In the 4th part of my series on eating plant-based in restaurants, I did research on Casual Family Restaurants. Some of what I discovered was a pleasant surprise!
This information can be really helpful when you’re traveling and don’t have the option to eat at home. Don’t forget to speak-up and let your server know your dietary needs and that you prefer no salt or oil when possible. See part one of the series for good general info on eating in restaurants.
Disclaimer – I have not personally visited all the restaurants listed below. 😊 I did research on the menus and have listed some plant-based items I found for each of the following locations. Note – you can click on the title of each restaurant to view their website.
Casual Family Dining
This is a place I hadn’t considered when thinking about plant-based restaurants, but they actually have a lot of options! Starters and side dishes include regular edamame (the spicy version includes butter), vegetable tempura, Benihana salad, miso soup, and rice. For entrees your choices are the Vegetable Sushi Roll, Spicy Tofu Steak, and Yakisoba (with no meat).
At BJ’s, you can start with guacamole and chips. Salad options are numerous and include; Portobello Mushroom Salad, Golden Beet & Arugula Salad, Kale & Roasted Brussels Sprouts Salad (say no to the goat cheese & candied pecans), or the Asian Chopped Salad (ask to remove chicken & wonton strips). They offer a Lentil Soup with Ancient Grains, Vegetarian-Style Peruvian Quinoa Bowl, and all their pastas are vegan–just order with marinara and veggies.
This restaurant is just okay in their offerings, but you can make it work! Order their Classic Vegetable Plate (choose five vegetables from their list). The only items that are plant-based are: Dinner salad (counts as two veggies) with fat-free raspberry vinaigrette, baked potato, steamed broccoli, spinach, and baked sweet potato. Unfortunately, the corn bread isn’t vegan.
There are some tasty choices for you at the Cheesecake Factory. Ask for a Vegan Cobb Salad (pictured below) with house vinaigrette and some Avocado Toast on the side. You can also order their Wellness Salad and their Impossible Veggie Burger made from brown rice, mushrooms, and black beans. But, skip the bun – it has eggs and butter it in. Sad to report that none of their cheesecake options are plant-based.
I haven’t been to a Denny’s in years, but it does look like you can keep to your plant-based plan while eating there. For breakfast, you can get their oatmeal (request they make it with water and use no butter), hash browns, and dry toast or English muffins with jelly. Another option is their Fit Fare Veggie Sizzlin’ Skillet with no eggs (request extra veggies or potatoes instead). Sides you can order are a salad, fresh fruit , fresh veggies and steamed broccoli.
Okay, I have to admit to being addicted to the Peasant Bread (yes, it’s vegan!) at Macaroni Grill! 😋 The trick is staying away from dipping it in the olive oil. Other starter options are the Crispy Brussels Sprouts (not healthy!), Tomato Basil and Minestrone Soups, and their Side Fresh Greens Salad. The Create Your Own Pasta is the best plan. You choose which pasta you’d like, topped with either the imported pomodorina sauce or the tomato basil sauce and then pick the veggies you’d like to include. Some choices are: mushrooms, garlic, spinach, tomatoes, sundried tomatoes, peppers, and seasonal vegetables.
Olive Garden has several choices for those of us who eat plant-based. Their famous bread sticks along with unlimited minestrone soup and salad (with balsamic vinegar in place of the house dressing) are good starters. You can order spaghetti or any of their plant-based pastas (including whole grain linguine) with tomato sauce. Or better yet, they also offer a Create Your Own Pasta dish with marinara sauce and garden vegetables. Add a side of steamed broccoli to complete your meal.
It does seem odd to be suggesting a steakhouse to plant-based eaters, but they are actually pretty good places to go. The house bread is vegan as long as you say no to the butter. To go with your bread, order a house salad with no cheese or croutons. For your entree, you can choose a plain baked potato, sweet potato or both, with fresh steamed broccoli or mixed vegetables without seasoned butter. They offer grilled asparagus, but it’s cooked on the same grill as the meat. Maybe you can ask them to steam the asparagus with the other veggies?!
Appetizers at P.F. Chang’s that will meet your needs are edamame and the Vegetarian Lettuce Wraps (tofu, green onion, mint, water chestnuts). For your entree choose either Coconut Curry Vegetables, Harvest Thai Curry, Ma Po Tofu, or Buddha’s Feast( tofu, savory sauce, asparagus, shiitakes, broccoli, and carrots). On the side, you can get spinach and asparagus.
Chips with salsa & guacamole, the side salad and their bottomless fries are all plant-based. They also have veggie vegan burgers which can be prepared in a bunch of different ways (however, they warn that there could be cross-contamination with meat during the preparation on the grill). Bread choices for your burger include multi-grain, ciabatta, and the onion/chive kaiser buns. You can also order black beans (no cheese), broccoli, and apples.
A fun place to go for breakfast or brunch, there are some items available to eat here. The Snooze Breakfast Burrito can be modified to make it vegan by switching tofu for the eggs and omitting the cheese. The ranchero and green chili sauces are both plant-based. Another option is the Tofu Scramble with hash browns and toast. An order of fresh fruit will be the perfect finish.
In addition to a really awesome salad bar (35+ vegan, oil-free, salt-free items), you can find several choices for dinner at this restaurant. They always have at least one vegan soup, the sourdough bread is plant-based and plain baked potatoes are plentiful. Sometimes they also have baked sweet potatoes. I like to put the soup or pico de gallo on my baked potatoes. For dessert they offer fresh fruit. What’s really cool about this place is they label every single food item as vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free, etc.. Makes it really easy to find what you need!
Whew…….that was a bunch of restaurant information!! Did you find it helpful? Oh, I hope so!! 😃 Let me know your thoughts on this series in the comments below. xoxo
If you missed seeing the previous parts of this series, you can view them here!
Part 1 – Eating Plant-Based in Restaurants
Part 2 – Eating Plant-Based in Ethnic Restaurants
Part 3 – How to Eat Plant-Based in Fast Food Restaurants
