conclusion: be vegan, don’t be stuck up.

Ramunto’s Brick Oven Pizza in Hanover, NH

Benjamin Jones — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:48:07 +0000

Since figuring out that pizza could be vegan I’ve been on a bit of a tear recently. I’ve toned it down a bit since I care for my health and my pocketbook, but gosh darn it, pizza is just tasty and so easy to order sometimes. In Hanover, there are three pizza places: EBA’s (known for its lack of quality), Ramuntos (kind of pricey), and C&A’s (not really known).

In calling around, Ramunto’s was the only place that really knew what was in their crust (weird, huh), and much to my joy I learned that there wasn’t anything taboo for me in there (milk, whey, etc). So I gave it a shot: one large, no cheese, with broccoli, black olives, and mushrooms.

Verdict: Delicious!

With delivery a pizza like this runs just about $20 + tip, so it’s not exactly cheap, and I don’t know that Ramunto’s has much else that is vegan, so for every once and a while, I definitely recommend this place (and pizza).

Vegan at LaVita’s Pizza in Mt Holly, NJ (my hometown)

Benjamin Jones — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 21:35:04 +0000

One fateful day, while picking up a sandwich for my mom, I decided to ask the people at my favorite pizza place what was in the crust. I’d recently read about making crust, and realized that heck, it might be vegan!

Much to my surprise (honestly!), it was. Needless to say I was overjoyed. I hadn’t eaten pizza in years and rather missed the sensation. I was kind of hoping they could make me a calzone and stuff it with a bunch of veggies instead of cheese.

So, one day a little further down the line, when a friend of mine was visiting from Japan, I decided to call up LaVita’s and ask for a few slices. I didn’t know what to put on, so I ended up getting broccoli, black olive, tomatoes, and green peppers. You’ve already seen the pictures, so I don’t need to tell you how epicly tasty is was.

Anyway, for all you out there who haven’t discovered the joy of vegan pizza, it’s so worth it just to ask, don’t be afraid like I was! Next step: making my own! Anyone have some good recipes for me?

Kingdom of Vegetarian, Smack-dab in the Middle of Chinatown, Philadelphia

Benjamin Jones — Sat, 06 Sep 2008 16:38:42 +0000

A few days ago a friend of mine (Umino Haruna) came to visit all the way from Japan. Besides the normal showing her around America stuff, this also means that I’ve been out to eat quite a lot more than I normally would be. We’ve been some unremarkable places, but yesterday we went to one of my favorite places, which is in Philly’s Chinatown.

It’s called Kingdom of Vegetarian, and despite the horrible name, they have pretty good food. It’s a good and casual, and since it’s exclusively vegan there usually aren’t a lot of loud, annoying Americans there, so I rather like it.

I’m not the best restaurant reviewer in the world, but suffice it to say that even after sitting in downtown traffic for an hour and kissing the bumper of a BMW to let an ambulance by, I thought it was worth it. I got the General Tso’s Chicken (which is what I always get and what I’ve gotten of Chinese food since I was a predictable 8 year old) and it was rather good and definitely filling. Haruna got the veggie fried rice and rather liked it but couldn’t finish.

Another nice thing about Kingdom of Vegetarians is that it’s not obscenely expensive. Of anywhere we’ve eaten thus far, it was the cheapest, and our dinner came out to just $16 between the both of us. So, if you’re in the city, give it a try!

Wendy’s New Meatetarian Ad is Annoying/Foolish

Benjamin Jones — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 09:16:11 +0000

Oi, have you seen it yet? It’s yet to make it’s way online and Wendy’s isn’t hosting it either, so I’m just going to assume you’ve seen the new TV ad for the Baconator. Normally I’d call it something other than foolish, but I don’t like to curse on my blog. For those of you that haven’t seen the ad, I’ll give you an idea what it’s like.

The commercial is set in a Wendy’s with two younger people (20-somethings) chatting over a meal. The attractive blonde woman offers the kind-of-ugly man some of her salad, when he replies that he can’t, because he’s a meatetarian. Evidently, “it’s a commitment.”

Not only is it a joke on veg*ns, but a joke on the ones who annoy me too (the self-accomplished type), but in the end it trys to make a joke out of how we live and whatnot, which is silly. What’s next? Paper ads glorifying desforestation or SUV ads melting ice caps? Fine, Wendy’s, sell your meaty food, but don’t try to pass off your heart disease sandwich as some holy grail of the quest to eat meat at the expense of others!

Making the best of a bad vegan situation

Benjamin Jones — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 23:02:07 +0000

Every so often I like to opine on issues that I think come up often in vegan life that deal with a bit more than ingredients and other delicious stuff. In the past I’ve talked a bit about relationships, but today I would love it if I could ramble on a bit about eating (or not eating) out.

My mom’s birthday

Most years we are out on my grandmother’s farm, where my mom grew up, for her birthday. This year is no different. However, this is the first time I’ve been out here since I’ve been vegan.

Anyway, for my mom’s birthday I wanted to take her out to dinner, but seeing how the biggest town within an hour of here has a population of 8,000 and a very limited restaurant scene outside of the all-you-can-eat feed hole and the Sonic, I knew things would be pretty grim.

In the end we went to a place called Washington Street, which is the only thing in town near a “nice restaurant.” Last time I was there I got fettucine alfredo, so I assumed there would be some sort of pasta with marinara sauce, at the very least.

Boy, was I wrong! Looking at the menu, I was a little dumbfounded. In search of real food, I asked about the soup, but no luck there. In the end, I got a house salad with no cheese and no dressing. To say the least, I was pretty damn hungry.

So, what did I learn?

Well, for one thing, I learned that the places I’m used to eating, being not in the middle of “I eat my cow when it’s still mooing” territory, have more vegan options that most places. In fact, the people around my area are likely to know what a vegan person is.

You don’t always have that kind of luck, though. So what then? Well, I guess you can’t go into every situation expecting too much. And even then, there will probably be something to eat. I ended up having a big salad. I got about zero nutrition out of that wad of lettuce (it wasn’t a very creative salad), but it wasn’t deep-friend and beer-battered, so it probably didn’t kill me when I had a snack later.

Even though it would be nice to not go around explaining ourselves all the time and trying to have vegan stuff whipped for us at places that’ve never heard the word, we’re not quite there yet.

Photo: flickr by rexipe

The worst fast food is the fast food that you like

Benjamin Jones — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 21:30:42 +0000

I hate Sonic. I hate it because I like it, and because it’s so easy to eat there. Being a drive-in, all you need to do is swerve off the road, push a button, and there is someone bringing you a soda and some fried junk. Fast food is evil. Good fast food is even worse. [...] Related posts: