Vegetarian options at "normal" restaurants? About This Page:

[Disneybine]

We have our big California road trip coming up in three weeks and we'll be eating most of our meals at restaurants and some fast food joints. Now I am looking for recommendations on vegetarian options at any of the following restaurants:

Applebee's, Chili's, Chipotle, Denny's, Olive Garden, Outback Steakhouse, Panera Bread, Perkins, Pizza Hut, Rainforest Cafe, Souplantation, T.G.I. Friday's, The Cheesecake Factory, The Melting Pot.

FYI, DH is a meat-eater so that's why there's a steakhouse in the mix too

Any and all tipps and suggestions are welcome!!!

[CinderAbby]

Have you checked out the websites online to get an idea of what they offer?

Some of those restaurants I've never eaten in and the others it's been a while but I know at Olive Garden, I make a meal just out of the salad and bread sticks they bring to the table. Sometimes we'll get an appetizer to go with it too. Mom likes the bruschetta and the stuffed mushrooms. I get the mozzarella sticks (although they have chicken tenders too so you may need to ask if they share oil).

[Huntermom]

This is my third try to respond. I do not eat meat but do eat seafood and never have a problem finding something at restaurants. I have a much bigger problem finding low sodium options when I eat out.

I go to Panera fairly often and you will have several options there-mac and cheese, grilled cheese, several soups including a black bean one and their salads can all be purchased without meat.

What I tend to do when travelling is hit the local grocery store-bread, cheese , nuts, yogurt, cut veggies and fruit make a nice lunch and you know what you are eating.

It is also pretty easy to have a supermarket breakfast. You can order breakfast sandwiches without meat. One of my go to desperation meals is an egg mcmuffin from Mc D's without the meat and cheese -then I only eat one half the muffin. Not the tastiest meal but works well when the only thing open at the airport is Mcd's. They also have a yogurt parfait, which while sweeter than I would like, is pretty good.

Good luck. I have been surprised at how many chains now off veggie burgers. I went to Red Robin yesterday while waiting for my glasses to be fixed and they had a Boca burger on the menu.

[MelissaL]

Here are the restaurants on your list that I've been to enough to be able to comment:

Applebee's: I haven't been to one in over 2 years because there was very little without meat the last few times I was there. Their menu may have expanded, but I would definitely look at the menu before you're seated.

Chipotle: I've had the sofritas (with tofu) but found them a bit dry. I usually just get a vegetarian burrito or burrito bowl, which is plenty filling.

Panera: You can get any salad without meat, but you may not get a price break. Soups will be marked as vegetarian on the menu board as appropriate. I usually get a soup and a half-sandwich of Mediterranean Veggie or Tomato-Mozzarella.

Perkins: I haven't been to one in years, but as 20 years ago breakfast (pancakes, waffles, French toast) was available all day.

Pizza Hut: You can get cheese pizza with vegetable toppings.

Cheesecake Factory: The menu is huge, so you should have many choices. I think vegetarian items are marked.

Melting Pot: You can get cheese fondue and court-bouillon, but it's a single pot for the table so you will need your husband to forgo meat if dipping it in the pot would bother you. (Other sauces may be vegetarian as well -- I'm not sure.)

Happy planning!
Melissa

[Her Dotness]

Extracted your list to add comments on quality and likelihood from my experience:

--Applebee's--Pretty good food. Good salads they'll willingly modify.

--Chili's--Okay food, varies more than I'd think for a chain. Veggie options often loaded with sodium and cheese if those are a concern.

--Chipotle--Would avoid myself as they've had more than one widespread food poisoning scandal in the last couple years.

They claim that most dishes are now prepped in central regional kitchens which means their rep for freshly prepared orders no longer applies.

However, the problems I heard about were permitting obviously ill employees to work along with lax food storage and sanitation, so I'd still be doubtful myself.

--Denny's--Not that much beyond mac&cheese, salads or grilled cheese. Extremely high in sodium and not the best quality ingredients. I wouldn't unless desperate.

--Olive Garden--Endless salad and breadsticks with some great veggie appetizers.

--Outback Steakhouse--Very unpredictable quality and not that much beyond salad. When they won't be locations you're already familiar with, I'd be wary. Good for steaks for hubby, though.

--Panera Bread--doable, I think, although mostly soups and sandwiches. Been too long since I've eaten at one despite their originating here as St. Louis Bread Company. If you ever are in St. Louis, those are same as Panera elsewhere.

--Perkins--I'd say so-so based on not a lot of experience. Mostly salads. Quality better than Denny's but not by a great deal.

--Pizza Hut--haven't eaten at one for about ten years so can't say.

We have FAR better pizza places near us than Pizza Hut which hasn't held its own against the competition like Papa John's or Little Caesar's. I'd suggest looking for independent places in California. There will likely be far better ones than any of the chains as popular as veganism and vegetarianism are out there. You may also find excellent independent veggie places.

--Rainforest Cafe, Souplantation--Can't say. Never tried either.

--T.G.I. Friday's--Limited selection, again salads and some appetizers most likely,

--The Cheesecake Factory--Some nice Asian dishes that are veggie. More imaginative salads than most chains.

Haven't ordered more than their small plates dishes or apps myself as their salads are HUGE. I could make two meals or maybe three from one of their salad mountains.

--The Melting Pot--Yes, you can order an all-veggie option, but I'm not sure how much variety you may have beyond the cheese fondue.

Personally, I'd avoid the dessert fondues unless you specify fruit only or don't mind getting junk food like marshmallows. May not be a concern for you if you're okay with lacto-veg. and a few junky options.

Hope these IMO's are of some help.

[Disneybine]

Great info already, thanks! I'm not really concerned about how healthy the food is, to be honest - after all, we're on vacation and I eat plenty healthy at home I realize I wasn't very specific about "vegetarian". I'm talking about lacto-ovo-vegetarian - no meat, fish etc.

Huntermom - we definitely plan on hitting grocery stores as well. Since we'll be traveling through the desert for most of our trip (and it's August), it'll be too hot to buy anything we can't eat right away. We'll only be in one place for a couple of nights each for the part, and it's regular hotel rooms without a fridge. I don't worry at all about breakfast but from looking at restaurant menues online, I'm not so sure about dinner. Where I live, there are usually quite a few nice vegetarian options on every menu. I love pasta so if you can recommend any good Italian restaurants, I'm all ears!

[Huntermom]

Sabine,

When you come to New England I can recommend many great Italian restaurants. I think the only Italian restaurant I've been to in California is Olive Garden (because we get great Italian food here.

When we traveled with the kids and were on the road a lot, we would stop at a grocery store (or better yet a super Walmart or Target) and pick up a styrofoam cooler. They are only a dollar or two and will keep drinks cold as well as some cheese. Get some decent bread or crackers and a jar of peanut butter, some nuts and fruit, pre cut veggies and we found we could get a nice meal for a fraction of a restaurant meal and I didn't have to worry my kids were eating junk.

You don't say where you will be in California but I would think there would be a good number of independent cafes and restaurants. ON one of our trips, my then 17 year old decided he would not eat at chains (he had just read Fast Food Nation),
We managed ten days or so without a chain.

If I remember correctly (I haven't been to the west coast since 2008, there is a supermarket chain Ralph's that has a good assortment of prepared foods. When my daughter was competing in collegiate Nationals in LA, the team parents brought food so the kids did not have to survive on what was available at the arena. I know I went to one and got a good assortment of sandwiches on a platter as well as some salads. And there were several vegetarians and a few gluten intolerant girls on the team.

ONe other thing I do is if I need to stop at a sub shop, I either get a cheese sub or egg salad or even eggplant parmesan. Everyplace seems to have those options and if you load them up with veggies, they can taste quite good.

Enjoy your trip.

[Her Dotness]

Btw, I forgot to suggest that if you do eat at Friday's, their Jack Daniel's steak or ribs are fabulous. Your DH might really enjoy either if he likes ribs.

[Shawnam1868]

My oldest daughter is a kitchen manager for Chipotle and I'll tell you, even after all they went through, I'd still eat there over many other restaurants. They do prep the majority of their food at the restaurant, and if someone is sick, they impose a mandatory 3 day off rule. At one point, the majority of her store was off due to a stomach bug. They are so clean and often times she's at work hours after closing cleaning.

[Huntermom]

Shawna,
Thanks for the update in Chipotle. I always enjoyed their bean bowls and miss going there. It was a great vegetarian option.

I know several people got sick at the Cleveland Circle restaurant. But it sounds like the issue was addressed. To me a bigger problem is that people sometimes feel they have no choice but to go to work sick because they cannot afford a day without pay.