Vegan food in major restaurants

[Jeremy Alcorn]

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.

[Herself]

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.

[Michael]

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.

[Thalia]

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.

[Jeremy Alcorn]

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.

[Tommy Gun]

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.

[kpickell]

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.

[kpickell]

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

[Jeremy Alcorn]

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.

[RiceBoy]

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