Eating Out

Sometimes it can be scary to eat out as a vegan, because there are so many factors to consider. Rice cooked in chicken stock, cream in guacamole, pinto beans cooked with bacon or lard, spaghetti mixed with butter, bread with honey in it, food cooked on the same surface as meat- there are many ways for animal products to be added to food.

Finding out what vegan items are available at a restaurant beforehand is the key. A popular blog called Vegan Eating Out, as well as a page on PETA’s Website titled “Chain Restaurants” can help accomplish this.

Here are some of the places in Orange County that are vegan-friendly:

118 Degrees: What does 118 Degrees mean? At this restaurant, they specialize in living foods, also known as raw food. Everything is prepared at 118 degrees or lower, to “preserve valuable nutrients.” This place is a little expensive, but I’m glad I tried it for the experience. Their lemon pesto pasta, trio of enchiladas and the fried avocado mini tostados were great! Stop by the restaurant, located in Costa Mesa, or visit their raw foods bar inside Whole Foods. Check out the menu here.

California Pizza Kitchen: CPK has a wonderful vegan pizza, and has a PDF that lists all of their vegan options on their Website. Access it here and scroll to page three for vegan dishes. Try the Japanese eggplant pizza with thin crust, no cheese and spicy marinara sauce.

Cheesecake Factory: There aren’t a whole bunch of things available at here for vegans, but they do have great Thai Lettuce Wraps. Just substitute the chicken with avocados or grilled portobello mushrooms. It doesn’t specifically list the sauces on their site as vegan (it may contain fish sauce), so I get soy sauce instead just to be safe. Just an FYI: their breads all contain an egg base. View an e-mail from the Cheesecake Factory about vegan options on VeganEatingOut.com.

Chipotle: Chipotle has a page on its Website that lists information for special diets, which include vegetarians, vegans and those allergic to gluten. The veggie burrito is vegan, and has black beans, rice, fajita veggies, guacamole, pico de gallo and a little spicy tomato sauce. I was super excited about their addition of brown rice. Avoid the pinto beans! They are cooked with bacon.

Claim Jumper: I am a little disappointed with Claim Jumper. I thought the Citrus Salad is good, but learned the dressing has honey in it. You can make a pretty good salad at the salad bar, and use oil and vinegar for the dressing. The fries happen to be vegan as well. They have some other stuff that can be modified for vegans, but in the end it’s expensive and just okay.  Check out some of the options on a blog called Feed Me I’m Cranky.

The Counter: This place is known for it’s burgers, but it also has taken many steps to accommodate vegans. It is different than most restaurants in that you build your dish in any way you want from a long list of ingredients. Check out the vegan ingredients here. Try the veggie patty in a bed of mixed greens with a variety of toppings, from avocado to black bean salsa. The french fries and sweet potato fries are vegan, so eat away!

*Fire + Ice: This place is great for vegans- you just have to know a couple of things before you go there. At Fire + Ice, you pay $17 for unlimited food. You fill a bowl with a bunch of ingredients, choose a sauce and they cook it on a huge fire-heated surface in front of you. Read More…

*Freesoulcaffé:
Located in Old Town Tustin, this all-vegan coffee and tea shop is one of the best places to eat. Not only do they have all the stuff you would normally find at a cafe, like espressos, lattes and brewed tea, they also have great sandwiches, soups, salads and desserts. Read More…

The Gypsy Den: I formally knew of the Gypsy Den solely for their vegan Chai cupcakes. But, after discovering that they have an all-vegan brunch on Sundays at the Santa Ana location from 8 a.m. – 3 p.m., I knew I had to give it a try! Read More…

In N Out: In N Out has something called the Veggie Burger or Wish Burger. It’s a bun, lettuce and tomatoes. You have to ask for ketchup and mustard instead of the spread (which has mayo in it.) Improve it a little by adding raw onions and pickles. The fries are made in sunflower oil, so they are okay to eat too. However, this meal probably has zero nutritional value.

Jamba Juice: View a list of Jamba Juice’s vegan drinks by clicking here. Their all-fruit smoothies, apple cinnamon pretzel, veggie-fruit smoothies and fresh juices are all vegan. Also, their steel-cut oatmeal is vegan, just as long as you order it without brown sugar! (For some reason, the brown sugar has a milk ingredient in it.)

Le Pain Quotidien: Vegetable quiche, black bean hummus tartine, tofu scramble- there is a great selection of vegan items at Le Pain Quotidien. Aside from that, they offer meat and vegetarian options, so there is something for everyone. Read more…

*Loving Hut: The Loving Hut is 100% vegan, and firmly believes that going vegan can help change the world. There are four of these restaurants in Orange County, with other locations that are even international. The menus are different at each location (with some dishes that are relatively the same), but each offers a wide variety of choices, from vegan sushi to veggie burgers or even raw vegan food. My favorites are the fried rice with tofu and the golden nuggets.

*Native Foods: Native Foods is another 100% vegan chain, with four restaurants in Orange County. The menu is wholesome and diverse, created by an acclaimed vegan chef who is very passionate about what she does. Read more…

Pizza Hut: The thin crust pizza with no cheese is vegan. Get it with extra sauce, onions, green peppers, mushrooms and olives on top. Yum!

Quizno’s: A blog called Vegan Restaurant Master List has a post about Quizno’s. After contacting Quizno’s multiple times, the author of the post, named Erin, finally got an answer from their corporate offices regarding vegan menu options. You can get a veggie sandwich on Italian white bread. Just ask for no cheese or Italian dressing (the dressing has cheese in it).

*Seabirds Food Truck: Orange County’s only 100% vegan food truck was chosen to compete in Food Network’s The Great Food Truck Race Season 2 for a reason: their food is delicious! The beer-battered avocado tacos are fantastic, and the jackfruit tacos are just as good. Other favorites include the sweet potato fries or the pineapple fried rice. See when the popular food truck will be in your city here.

*Sharky’s: This place is a must-try for vegans in Orange County. All of the salsas in the salsa bar, the guacamole and the tortilla chips are all vegan, as confirmed by the chain’s Chief Operating Officer, David Goldstein. Get the Sharky’s Burrito on a whole wheat tortilla with tofu, black beans, and substitute brown rice for the regular rice. The burrito seems like a very healthy, protein-packed meal.

Subway: Subway has the Veggie Delight, which you can get on Italian bread without cheese. It tastes good with extra mustard, all the veggies and peppers (minus any that you don’t care for), avocado, vinegar and pepper. Some locations offer a veggie patty, but it contains egg, so it’s not vegan.

Veggie Grill: With two locations in Orange County (both being in Irvine), the Veggie Grill is a great option because it has a 100% vegan menu. Vegans and non-vegans love this place, because the food is great and guilt-free. This place uses a lot of tempeh, veggie steaks, “chickin” and other meat substitutes in their dishes. Their sweet potato fries were among the best in Orange County. Plus, they just added some great new dishes to their menu! View the different options here.

Wahoo’s Fish Tacos: The tofu tacos at Wahoo’s are vegan when ordered with no cheese. If you don’t want tofu, you can fill your taco with Banzai Veggies or blackened mushrooms instead. Get it with brown rice, black beans and guacamole on the side. The white rice is not vegan, because it has butter in it. Also, the french fries and tortilla chips are cooked in the same fryer as the meat taquitos, so they are technically not vegan. Download a list of food allergens in dishes at Wahoo’s here.

*Z Pizza: Z Pizza is very accommodating to vegans. On their Facebook page, they have a note that lists all their vegan options. Most locations have Daiya cheese, which is vegan, and veggie burger crumbles. Create your own pizza or calzone, or get the Berkley Vegan pizza.

My favorite places are marked with an aterisk (*). Happy vegan eating!!