MaestroFJP
Reviews written by MaestroFJP
We were passing through Savannah and go this recommendation from the barista at the Sentient Bean coffee house also in Savannah. Being vegan, we were glad for information as Saigon was excellent.
We had the pad thai with tofu and the green curry with tofu. The pad thai had to be modified for us, but a quick check with the server and the kitchen and it easily squared away.
The food came out hot and fresh. The green curry's zucchini had pretty notches in the skins before it was cut which added to the presentation of the dish. The pad thai tasted was slightly sweet tasting and the curry had a nice spicy bit to it (more than I was expecting from an Asian restaurant in the US). The tofu in both dishes had a nice crust on it from being fried.
The service was relaxed, but relatively prompt (we were in no hurry), however we did had to ask for the check instead of it normally being left at the end of the meal at most places.
My wife and I always visit Taste of Saigon when we come to Duluth. They are willing to work with you on choices what ingredients to leave out. Your mileage varies with servers on whether or not they know what is vegan or not - some know exactly what dish has what. Be sure to always request no oyster sauce, fish sauce, fried egg or chicken broth when ordering.
We really like the spicy curry mock duck with potatoes (be sure to order without oyster sauce). The vegetable fried rice (be sure to order without chicken broth, fish sauce and fried egg) is quite good and comes with a lot more vegetables than most "standard" Asian fare restaurants. Prices are very decent and the wait staff is nice and courteous.
Recently decided to check out this Co-Op as we visit Duluth often. The selection in the produce and grocery is pretty decent. We were not impressed with the offerings in the deli / salad bar area in the terms of items available for vegans. There was not even a vegan safe salad dressing at the salad bar (other than improvising a vinaigrette with the available oil and red vinegar). A lot of the "home-made" cookies looked great, but all had eggs and the one without egg had honey. All in all slightly disappointing if wanting to eat as vegan, otherwise some of the vegetarian stuff looked good.
Recently decided to have try the hoagies instead of the pizza. My wife and I ordered the vegan cheesy garlic toast (they make it vegan by omitting butter). It was quite good, with the cheese melting well and the red sauce for dipping was savory. It was nicely toasted and was a great app.
The hoagies were great. I ordered the mock muffeleta which was very good and a bit spicy which was great. My wife had the mock sausage parmigiana which had a nice savory taste.
I'd probably pay the additional charge to substitute a garden salad instead of getting the potato chips that come with the hoagies since mine was a bit salty due to all the olives.
The wait staff seem totally okay when ordering things vegan. All in all a good experience at Luce's.
Not that the Seward needs another rave review, I thought I'd throw my own two cents in anyways. I recently visited the Seward for the first time and got the Super Red Green Earth Tofu which was amazing! I'm a difficult person to satisfy when it comes to properly made hash browns because they usually are too limp because they are not turned enough. However, my hashies were perfect with a lot of crispy pieces mixed throughout. A great dish and I'm happy to see broccoli in my morning breakfast!
Also, other person at my table had the vegan pancakes and enjoyed them throughly. I'll definitely be back to the Seward sometime soon...
Our first dining out experience as new vegans. We had previously experienced Tanpopo as omnivores and enjoyed it very much.
Offered a nice selection of very fresh vegetables and fruits which most were organic. We were happy to find fresh red and green kale among the selection.
Carried the normal veg friendly substitutes including Tofurky, Follow Your Heart and Smart Deli which we were happy to see since were have been traveling on the road and needed a quick meal for the next day.
Being total vegan gluttons while on vacation, we could not resist trying the vegan brownies which were extremely rich (we could only eat half a brownie at a time). We were disappointed that we didn't see the blonies until after we had ordered the brownies.
Prices were decent and the produce was fresh. All in all, Earth Fare is slightly better than our closest local natural foods store where we live and just slightly lower or on par with our co-op which is not as convient to our location at home. Wish I could bring Earth Fare home with me.
We were slightly worried about finding vegan options are a place we never had eaten at before, but a manager knew exactly what was vegan and what was not. Most of the vegan options were in the Asian style noodle bowls. All ask to speak with a manager as the cashier seemed to think anything vegetarian would be vegan as well (if you are eating vegan of course).
My wife and I both had the Spicy Japanese Noodles and added in tofu. The udon noodles were cooked well and were not soggy. The vegetables contained within were edamame, broccoli, carrots and onions.
Basic noodles bowls without additions (like tofu) start around $6. This is the first "fast-food" place (they deliver to your table still) that we found with vegan options.
Mexican restaurants are usually a suspect for vegan options, but On The Border delivered. My wife and I both had the portabello mushroom and vegetable fajitas with white corn tortillas (these are the only veg friendly wraps available).
The guacamole was pretty good and dairy-free. We asked for no cheese with the fajitas, but it came with cheese on the side. The staff was quick to give us a new plate of lettuce, salsa and guacamole without the cheese. The corn tortillas were made fresh for us (although the first set sent to our table were the wheat tortillas). The black beans were spicy and not bland like I've had at other restaurants. All in all, the spicy level was higher than most Mexican joints and more to my liking.
The staff was very helpful and even comp'ed us our meal since the kitchen messed up on the cheese and tortillas. We didn't even ask them to do this, however the manager wanted to make sure our dietary requirements were met. Five of five stars on helpfulness!
One of best meals during our vacation at Walt Disney World with a great value (considering prices at Disney). We were weary of going to a buffet as vegans, but it proved to be a wonderful dining experience with many options from the buffet.
We told our server about us being vegan and he immediately went to get the chef for us. The chef was very nice and instead of telling us about the vegan items he actually took us through the lines to show us all the dishes. Of the 30 items (not including the salad and fruit lines) about 10 or so items were vegan. Also, they are careful of placement of dishes on the line so cross-contamination does not occur. All veg/vegan dishes are always placed to the right (the direction of the line) and on the back spots of the stations so no other none veg-friendly dishes can cross-contaminate as people go through the buffet.
Sadly, none of the soups that night were vegan as they rotate items on the buffet. Our chef told us he would prepare us a special soup and he would have that brought to our table. We were pleasantly surprised when the chef himself brought the dish to table. He decided that instead of a soup he would make us a hardy entree type dish since there were not any tofu dishes on the line that night. We enjoyed a very tasty fried tofu and palm hearts with battered mushroom skewers on a bed of fresh yellow corn and red cabbage slaw (as seen pictured above). The chef's dish was the showpiece of the meal and complimented the items we ate from the buffet line.
None of the African inspired desserts were vegan, but the pastry chef made us coconut milk sorbet with fresh berries. This was the first time I had coconut milk sorbet and I will definitely be requesting this at our local haunts.
All in all, the buffet proved to be very successful and this meal tied for first place with our meal at Citricos at the Disney's Grand Floridian Resort. We now wish that we would have gone twice to Boma during our vacation. I guess it's another reason to go back to Disney World in the future!
I highly recommend making priority seating reservations for Boma as it is a very busy restaurant at Disney. Please tell the operator that you are vegan. We found out after the fact that if it is all possible, call the restaurant directly a few days ahead of your visit to tell them so they can order special items for your dishes. Finding a direct telephone number to the restaurant is hard, but possible if you ask enough times or call the Animal
Kingdom Lodge front desk directly.
Also, between 9pm-11pm the Animal Kingdom Lodge has a zoo keeper with night vision goggles on the savanna that is adjacent to the lodge. After your meal, finish your evening by visiting the giraffes and other animals in that savanna for unique dining experience.
By far the worst vegan dining experience during our vacation at Walt Disney World. While other restaurants at Disney were very accommodating of our dietary requirements, Les Chefs de France accommodated us with a less than delicious meal which left us hungry.
We told our server about our dietary requirements which was met with a dumbfounded face. It was probably a language barrier thing because his first language was not English, but we did finally explain what "vegan" meant to us.
We were offered a salad (which was modified off the menu) and was presented with the chef which suggested a plate of vegetables and "things like that". Unlike other meals at Disney, we didn't push for exactly what he meant as all of our other previous dining experiences were wonderful and we are not picky eaters.
We were extremely dissatisfied with our meal as he chef must have been completely uninspired about what to make us. We literally got plate of steamed vegetables from the vegetable line in the kitchen. I will give them 1 star for the presentation otherwise I would give my review a big zero (if it was possible on VegGuide's rating system. The roasted plum tomatoes with thyme was the best part of the plate, however it is a sad day when I can say that the salad and dinner rolls were the best part of my meal.
We did talk to a few cast members (which is Disney's word for employees) about our experience at Les Chefs de France and everybody said that used to be good, but is now one of their least favorite restaurants on Disney property.
After $60+ check, we left hungry and vowed never to patron "Les Chefs du Mauvais" again.
By far our best dinning experience while vacationing at Walt Disney World. It probably was the most expensive, but then again we indulged in a round of mixed drinks and a bottle of wine.
None of the appetizers were vegan, so we talked to the chef. He suggested the potato chive without the grilled cheese (although it sounds like a great option for a vegetarian). The presentation was neat as it was served at our table.
For an entree we had the seared tofu with a vegetable coulis and angel hair pasta which tasted great and a wonderful dish. The lentils in our entree unexpected, but complimented it wonderfully.
Sadly, we did not give advance notice so there was not anything but sorbet we could have as vegans. We had french press coffee (oh so delicious) with soy milk.
All in all, a very wonderful evening and we enjoyed chat with our server at the end of meal (we closed out the place pretty much).
Remember, if you go to Citricos -- there is a dress code so be sure to look that up.
We needed to grab a snack while visiting Hollywood Studios and something that was vegan. Luckily we had done our research and found out that the Anaheim Produce Company was a good place to check out.
There was a variety of options include whole pieces of fruit, carrots, celery, pretzels and granola. We asked to see the ingredients list for the pretzels and frozen lemonade which was furnished after getting the manager. Happily the pretzels and froze lemonade were vegan (although I recommend to always double check yourself as I've been told they do change suppliers sometimes). We normally stay away from HFCS, decided it was okay since we were on vacation. We took a nice half an hour break from the park alternating between a "brain-freeze" from the frozen lemonade and a salty pretzel. They went hand in hand!
A good meal with great decor at this replica of a famous Hollywood landmark. This was the only restaurant at Disney that we have dined at that had a vegan entree on the menu (although it isn't marked vegan) and did not require to be modified. Our server knew exactly what was vegan without needing to ask for verification from the chef (we could tell him he was able to list the non-veg-friendly ingredients that are used in the entrees we asked about).
Both my wife and I order the noodle bowl with wok fried coconut Tofu and a salad -- the server said that he would request the chef to make us a special salad not on the menu. The salad had cherry tomatoes and blanched baby asparagus on mixed greens tossed with a pomegranate vinaigrette and topped with toasted walnuts. We enjoyed this will fresh and warm bread with a herb olive oil (which we requested).
This was followed by the noodle bowl with soybeans, snap peas, bok choy and shiitabke mushrooms in a red curry broth. This entree was huge and very filling, but so good that you did not want to stop until the bowl was empty. We did give up using the chopsticks halfway through the meal since there were so many long strands of rice noodles. We finished the meal with lemon sorbet with fresh berries.
A little pricey, but a very good meal with absolutely cool decor -- literally thousands of characterizers of all the great actors and actresses of Hollywood.
Great service - ask for a manager if eating vegan. Offers the vegan Boca burgers. Ask for the gluten-free bun by EnerG as the normal buns have diary in them if eating vegan. Fries and burgers can be oven baked as they share oil with non-vegetarian items. Offers a nice topping bar and fast service with decent prices considering it is on Disney property.
My wife and I tried Tony's recently. There are no vegan options on the menu, but ask to speak to a chef. We had the primavera with whole-wheat rigatonni and a green salad without the croutons and cheese. The evening was pretty nice and the service was understanding and helpful with eating vegan.
While there is nothing that is truly vegan on their menu, we were treated to a pretty-decent Asian-style salad with roasted vegetables that was modified for one meal and a penne pasta with a spicy vegetable sauce that the chef whipped us for us for another meal. The chef even ordered special items in for us for our remaining meals since we were staying at the resort.
If you are staying at Saratoga, I suggest to call the resort ahead of time and ask to speak with a chef so they may order additional vegetables, vegan cheese and other items for meals.
Since we were staying at this resort, we talked to a chef in advance so they could order items they do not normally stock. The chef suggested a couple of ideas and we picked one. A couple days later when we dined at the club and we enjoyed a sun-dried tomato risotto finished with coconut milk then topped with BBQ'ed baked tofu and accompanied by a nice selection of steamed vegetables.
I highly suggest to call the resort ahead to speak with a chef so they can suggest menu ideas and order the required items. Disney is very good about accommodating dietary requests given enough time.
May 28
I was happy to see the French Meadow entry at the airport, however I was less impressed with the quality and service than previous reviewers. I love the Minneapolis location of French Meadow on the other hand.
I was there for breakfast early in the morning. None of the baked options offered appeared to be vegan and the staff was not helpful at all when asked. The Minneapolis location marks all items that are vegan. I wish that the airport location would do the same.
As for hot options, the only vegan friendly option was the oatmeal. Even after telling the cashier we were vegan, we asked for soy milk (which was listed on the menu) and she didn't know know you could get soy milk with it. Also, the toast was served pre-buttered even though we asked them to not do that.
The lunch menu appears to be more vegan friendly with chili, however I did not see any vegan friendly sandwich options as previous reviewers mentioned.
I hope that the French Meadow improves the signage at this location and informs their staff of the veg friendly offerings.
UPDATE 5/28/08
Received a message from Josh, a manager at the French Meadow Bakery on the F Concourse, about our dining experience. He wrote (excerpt):
We have started making a very delicious portabella mushroom sandwich that you could ask for without the herbed goat cheese and it would be completely vegan friendly. We are also willing to create any type of veggie sandwich that you would like at any time. Both of these options are available during our lunch period which starts after 10 am. If you asked our cooks during breakfast they would be able to make a "special" order veggie sandwich in the morning as well. We have that option as well as the oatmeal with unbuttered bread for vegan choices as our breakfast items. We also have vegan black bean chili as well as all the vegan desserts such as vegan cupcakes, raspberry chocolate bar, brown rice crispie bar, pecan sandie cookie and carrot cake available throughout the entire day. On F concourse we have a book with the ingredient list next to our bakery cases that customers may ask our employees to look at if there is some item in particular that they would like to see.
Again I apologize for the service that you received when you were in the airport and I would really encourage you to come down to the F concourse if you are in the airport again so we can get you a nice healthy vegan meal.
Kudos to the FMBC on replying to my email and I hope to try them again.