Does anyone know of any vegan foods served in large restaurant chains which one might otherwise question? For instance, some veggie burgers in restaurants are vegetarian but not vegan, so you never really know outside of asking. Rather than going to every conceivable eatery and asking about every questionable dish, I thought others would have some experience and knowledge in this area. I am however, only concerned about vegan foods as it is seems readily apparent if something is vegetarian.

To start the discussion here is what I learned about the veggie burger (or whatever it is called) at Ruby Tuesdays. The patty itself is vegan, the ingredients are nothing but whole foods such as oats, peppers, etc. However, if you order it you will have to compensate for the ranch dressing and the toasted bun which they put something similar to butter on. Next time I will ask for a bun that hasn’t been toasted and barbeque sauce in place of ranch.

Do you mean Ruby's Diner...or is there a restaurant called Ruby Tuesdays? 'Cause I know that Ruby's diner has a veggie burger, but it's a Gardenburger with cheese in it. :(

I know that at El Torito you can get a veggie burger....although it comes with a little cup of beans on the side with cheese sprinkled on top...so just specify NO CHEESE. I like to say that I'm lactose intolerant and will become severely ill....which is partially true. There were a couple of times that there was cheese in the actual burrito and this is so ridiculous because they had never made it with cheese in it before. GRRRRR.

Ruby Tuesday's, it's a chain of upscale burger joints, kind of like Applebee's. That is the best veggie burger I have ever had and I think it's better than any burger I have had period. :drool:

I just had great Indian food at the food court at my mall. Probably not a national chain yet, but maybe you'll get something similar in your area. They had nan and everything.

Sorry, I should have mentioned where the chain is located and what it is. I have to drive fifty miles to get to something (Springfield, IL) that even resembles a large city. I guess I figure given the backwoods nature of the area I live in that if its located near me it must be everywhere (i.e. we have nothing). Often then, I don't elaborate when I should.

It is a pretty groovin burger by the way. It's very large and better than anything I have bought in the store.

Originally posted by Herself
I like to say that I'm lactose intolerant and will become severely ill....which is partially true.

My sister does that as well (but it's not true at all). I would probably say that too, but I never leave the house, and certainly don't go to restaurants. I hate them. A lot. They're so gross, the sit-down places that serve bread baskets at the beginning...the reuse the bread. It's pretty obvious if you think about it, but still really gross. People touch all the bread, spit on it, drop it on the ground, etc. Then you get it! Yay.

I love Applebee's veggie burger, but I don't think it's vegan.

The Salad at Olive Garden is vegan... if you tell them to hold the meat, cheese, eggs, and dressing.

Is Pizza Hut's pizza vegan? Their my favorite, (tomato, onion, green pepper, no cheese). The Pizza Hut near us even offers veggie cheese!

One of my coworkers moonlights at Pizza Hut and she said there were no animal products in their crust after I asked her to check. I can't verify this. As of now I only have her word to go on.

LadyFaile used to work at Pizza Hut, so I suppose she'd be able to answer that.

ah just found this. yeah the crust is fine unless you're picky about using white flour. the dough is just flour, water, vegetable oil and yeast. but i think it could vary from country to country so don't assume it's the same everywhere you go, ask if you have doubts.
we don't have the veggie cheese here yet :( though i heard it's probably not vegan anyway (casein) as most veggie cheese are not.

My husband and I order no cheese pizza's from Pizza Hut sometimes...I checked their ingredients and they're vegan. We're in California...not sure if it's the same in all the states, but it should be since it's a franchise.

Papa John's makes great cheeseless pizza. They told us it varies from franchise to franchise if the crust is vegan, because sometimes they brush butter on the edges. I make a habit of asking. If it pisses people off...well, it shouldn't. The customer should be able to get what s/he wants.

I'm going to Cooperstown on Wednesday for dinner. They have an awesome GardenBurger. Plus, I like the atmosphere. It's owned by Alice Cooper and sits just a jump down from The Jake (the stadium where the Indians play). The decor is rock and roll meets baseball. Very cool! Plus they make a mean Long Island Iced Tea! Ahh birthdays.....

Burger King has a great veggie burger that's 99.8% vegan.

i think pizza hut ingredients are the same all over actually, because they're all made by the company itself, for the most part. but i still stick to my original comment because some stores are owned by a smaller franchise and some are owned by Prizm (AKA Tricon), you never know when a small franchise might sneak in their own outside ingredients. they're not supposed to, but i've seen many incidences where the kitchen ran out of something and the manager ran over to the grocery store and picked up a no-name version to replace it until the next shipment.

so yeah, be careful. but most importantly, when you order mention that you're very strict vegetarian, or extremely allergic or something, and that they kitchen absolutely must use clean utensils when making and cutting your pizza. otherwise crap stuck to the utensils gets onto yours and next thing you know you've got a mouthful of bacon (i speak from experience as this happens to me a LOT)

Note: Only the thin crust at pizza hut is vegan. (At least where I am...)

Oh goody! Here is where I can come in useful. Check out this page on my website: http://www.Sword2SkyVegan.net/selections.html
I hope this is helpful.
I will be expanding the site as soon as I have more time and get my computer working properly again.

I've heard Burger Kings' burger is disgusting, by many, many people. I'm surprised that you actually thought it was good, kpickell.

I personally would never choose to support a fast food resaurant, or one that thinks that 99.8% vegan is suitable for vegans. I don't consider it so. If my bread had a little bit of butter oil in it, even just al ittle, I wouldn't eat it. 0.2% is 0.2% too much, IMO. Besides, I don't eat that nasty bleached, bromated refiend flour anyways. But whatever.

I never knew Ruby Tuesday's veggieburger was vegan. I'll have to try that. I'm no fan of restarants but when there are no other options, like, when I've been on the road for three days and it's either that or starve, I have to do with what I can.

Cassie

Hm.. How about the preparation of the Ruby Tuesday's burger? Must I be anal and investigate if it was cooked with the meat? Butter/animal on/in the bun? Fries vegan?

I hate ordering a naked pattie. :)

If you want to know what restaurants are vegan/offer vegan friendly dishes, check out: www.happycow.net

I get veggie burgers when I am out all the time. I, too, like the Burger King veg burger (it is very much like the garden patty made by morningstar). The Applebees in my area does not serve veg burgers and I hate that place. Their menu is quite limited. The veg burger at Ruby Tuesday's is one of the worst in my opinion! (sorry michael- maybe the ones you've had are a different recipe??). Max and Erma's has a decent veg burger and so does Johnny Rockets. Chili's has a bean burger that is ok (kinda dry). As for Pizza Hut, their ingredients are listed on their website but as others have mentioned: it might vary from store to store. Personally their pizza (the crust) makes me ill. I will stick to my local pizza places instead :)

Panera sent me a vegan listing but another board said they are lying and their ingredients are not vegan in their vegan listing and have honey, etc. in them. I have asked Panera to clarify by providing me with the full ingredients.

Subway Veggie Delight is vegan but I think only with wheat bread. Their bread ingredients are on their website.

Quiznos has wheat in their bread.

I'm not sure about the BK Veggie bread but I do like the BK Veggie and some posts say that most people don't. hmmmm..I don't know about that. My husband is frighteningly fussy and likes it. he will pick pieces of tomato out of his sauce and anything green.

Anyway, pizza hut has meat in their sauce so nothing vegan there.

I was told that Papa Johns crust is vegan, so is their sauce and they do make a nice cheeseless pizza.

You can get vegan food at lots of chinese places. Mine makes a mean steamed broccoli and rice with garlic. Very spicy.

I'm in Chicago so we have lots to choose from. I do know Panera does have many offerings of vegan selections but until I can pin them down on exact ingredients rather than the "vegan" list they sent me, I will refrain from passing it on.

Oh, there is a Chicago restaurant and they make awesome stuffed vegan peppers and other vegan selections. Only one restaurant so you need to be around here, www.savvy-fare.com. I work with the mom of the young couple that owns it. They are very strict on the food ingredients.

Fast food is hard but once in a while, you get lucky. Sometimes it is just easier to eat at home tho!!

Oops - sorry.. I should reread my post. I mean Quiznos has WHEY in their bread, all of them, not just "wheat". I gotta go to bed.

Originally posted by nicollew
Anyway, pizza hut has meat in their sauce so nothing vegan there.


It has been well-established at various sites, and with Pizza Hut as a corporation, that the thin-crust pizza without cheese (obviously) is vegan, as is the sauce. There is no meat in the sauce.

My wife and I eat the thin crust pizza with veggies and no cheese all the time, and it's surprisingly good, though fairly cold by the time it's delivered, so we tend to eat it when we're running around and there's a Pizza Hut nearby when it's time for dinner or lunch.