But wait until you see the video (I shot this last tonight):

How freakin’ cool is that? Add the fact that a local vegan baker was handing out samples of cake and that’s a hard place to beat.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got some mint chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream waiting to be devoured.

As I mentioned back in January, pizza chain zpizza was trying out several new vegan cheese options to replace their non-vegan soy cheese. Well, the decision has been made and starting now, some zpizza stores are offering the new and well-received Daiya vegan cheese on their pizzas. By the end of the summer, every zpizza in the country (which is almost 100 stores in 16 states!) will have completely replaced their non-vegan soy cheese with the new vegan option. Note that Daiya’s cheese, in addition to being vegan, is also soy, corn, rice, and gluten free. Impressive.

This is a huge deal for vegans looking to get a good vegan cheese pizza. While zpizza doesn’t have the presence of a Domino’s or Pizza hut, they are spreading quickly and their pizzas are so much better. Just a few years ago, Northern Virginia was celebrating their first zpizza and now there are more than a dozen.

I have yet to try the new vegan cheese pizza option (not sure if it’s available at my local one yet) and I haven’t even tried Daiya cheese yet, but rest assured, I’m looking forward to being able to finally order a cheese pizza with good toppings whenever I feel like it.

Here’s an updated list of zpizza’s vegan options:

Pizzas (all of these request Vegan Cheese to replace mozzarella):

• Provence
• Napoli (no parmesan)
• Greek (no feta)
• California
• Tuscan (no feta)
• Berkeley Soy Cheese Veggie (replace basil pesto)
• Moroccan Rustica (replace basil pesto)
• Mediterranean Rustica (no feta)

Salads:

• California
• Arugula (no cheese)
• Greek (no cheese)
• Pear and Gorgonzola (no cheese)

If you’d like to build your own pizza or order a salad, below are acceptable vegan ingredients:

• Pizza dough
• Vegan cheese by Daiya
• Veggie crumbles
• Tomato sauce
• Marinara sauce
• Chipotle pesto
• Mexican salsa
• Roasted garlic sauce
• White Balsamic dressing
• Caramelized onions
• Roasted eggplant
• All fresh vegetables

Two Boots Pizzeria

Though not a vegan pizza place, the Two Boots listing on Supervegan indicated that they had a number of vegan choices, so we stopped by for a few slices.

When I stepped to the counter and asked if they had any vegan pizzas made, the guy indicated that they didn’t and gave off the vibe that he didn’t want to bother making one, either. I gave him a disappointed look and said, “Oh, you don’t?” followed by a pregnant pause. He then said, tersely, “OK, I’ll make one.” He didn’t ask what we wanted on it or anything, so we crossed our fingers and waited.

What we got was one of the best vegan pizzas we’ve ever had. It was cheeseless, but they seemed to have taken every possible vegetable from their kitchen (and maybe a few from next door) and threw it on a pizza. The result was a slice piled ridiculously high that seriously hit the spot.

Lan Cafe

We knew for sure that we were going to Lula’s Sweet Apothecary for dessert, so the next trick was finding a nearby restaurant for dinner. There were a few options, but we settled on Lan Cafe, a vegetarian (and very nearly vegan) Vietnamese restaurant that serves up veggie pho, half a dozen varities of banh mi sandwiches, vegetarian banh xeo pancakes, and every other traditional Vietnamese favorite you can imagine. The food was excellent, as was the company (we met up with a childhood friend of my wife’s that she hadn’t seen in 20 years). My banh mi with grilled seitan was perfect and my wife thoroughly enjoyed her banh xeo with mock pork. Rasine, as you can see below, dug the summer roll appetizer:

Lula’s Sweet Apothecary

If there’s any spot in New York that’s worth the hype, it’s Lula’s. The Supervegan page is one glowing review after another stating that the homemade ice cream is equalled only by the friendly service of the two proprietors. For those that haven’t heard, Lula’s is an all-vegan ice cream parlor (one of two in the city!) that looks like an authentic, old school ice cream parlor (and not in the kitchy way, at all). To get a good feel for the vibe, check out this excellent photoset.

As soon as we entered, the owners told us, “Let us know if there’s anything you want to sample.” And sample we did. I eventually settled on a malt (a MALT! REALLY!) made with cake batter ice cream. Huyen and Rasine split a simple, but tasty, mint chocolate chip cone. I’m pretty sure that on our next trip to the city, we’ll be coming here each night.

Yay for Lula’s!

As an added bonus, I was lucky enough to catch up with the world famous Brownbird Rudy Relic. It was great to finally meet him in person.

And while we’re at it, I thought I’d throw in a video of an amazing performance of his in Australia last December. Be sure to check out his entire set, available for streaming online.

(special thanks to Rich, Jason, and Deb for the help and suggestions with regards to restaurants and parking!)

I have two zpizza restaurants near me, one not far from my house and the other near my work.  I love the fact that they have veggie meat options and offer a soy cheese pizza.  The problem: their soy cheese contains casein, so it’s not an option.

I wrote to them, knowing that they’re a fast-growing national pizza chain, and urged them to consider using a vegan cheese.  Turns out that they’re actively testing a number of vegan cheese options, including a certain brand from Chicago.  This would be a huge win for pizza-loving vegans everywhere, so drop them a line and let them know that you’d love to see them start offering a vegan cheese option, particularly if there’s a zpizza in your area.

In addition to letting me know about their search for a good vegan cheese, they also passed along this helpful list of current vegan options at zpizza:

Pizzas (all of these request No Cheese):

• Provence
• Napoli
• Greek
• California
• Tuscan
• Berkeley Soy Cheese Veggie
• Casablanca
• Moroccan Rustica
• Pear and Gorgonzola Rustica
• Mediterranean Rustica

Salads:

• California
• Arugula (no cheese)
• Greek (no cheese)
• Pear and Gorgonzola (no cheese)

If you’d like to build your own cheese-less pizza or order a salad, below are acceptable vegan ingredients:

• Pizza dough
• Tomato sauce
• Marinara sauce
• Chipotle pesto
• Roasted garlic sauce
• Veggie crumbles
• All fresh vegetables
• Balsamic dressing

This interview with the former executive chef at the ’21′ Club is interesting for this bit (emphasis added):

What’s the first thing you look at when you work on a failing restaurant?

I walk into a place and assess the damage. First of all, the food, the menu. Engineering of menus is very important. They have to have diversity: chicken, fish, vegetables. It has to please a vast majority of people with different tastes. Vegan dishes are becoming especially important.

Vegan? Really?

It seems more and more, if there is a vegan at the table, they will dictate the order. So you need to be prepared.

I can’t say I feel like the vegan Mussolini (Get it?  Order dictator?  Har!), but I was really happy to see vegans being talked about as an actual target market and not “a persistent irritant to any chef worth a damn.”

(via SuperVegan’s twitter feed)

Ocracoke Coffee Company – A great little coffee shop that seems to have its fair share of regulars.  They have the standard assortment of coffee options (with soy milk on hand), a modest loose tea selection (sadly, stored in glass containers, exposed to the light), and some really good smoothies.  The smoothies are cheap ($4 for 21 oz.) and tasty.  Their Very Scary Berry smoothie (which is their Very Merry Berry smoothie plus spirulina) is excellent and their Tea Breeze smoothie with berries and black tea is unique.  Some smoothies have yogurt but soy milk can be subbed.  I didn’t ask about the source of their optional protein powder. None of their baked goods appear to be vegan. Free wi-fi and a connected bookstore make this a must-visit if you’re on the island.

Fig Tree Deli – Right next door to where we stayed was The Fig Tree Deli and Bakery (also the Sweet Tooth ice cream shop).  They offer three vegetarian sandwiches.  One is cheese-heavy, but the other two are perfectly serviceable (and, indeed, tasty).  So stop by and enjoy the Hummus and Veggie Wrap (homemade hummus, lettuce, and cucumber-tomato relish on a flour or tomato tortilla) or the Rice Salad Wrap (marinated rice, black beans, and veggie salad with lettuce and tomato on a flour or tomato tortilla), just ask them to hold the feta.

Ocracoke Pizza Company – Take out only here, but they offer olive oil (with no cheese) or tomato sauce as a base on a hand-tossed or thin-and-crispy crust.  All the standard toppings.  Note that their pesto base does contain cheese.  We ended up ordering twice from here.  Both times, our pizza was decent.

Thai Moon – A Thai restaurant seems out-of-place here, but it’s mighty welcome thanks to their good vegetarian selection.  I was told that their vegetarian options do not have fish sauce or fish seasoning, though I’m not sure whether the oyster sauce used in one of their vegetarian dishes is vegan or not.  I really liked their veggie fried rice (which uses fried silken tofu!) and Huyen enjoyed their sweet and sour veggies.  Take-out only and very easy to miss.  Shop next door at the Natural Selections hemp store while you wait for your order.

Mango Loco – Though not very vegan-friendly by default, this Mexican/Carribean restaurant on Hwy 12 turned out to be a great visit.  Knowing that the preparation of Mexican food varies greatly from restaurant to restaurant, I told our server I was vegan and wanted to make sure the beans weren’t cooked in lard.  She said, “The beans are safe, but the rice isn’t.  That’s cooked in chicken stock.”  She then offered alternatives and said she’d check on anything else we had questions about.  Huyen had a mighty spicy spinach and mushroom enchilada (hold the cheese and sour cream, white rice instead of their regular rice).  I opted for a delicious Mexican lasagna with layers of tortillas, beans, and salsa (again: hold the cheese and sour cream, swap out the rice for white rice).  The plate was huge and I only managed to finish half, still coming away feeling uncomfortably full.  Chalk this one up to a good vegan experience in a seemingly unvegan restaurant thanks to a very helpful waitress and accommodating kitchen.

Places We Didn’t Eat That Have Veggie Options

Back Porch Restaurant – There’s not a lot here for vegans, but their Chana Masala (tofu, spinach, and chickpea curry) sounds mighty good.  I might have given it a shot if it wasn’t $18.

Cafe Atlantic – They have a vegetarian pasta that would likely be vegan without feta and a veggie or Carribean wrap that could easily be made vegan.

Howard’s Pub – Their “PETA Burger” is vegan, though I was told that it’s just a frozen patty (Boca?) that’s been reheated and not homemade.  I haven’t confirmed this.

Creekside Cafe – Standard wrap options.

If you’re going…

The Variety Store across the street from the Fig Tree Deli/Sweet Tooth seems to be the best place to get groceries, but you’ll definitely want to stock up before coming because it’s small and isn’t exactly teaming with vegan convenience foods.  However, they have a large selection of menus posted outside and flyers and newspapers inside that will help you decide about where to go for dinner.

The Natural Selection hemp store (mentioned in the review of Thai Moon) is worth a stop for their inventory of hemp, organic cotton, and bamboo products.  They’ve got a few vegan snack items in their kitchen area.

A B&B is a good way to go, though it is a tad more expensive than other options.  But, B&Bs will often cater to your dietary needs when they serve up a homemade breakfast.  Our hostess was wonderful, serving up fruit and toast with hummus one day, nearly-vegan waffles and pancakes two other days (we found out later that they were made with honey… an honest mistake), and delicious black bean enchiladas on our last morning.  She noted that it was a challenge for her, but she never complained about it and was extremely friendly (and not just because we were her last guests before selling the place!).

Of course, it’s also worth looking for lodging that offers at least a fridge and perhaps a microwave or kitchenette.

I was pleasantly surprised at the amount of options there were on the island.  Being as remote as it is, I was half expecting to be subsisting on Clif Bars for four days.  But thanks to the B&B and the good restaurant options, we ate well during our entire visit.

(I also can’t let this post go by without a shout-out to my sister who made some kick-ass vegan cupcakes for our daughter’s second birthday and put us up for the night on our way to the island.)

Thankfully, there’s Xuan Saigon, Leesburg’s only Vietnamese restaurant, located on Fort Evans Road in the same shopping center as Anita’s (which is visible from business Route 7).  Their menu [PDF] [1] has a seemingly small vegetarian section, but there are other veggie options scattered throughout the menu, and all are quite good.

Chef Xuan Nguyen’s daughter-in-law is vegetarian (possibly vegan, I’m not sure) and helped to ensure that these dishes are made and served truly vegetarian.  They’re not made with fish sauce, which is comforting, and if they happen to bring you fish sauce as a side, you can ask that they bring out a tasty veggie sweet and sour sauce instead.

I’ve been to some Vietnamese restaurants that offer a “vegetarian pho,” but when grilled about the broth, they admit to using the same beef stock that they use for their beef pho.  Thankfully, this isn’t the case at Xuan Saigon.  Instead, their broth is a homemade veggie broth that’s simply delicious and compliments the full bowl of rice noodles, veggies, and lightly fried tofu.

The one appetizer that you simply have to try is the Ginger-Lime Tofu.  Every guest we’ve taken to the restaurant–including avowed tofu haters–has been amazed at the ginger-and-onion-topped crispy tofu.  It’s finished off in a nice sour-and-salty fashion with a dip in a lime juice, salt, and pepper mixture.  .  For every two people in your party, order one of these appetizers.

Last night while talking with our server (one of the chef/owner’s sons), he asked if I was vegan.  When I nodded a confirmation, he mentioned that they’ve just worked up a new dish that’s not on the menu, a vegan crepe stuffed with all sorts of veggies.  It sounds like banh xeo, which I’ve had homemade before, but never in a restaurant.  Let’s hope it makes it onto the menu soon.

Beyond the food, though, is the service.  Many of the people you’ll encounter are family members and Chef Xuan often comes out and greets diners during their meal.  She’s a kind, generous woman and it’s heartening to see her vision for a unique Vietnamese restaurant succeeding in Leesburg.

So, next time you’re shopping at the outlets or hanging out in Leesburg for some other reason, schedule some time in for a stop by Xuan Saigon.

[1] The menu on their web site seems to be a little out of date – the latest version of the menu has a few more options listed.

The Grill
offering All-American standards like hot dogs, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, or even grilled cheese and fries. Vegetarian or Vegan? Grab a veggie burger or soy chicken patty instead!

Top Hits
If you are looking for something made-to-order, this is the place for you. Top Hits provides you with a rotating schedule of our most popular made-to-order items, including omelets, crepes (made the vegan way), salads, and more!

The crepes, in particular, took me by surprise.  In addition, “The Bistro” has a “Vegan/Gluten Free Station.”  I can guarantee you, that wasn’t there ten years ago.

The catering arm of dining services also offers an impressive vegetarian selection and the college itself mentions the vegetarian and vegan options in their prospective students FAQ.

How does your alma mater/current/future school stack up?

(Edited to add: Just noticed that Gary has a couple of posts on the topic over at his blog. Read ‘em.)

I used to have a job giving tours at the computer museum in Boston. There was a McDonalds downstairs right between us and where the Boston Tea Party ship (and annoying reenactments) were.

…

I used to eat at that McDonalds once a week or so. I was still a year away from going vegetarian at that point, but even then I knew McDonalds was a terrible place to get food. I’d be walking around monitoring one of the galleries or giving a tour thinking about where I was going to eat and invariably my brain would say “McDonalds!” Most days I’d give that cartoon bubble thought above my head the smackdown, but once a week or so I’d give in. I even felt sick before I got there and I knew I’d be dragging ass the rest of the day with all that grease and fat in my stomach. (I would add “death” to that list of things in my stomach, but at the time those thoughts were still in the murky unknown part of my brain trying to reach the surface.)

The one thing I always tell people after they find out that I’m vegan and say, “I could never do that!” is that I would regularly eat two (yes, two) Big Macs for dinner when I was in high school. Back then my metabolism was insane and I never topped 115 pounds.  I wasn’t exactly a football player.  I was barely a member of the bowling team.

As I was transitioning to vegetarianism, I had a set number of days a month where I’d have only meatless meals.  During those days, I always ended up going to Subway for lunch on my “vegetarian days.”  I honestly had no idea where else to go for a quick veggie meal in those days. 

After going veggie, I kept up with the occasional visit to Subway and even had a few BK Veggies when I was on the road during those first few years.

Today, though, I can honestly say I eat at a fast food restaurant maybe once a year.  And that would be a place like Subway during the most dire of situations (a 10pm, middle of nowhere, nothing else open, forgot to pack a Clif Bar, and have to to go the bathroom-type deal).  It’s kind of funny to look at the completely different mindsets of High School Ryan and Vegan Ryan even though I still feel like I’m pretty much the same person at my core.   I guess it’s like how your body regenerates all its cells every nine years — you’re technically a whole new person, yet you still feel like the same big collection of bio-junk you were back then.

Anyway, I’m glad to be done with fast food restaurants.  No more dealing with the funny smell that envelopes you after you’ve been in a Subway.  Or the employees not remembering to leave the mayo off of your BK Veggie (back when the burger itself was actually vegan, of course).  Or the sticky floors in McDonald’s bathrooms (actually, I still deal with that since that’s the sole reason I’ll go into a McDonald’s).

But there are so many people for whom fast food is still a way of life.  It seems so foreign to me now, but I remind myself that it’s just as foreign for others think about life without fast food.  It’s a tough gap to bridge without devoting some time and real effort, especially since there are no vegan fast food chains to help ease the transition.

Let’s hear from some long-time vegans: when was the last time you ate at a typical fast food joint?  Did you used to be a fast food junkie?

One of my favorite of these restaurants is A Taste of Burma in Sterling, VA.  It’s the relatively new sister establishment of the excellent Myanmar Restaurant in Falls Church, where my wife and I ate at frequently when we lived in the area.  Burmese cuisine, I’ve found, is unlike any other single cuisine in that area of the world.  Sure, it’s got touches of southeast Asian style as well as obvious Indian influence, but there are some recipes that seem to be wholly Burmese.

One of these is my new favorite dish, their Fermented Tea Leaf Salad.  The menu describes it as “pickled tea leaf, cabbage, tomatoes, sesame, peanuts, broad beans, lime juice, garlic chips, and seasoning.”  While the idea of eating a tea leaf salad may sound a little strange, let me assure you that it’s delicious.  I honestly cannot even find the words in my vocabulary to describe what the taste is like.  I can’t compare it to anything I’ve eaten before.  But, wow, is it good.

The restaurant itself is fast becoming my favorite place in the area to eat because it’s usually relatively empty (hopefully not a bad sign for the business, as two consecutive Thai restaurants in the same location went ouf of business in less than two years).  Initially, the service was kind of slow, but recently has picked up quite nicely.  The owner, the brother of Myanmar’s owner, is very friendly and sometimes brings out new non-menu items for me try.  His sister is vegetarian, so I’ve been told to rest easy that the vegetarian dishes really are (ie. no fish sauce).

If anyone’s ever out my way during the workweek and wants to meet up for lunch, let me know.  It’s not hard to convince me to make a trip there.

Well, The Consumerist has uncovered the ingredients that are part of Jamba Juice’s proprietary “non-dairy” formula:

Water, Grade A Nonfat Dried Milk, Grade A Whey, Grade A Whey Protein Concentrate, Splenda, Sodium Alginate, Maltodextrin, Pectin, Carrageenan, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Natural Flavor, Annatto.

Feel free to contact Jamba Juice and let them know that this ain’t cool.

During my recent trip to Portland, I had planned one evening to visit the Nova Queen Cafe. Before I left the hotel, I noticed that there were almost no references on the web to this restaurant except for Citysearch.com. I figured this wasn’t a good sign and, sure enough, the restaurant didn’t even exist (and if it did, it was a long time ago). So, I wandered around a bit, looking for another place to have dinner. I saw the gates to Chinatown and figured, “There’s gotta be something in there.” Indeed, the second restaurant I stumbled upon was Vegetarian House.

To start, I ordered some fried veggie shrimp. The breading was nice and while the shrimp were hot, they were kind of crunchy, like they weren’t cooked all the way through or thawed completely before frying. They tasted OK, but I’ve had better. I had some leftover and microwaved them the next day; they actually tasted better then.

For my main course, I ordered lemon glazed chicken. The glaze was so thick, it looked like a giant had sneezed on the chicken, but it actually tasted really good. It was one of those “it tastes better than it looks” moments. The chicken’s texture was a little spongier than other faux chicken I’ve had in restaurants, so I asked if they made it there. They used a prepared chicken, so I guess it’s just different than I’ve had before. I was told by the waitress, though, that they also have a chicken that’s “shaped like a chicken” and that that one has whey in it (though the owner said everything is vegan)… so, just ask before you order. None of the products have egg, so you just need to check on possible dairy.

The following day, a friend and I headed to have lunch at Tao of Tea, but decided against it when we were told we first had to pay $7 each for admission to the garden before getting food. We wound back up at the Vegetarian House where we had the buffet. It was slightly above average, with some tofu, fake beef, fried rice, and other Chinese buffet staples.

So, while the Vegetarian House isn’t the best place I’ve ever eaten, it was perfectly adequate. And two days in a row, it was in the right place at the right time.

The good part: they were happy to make sweet and sour tofu for Huyen even though it wasn’t explicitly on the menu. The not-so-good part: instead of giving me the vegetable/bean curd lettuce wrap that I ordered, they gave me Kung Pao Chicken. Yes, with real chicken. And I ate a piece.

Granted it was only the tiniest of pieces, about half the size of a pea, but I still felt all gaggy when my wife said definitively, “This is chicken.”

And this is the curse of mock meats — they’ve gotten so good, so convincing, that a trusting vegetarian may find themselves eating away at something they thing is just a really good seitan/soy imitation when, indeed, it’s flesh. It definitely makes me wary of ordering anything even semi-meatlike from any place that also serves the real thing.

I returned the chicken and got the proper food in return. Not much of an apology, though, just a “sorry for the trouble.” But this wasn’t a “you gave me the wrong sauce” problem, it was a “you gave me dead animal” problem. We won’t be ordering from there again (I’m forgiving of the occasional mistake made by my regular haunts but when it happens during my first visit, there’s no second chance). It’s kind of a shame because the food wasn’t totally awful.

Anyone else ever run into this problem? How did the restaurant resolve it?

Romano’s Macaroni Grill is one place I end up a few times a year. And, truth be told, it’s not that bad. Their peasant bread loaf (vegan!) is hella tasty and they actually offer up a decent selection of pastas, including whole wheat penne. A co-worker, though, told me that when he asked the local Macaroni Grill what was vegan, he was told that nothing was and that even the capellini pomodoro (basically pasta with fresh tomatoes) wasn’t vegan because they used chicken stock. This made me wonder… chicken stock in what part of the process? I don’t get it.

So, I e-mailed corporate to confirm that the local manager was just a dimwit and to get a full rundown of their vegan options. Here’s a trimmed version of their response (I took out the lacto-ovo stuff and just left in the vegan stuff):

October 18, 2005

Dear Mr. MacMichael,

Thank you very much for taking the time to send us an email and for your interest in Macaroni Grill. We do have several options available for vegetarians. Since there is no single vegetarian eating pattern, our company dietitian has compiled the list below of suggested menu options for various levels of vegetarian diets. Please be aware that none of our food items are certified vegetarian, however.

We hope that you will find the list below helpful during your next visit to our restaurant. If an item you desire does not appear on the list below, please keep in mind that our chefs will gladly try to accommodate your special dietary needs by custom-preparing a meal using any ingredients that we have available in our kitchen. Prior to placing your order, we strongly suggest that you speak with one of our managers about your dietary needs as they are happy to assist you with menu recommendations and to ensure that special attention is given to the preparation of your meal. Please be aware that many of our recipes contain meat, fish, egg and dairy products and normal kitchen operations involve the sharing of cooking and preparation areas, including common fryer oil. Therefore, it is possible for any of our food items to come into contact with animal products. Additionally, please be aware that our tomato sauce contains butter.

Based on our supplier ingredient information, the menu items you may consider are as follows:

Suggested Menu Options for Vegans (contain no meat, dairy or egg):

• Tomato Bruschetta – order with No Cheese
• House or Garden Salad – order with No Cheese or Croutons
• Salad Dressings: Balsamic Vinaigrette, Italian, Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette
• Capellini Pomodoro – available through February 2006
• Penne Arrabiatta – order with No Cheese; available through February 2006
• Any Pasta with Garlic and Oil

Should you have any additional concerns or inquiries regarding our menu items, please contact Melinda Safir in our food and beverage quality assurance department at 972/980-9917 or email her at Melinda.safir@brinker.com

Macaroni Grill
Guest Relations

Not bad. Though, while I’ve resigned myself to “regular” restaurants sharing preparation space, I am a bit bothered by the part that reads “including common fryer oil.” It’s unclear as to how much this would affect the items being ordered by vegans.

It should also be noted that since all of their pasta is vegan (it’s probably a safe bet that most chain pasta doesn’t contain egg since generally only fresh pasta does), they have a “build-your-own” option that lets you choose the vegetables and sauces to include. There are, indeed, quite a few vegan options at the Macaroni Grill.

Especially if they don’t use chicken stock in making their pasta.

Now, IHOP. It’s the International House of Pancakes. And while pancakes are fine for lacto-ovos, they ain’t kosher for vegans (well, they can be, but you know they’re not at IHOP). Still, though, I figured they’d have a few vegan options, even if I had to opt for a plate of fresh fruit.

Let me warn vegans even thinking for a second about eating there: IHOP does not have any fresh fruit. The closest thing they have is “fruit compote,” essentially “mushy fruit in heavy syrup.”

So, I had to made due with apple juice, fruit compote, and watery-grits-hold-the-butter-please (which they didn’t do the first time around). What a crappy meal.

Dearest IHOP, thanks for nothing, jerks. Would it kill you to have some fresh fruit?