Whole Foods - Arlington, TX

Whole Foods?  The grocery store?  Really?  Yes, yes, yes!!!  Okay, not for a family sit-down meal, but if you are ever on the go and need to eat, check your smartphone and see if there is not a Whole Foods around.  While they have flavorful food for all diets, they really do cater to vegetarians - and more so vegans. 

Pictured above is how I like to eat it - I get the smaller of the two recycled cardboard food containers and fill it until it is overflowing.  The food blends wonderfully and there are containers for the soup so nothing is runny and goes where you don't want it to.  Today I had Greek cabbage, chicken friend tofu, roasted garlic, hummus, baba ganoush (not blended but whole chunks of eggplant and peppers), 'cracklin' cauliflower, baked tofu with cilantro pesto, red and white quinoa, artichoke salad and marinated spelt salad. 

I can't even start to tell you how pleasant all the flavorful tastes are when you are randomly dipping into your stack of food.  I don't mix them up, mind you, but some are buried and it is nice to strike upon the different flavors.  Whole Foods clearly marks what is vegan and also lists ingredients.  No hunting and pecking or worrying.  On occasion there is a vegan chicken salad or the like and almost always one of their soups is vegan (today's was Black Bean Espresso Chili).

So the small dining area is what it is - a grocery store dining area.  Complimentary water and recycle bins for your plastic ware and cardboard food holders. It is around $9 for a pound of food (the picture cost just over $10) and afterward you can buy what you liked most from the deli to take home.

The ever-changing options and plentiful vegan choices will keep me coming back!  Don't think of this as just a grocery store, especially if you need a quick but delicious vegan meal.     

Scotty P's - Plano, TX

I started out headed to my favorite Thai restaurant only to find it closed without a sign up or anything, the closest Fuddruckers GONE, and two other establishments closed on Tuesdays.  So maybe I was destine to come here.  Scotty P's in Plano brings up what I feel is probably a common issue to vegans - is it vegan? 

Scotty P's boasts a decent menu (think Fuddruckers without the unnecessary bells and whistles) with an assortment of burgers, salads and fried sides.  They also have the (now more common) veggie burger.  But is it vegan?  I feel much more comfortable having a black bean burger (a la my BWW post), but without it stating 'black bean burger' all I can do pre-order is ask the order-taker if it is vegan.  She says yes and there are people behind me, so I do not ask the brand as some of the more common patties have cheese or dairy in them.  So the next clue I get is the visual inspection of the patty.  If it is a black bean or griller version, usually safe.  If it is the kind pictured above, kind of a crap shoot as to if it contains dairy.  My order-taker seemed confident in her assessment of the food and I had no reason to doubt her, so there ya go.

I got BBQ sauce and guacamole added to the burger and the pictured onion rings as a side instead of the fries that comes on a 'platter' meal.  The burger was very messy (due to my order) but yes, it was good.  The onion rings seemed more home-style than others I have had and they tasted, well, like fresh cooked onion rings.  The web page boasts no microwaves anywhere in the establishment, so that's a good thing.

Meal plus tea for $12 and change.  They also have the aforementioned variety of salads and sweet potato fries to go with the regular ones. 

For a hamburger joint, not a bad vegan option.     

El Norte - Plano, TX

El Norte Mexican diner near Custer and Parker is a family favorite.  The service is usually quick and the food good.  All of the normal Mexican selections are available as are a good assortment of flavorful adult beverages.  Daily specials are offered as well.

Vegan options consist of veggie fajitas and table side guacamole, both of which are excellent.  Pictured above are a few vegan sides - guacamole, sauteed veggies, and black beans (no cheese on top).  Filling enough for lunch along with the excellent salsa and usually good chips.  There are a few other vegan sides - black beans and corn relish for example.   

Vegetarian options are more voluminous including spinach and/or cheese enchiladas, chipotle sweet potatoes, stuffed jalapenos, white queso, and an assortment of salads.

Again, the service is usually fast and friendly and this restaurant definitely has the feel of a neighborhood diner.  Prices are very reasonable - lunch for two with tea to drink was under $20.  Although I'd rather have more vegan options, there are enough for me to have a meal when the family wants to go here.    

Luby's - Plano, Texas

Pretty disappointing.  I have enjoyed Luby's for a long time, and I know I have been there since going vegan and had more selections, but today - pretty disappointing is all I can say.

The salad bar was ample - fresh spinach or lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, corn and black beans, onions, cucumbers and the such and several good vegan dressings to chose from (I got the balsamic vinaigrette).  There were other salad options such as a cucumber salad, fruit salad, fresh pineapple, and a shredded carrot salad, and had I known the limitations of my options down the line I might have gotten one of those as well.

Past the salad bar, I encounter vegetable soup and a nice assortment of vegetables.  Problem was the soup was cooked with beef stock and, without exception, all the vegetables were soaking in butter or, for the bean sides, cooked with some form of meat (either ham or bacon).

All the rolls were pre-buttered or contained milk and the desserts consisted of jello, cake or pie.  In the condiment area I was able to find the pickle pictured above, but past the salad bar that is literally the only vegan option outside the lemon slices or pico de gallo (also by the pickles).
 
I get Luby's does not cater to vegans, but it seems even just for health purposes they could steam the spinach, red potatoes and other vegetables without soaking them in butter, cook their beans with flavorings such as jalapenos and onions and not meat, or allow people to decide themselves whether they want butter on their bread or not.

I love Luby's.  My family loves Luby's.  But if salad is the only choice for me I would go elsewhere for a full bar of options.
        

Buffalo Wild Wings - Lake Worth, TX

Buffalo Wild Wings, the wing place?  Yep - again, this blog is to show that you can eat ethically almost anywhere and, like a lot of places you wouldn't think of, BWW has a decent amount of vegan options.

Started out with an IPA called The Game Changer, represented as a BWW brew.  While it was actually pretty good, but I was fortunate enough to be at a Fort Worth-area location and enjoyed the Rahr Gravel Road they had on tap more.  

I selected the black bean burger, clearly listed in their build a burger section with their meat options (see?  I coulda called it 'dead animal' options, but this isn't that kinda blog ;-)   Then you can select lettuce, tomato, onion, jalapenos, pico de gallo and/or a pickle.  Best part?  There are about 5 'rubs' and 15 or so sauces you can get, same as you would chose from when you order wings.  I chose the (very good) sweet BBQ sauce but later tried the Asian Zing with some fries and it was very very good.  Most of the rubs and sauces appear vegan and there is a description of each so you can avoid the ones with Parmesan cheese, honey, etc for a true vegan selection. 

Despite it being 8 o'clock on a Friday night the service was friendly and prompt.  They changed the TV's to our request and my food came out rather quickly looking as it appears above.  The burger was really good and was served with fresh tomato and onion slices.  I prefer the wedge fries to the thin ones pictured, but I didn't think to order them so that's on me.  I did get the salt and vinegar dusting on them and that added a nice flavoring.

My friend picked up the tab, but I believe the burger was around $8 and the beers around $5 for a pint.  I have not been to a BWW in a while and do not believe I ate when I did, so I was pleasantly surprised by the vegan options including salads (ordered without he chicken), several french fry/onion ring options and other appetizers.  Point being, don't fear going to BWW with your friends for the game - there are ethical choices here as well!   

Paesano's Italian Restaurant - Plano, TX

So we arrive at this restaurant via a birthday dinner as it is a favorite of our good friends.  The service is great and friendly, the bread and garlic oil great, house salad with house dressing highly recommended and several vegan options when ordered correctly.

Salad - this Paseanos does not list the ingredients to their house dressing on their web site, but the one in San Antonio (no idea if related) uses mayonnaise in theirs, so either ask directly or avoid it if you are looking for vegan.  Also it comes with Parmesan and feta cheese, so same warning.  Aside from that, the ingredients of the actual salad were great - crisp and fresh.

The bottom picture is the Angel Hair Primavera - fresh vegetables and marinara ordered without the cheese.  Personally, I like my vegetables crisper (that also adds more color than the pictured brownish broccoli for example), but honestly the taste does not suffer.  Based on the salad and the other food served I have little doubt the veggies were fresh prior to being cooked.  This dish had just the right hint of garlic.

No vegan dessert options but a pretty decent wine selection and a variety of exotic coffees.  The house salad was $5.99 and the pasta $8.99.  Again, it was plenty of food.  They did charge $2 to split our bill, which I have not seen anywhere before (?), but I will not hesitate to return and look forward to trying the Aglio e Oilo Linguine and Arrabbiato Penne...      

Ali Baba Mediterranean Grill - Richardson, TX

Alright - to get this kicked off here is a sample of what I will be posting.  Mediterranean often means lots of vegan options, and Ali Baba at 75 and Campbell Rd in Richardson is one of the better ones around in my opinion.  Pictured is baba ghanoush (eggplant), grape leaves and falafel with tahini sauce.  For a purely vegan option I did confirm the tahini sauce was made with olive oil and not cream and asked for no feta on my plate of grape leaves.

More than enough food (left with a doggie bag), and paid less than $20 for the three items pictures and a tea.  Service was prompt, although I did go in on the early side.

 There are several other vegan dishes and plenty for nonvegans as well.  Here is their menu with the three Dallas locations listed on the bottom. http://alibabamedgrill.com/alibaba-menu/  
   

Introduction

Hello and welcome to my blog!  I am starting this blog for the simple reason that, as a vegan, I am always asked 'what can you eat there?' when I check out at a restaurant.  While I prefer vegan restaurants, my whole family is not vegan and, with the rare exception, I end up where they go.

So a little background - I have been vegetarian since I was 19 and, after many years of feeling like a hypocrite, went pure vegan a while back.  I am a vegetarian/vegan for ethical reasons - I find the meat industry deplorable and thus choose not to support it.  I also do not feel the need to kill or abuse an animal simply for my taste bud's pleasure and can get more than enough nutrients through vegan means.  Many of my reviews might not be the healthiest selections available, but again ethics is my reason for this lifestyle. 

That said, I will NOT rant about ethics on here, promise - and I prefer to not get into ethical debates in my comment section.  I understand it is a personal decision - I posted my reasons above and you are free to agree or disagree with them.  The purpose here is to merely point out that everywhere you dine, there are cruelty-free vegan options or, conversely, my fellow vegans can avoid a certain location does not offer vegan food at all (there are a few still).  I will try not to double up on locations unless I am having a different menu item or particularly good (or bad) service.    

Finally, I AIN'T NO ENGLISH MAJOR!!!  So if you take offense to poor grammar or spelling, don't bother following.  :-)

Thanks for the follow!  Please contribute locations and reviews, and if you see something I have posted that contains animal products I have missed please inform me!!