With such amazing vegetarian India food options available on virtually every street, when we requested that our taxi driver take us to a McDonald’s they couldn’t understand what we were thinking. We explained how it was a completely different experience from that in the US. Due to India’s large Hindu population, McDonald’s has completely catered their menu to suit religious vegetarian and non-vegetarian customers alike. The McDonald’s that we visited was a small restaurant in one of Delhi’s biggest foreign tourist shopping areas, Connaught Place. Our friend had given us a rundown on what is and what is not vegan, and the food itself was nothing to write home about, but the policies for their Indian franchise restaurants is fascinating.

They would not let us take pictures inside the restaurant, so I had to sneak a photo of this sign next to the menu:

The “Beef and Pork Products Not Sold Here” sign must be an easy way to explain to tourists why they can’t get their Big Mac, Quarter Pounder or McRib. McDonald’s have two completely different menus, food prep stations and sets of servers for the veg and non-veg options. Even the people who work at the counter either wear red outfits for non-veg or green outfits for veg. It’s amazing that they are more concerned about cross-contamination there than most veg-friendly restaurants here in the states. The non-veg menu is loaded with chicken items like the Chicken Maharaja Mac and the Chicken McGrill, but we weren’t there for that, we were there for the vegan options.

We opted for the McAloo Tikki Burger meal, hold the “sauce” which was some kind of mayo/ketchup concoction I’m guessing.

There were a bunch of strange options on the menu if you ate dairy like the Veg Pizza McPuff, the Paneer Salsa Warp and the McCurry Pan Paneer. The two medium drinks, two sandwiches and a medium french fries ended up being 285 Indian rupee, which is about the equivalent of $6 US Dollars, which is actually pretty expensive compared to the much larger and much better Indian food meals we were used to eating.

One thing that was really nice is that anything that was completely vegetarian is denoted with a small “Veg” label on the wrapper. So unlike the McDonald’s french fries in the US which contain beef flavoring, the same french fries are veg in India. To tell you the truth, it has been over 15 years since I’ve had McDonald’s french fries, I can’t tell you if there is any noticeable difference in flavor between the two.

After eating our meals we were still a little hungry. We figured since we didn’t know when the next time we would be making it to another Indian McDonald’s, we’ll be true Americans and overeat, so I ordered a McVeggie Burger with no mayo.

When it came out it was basically the same thing as the McAloo Tikki Burger, but instead of tomatoes and onions on a patty made out of potato, onion and peas, you get lettuce on the same patty. A bit of a letdown, but I think the difference comes in the sauce or the mayo, neither of which we had.

We added a bit of ketchup (no mustard was available) and choked it down.

All in all, the meal was probably the worst one we had the entire time we visited (not counting the vegetarian meals on the flights, yuck!). The last thing to mention, and something that I didn’t catch until we were leaving, is that they ask you to deposit any unused condiments, a.k.a. ketchup packets, back into a small box. After I got to thinking about it, who knows how many times that same packet has been handled before you touch it, open it, use it, then use your hands to pick up your food. That worried me a little bit.

After we were done, we decided to go kill some time at a coffee shop around the corner. This was a pretty big deal because coffee in India means boiled water and Folgers Crystals. The fact that we were able to have coffee made from real beans after drinking Folgers sounded extremely tempting. We stopped in Cafe Coffee Day and much to our surprise, they offered an item called a “Vegan Shake.” We ordered it and it tasted like an overly sweet soy latte.

As you can see from the picture, it came with ice, so we drank it as quickly as possible (even at a “western style” restaurant you don’t know if the water is filtered or non-filtered) and spent the rest of the afternoon chatting and waiting to go to the airport.

So as much as I hate supporting McDonald’s in any fashion, I can now say “been there, done that” and have visited a veg friendly Mickey D’s. Now never again.

Restaurants.com are running their 80% dining coupons again. Now through Sunday, January 31st you can pick up $25 dining coupons at some great vegan and vegan-friendly restaurants for just $2! I’ve complied a list below of the restaurants and reviews from some of your favorite and most trusted bloggers. Click on the links and enter discount code: “BONUS” (no quotes) at checkout and hit “Apply” to take advantage of this offer.

Bawarchi Indian Cuisine

Bella Cucina Italiana

Better Life Cuisine

Cru Restaurant

Desert Rose Bar and Lounge

Happy Family Vegetarian Restaurant – Monterey Park

Vegan Factory

Vegan World

ZPizza – Hancock Park
ZPizza – Lakewood
ZPizza – Woodland Hills

If you missed out last weekend, you’re in luck! Apparently the all you can eat meals at Flore Cafe were such a success they are continuing them this weekend. We went last Monday and stuffed ourselves on the “Thanksgiving Dinner.” Can you think of a better combination than a chilly (for Los Angeles) evening and a huge plate of stuffing with gravy? Yeah, I didn’t think so. All the details of this weekend’s All You Can Eat for $10 brunch are after the jump: (more…)

If you checked the store or follow us on Twitter you would have seen that we were “on vacation” all last week. We’re back and it’s now business as usual. All orders placed during that time have been filled and are on their way to their new owners.

A little about our vacation. We spent the last 10 days vacationing in the south. More specifically, Asheville, NC and Savannah, GA. We had been to Asheville a couple of times, but Savannah was a real treat. We were surprised to find out that for a city as large as Savannah (population of almost 150,000) and having such a progressive college (SCAD) dominating the city, they didn’t have a single vegetarian restaurant. We were still able to find a lot of veg-friendly restaurants including a cheese-less pizza and tempeh hoagie from Mellow Mushroom, mussaman curry and a spicy Vietnamese soup from Saigon and BBQ tofu wraps from The Sentient Bean (twice!). We also made a quick stop at Brighter Day Natural Foods on our way out of town to stock up on some junk food for the drive home. Brighter Day is a fantastic grocery store with some of the best selection of vegan items I’ve come across.

The rest of the trip was spent in Asheville, NC which we had visited multiple times before. Most of the time was spent doing “family stuff” but we managed to get away a couple of times and venture off to try out some of Asheville’s vegetarian cuisine. We attempted to go to one of my favorite’s, Laughing Seed, but they were unfortunately closed on Tuesdays, so we opted for Early Girl Eatery down the street. They didn’t have a ton of vegan options, but their tofu scramble did the job in a pinch. The next afternoon we found ourselves in a small town outside of Asheville called Brevard. Wandering around, we found a small restaurant called The Falls Landing which had a better than average black bean burger which they gave you in half a pita with hummus. The rest of the trip was spent trying to find veg-friendly items at non-veg-friendly restaurants with the family. Needless to say, we ended up eating a lot of plain baked potatoes and salads. Before we were to head out, we wanted to make sure and visit Laughing Seed, so we headed down there on Sunday afternoon when they were having their special brunch menu. We opted for the tofu scramble, tofu benediction and biscuits and gravy. Their take on the tofu benedict was a bit too fancy for my tastes. The dish was heavy on balsamic vinegar which overpowered the taste of the florentine sauce. And to make matters worse, it was placed on a bed of grits. I came away thinking it couldn’t hold a candle to Flore Cafe’s tofu benediction which has come to be one of my favorite meals. The tofu scramble was average but came with a nice side of Field Roast vegan sausage. The standout of the meal was definitely the biscuits and gravy. I find myself craving biscuits and gravy often ever since leaving Minneapolis and not having easy access to Seward Cafe. Laughing Seed has the best gravy I have EVER tasted. As far as I can figure, they seem to grind up a little bit of the Field Roast vegan sausage in the gravy (which I’m going to have to try!) to give it fantastic flavor. Next time we go back, I am going to stick with just the biscuits and gravy.

It was a fantastic trip and was nice to explore a new part of the country.

This Thursday you have the opportunity to dine out at Buca de Bepo and raise money for spcaLA. From 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM, 20% of your purchase will be donated to spcaLA if you present them with this flyer. Even though they are a chain restaurant, you can find a few vegan items on their menu, and a couple of them are even tasty! The quick list is this:

• - Bruschetta
• - Spaghetti Marinara
• - Green Beans
• - Roasted Vegetables

One trick is that you can make what is their regular spaghetti dish a bit more exciting by substituting gnocchi with their marinara. And the green beans are a must! So if you’re looking for a dining out option tomorrow in the Hollywood area, Buca would be a great choice.

Beginning this Sunday, Happy Veggie Restaurant in Redondo Beach will have a weekly vegan dinner where all the money raised will go to charity. There isn’t a cost for the dinner, so everyone can give whatever they want and the money raised will go to the selected charity. Every charity that we select will be an organization that is animal friendly. For the kickoff this Sunday, they are going to have all of the patrons vote on the charity they want the money raised to benefit and give all of the money to the charity with the most votes. Very democratic and very cool. Stop by and get a great meal and help out a great cause. Here are all the details:

Dinners For Charity
Sundays
5-8pm
Happy Veggie Restaurant
709 N. Pacific Coast Highway
Redondo Beach, CA 90277
RSVP to rsvp@positivetelevision.org

This past weekend my boyfriend and I were whisked away to the insipid region of Nevada known as Las Vegas. The decision to go to “Sin City” was not ours of course, but that of our friend’s in celebration of his 30th birthday. For the many who know us (Kevin and myself), it would not shock you to hear that the notion of spending a weekend club-hopping and pool lounging is an open invitation of a bit of vomit in the mouth. Despite the obligation to attend the abhorrent, dimly lit and egregious night clubs we did get a chance to visit other parts of Las Vegas often unseen. One such treasure is the Pinball Hall of Fame with its countless rows of pinball machines dating from the early fifties to present. For just a few dollars one can revisit their clumsy and youthful salad days just a couple miles off the strip. No trip would be complete without a pit stop to Ronald’s Donuts to purchase a pink box full of delectable cruelty free donuts. I’ve heard the store once described as a “hole in the wall,” but upon a complete inspection it bears no extraordinary difference in resemblance than that of any other typical donut shop. Though if you do ever plan a trip out to Vegas and get a hankering for Ronald’s remember to bring cash.

I hope that for those of you planning a trip out to the bright patch of desert known as Las Vegas this information has been helpful.

This is not an extensive list of restaurants. Most places can easily cook vegan food for you if they understand what it is. The word “vegan” has no equivalent translation in Thai. They understand “J” (or “Jay”) and sometimes “vegetarian” but not vegan. “J” is a diet that is almost vegan but they use oyster sauce. Ask for “Jay” food if they don’t understand “vegetarian”, however, tell them no oyster sauce (No “Naam Mon Hoi” or “Mai Ou (=No) Naam Mon Hoi”). Don’t bother trying to say “vegetarian” in Thai, it’s “mung sa vi raj”, because a lot of people don’t understand it. It’s like a big word that’s derived from Sanskrit language. And if they understand that word, they usually understand “vegetarian”.

Okay… here are several places I would recommend in the center of Bangkok. Chances are you’ll be visiting the popular shopping area in Bangkok (Siam Square, MBK, Paragon) which are all around the Siam sky train station. You’ll know these shopping malls if you’re in Bangkok and I say this because Bangkok is known for its shopping scenes.

*MBK *(near both Siam & National Stadium sky train stations) has 2 food courts on the 5th and 6th floors. The international food court on the 5th floor has a vegetarian/vegan place called Tamarind.  It’s actually owned by a famous upscale Thai restaurant called Bann Kanitha. They have both Thai and international options. On the 6th floor, it’s the cheaper food court, which consists mostly of Thai foods. They also have a vegetarian/vegan place. Don’t remember the name because they changed recently due to a political reason, but it says “Vegetarian Food” right in front. (The former Bangkok governor is famously known for his vegetarianism and they used his name (or it belongs to him?), but since he became a leader of the “yellow shirt” group, they had to change the name to avoid any possible conflicts.)

*Paragon* (or Siam Paragon, next to Siam sky train station) also has a food court at the ground level, while they don’t have all-vegetarian places, they have many vegetarian options and brown rice. They also have a lot of restaurants in there. I like MK Sukiyaki because they have a nice vegetarian set. (Sukiyaki is a like a hot pot.)

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*Siam Square* This one isn’t a mall but a big shopping area spanning several streets. They have a bunch of little shops, usually popular among Thai teenagers and younger crowds. They have MK Sukiyaki too but it’s call MK Trendi. There’s also a good Thai/vegetarian restaurant called “Ko Ko”. I believe it’s close to Scala movie theater, either on that “Soi” (=small street) or the one next to it. They have a lot vegetarian/vegan dishes on the menu including a bunch of fake meat. I like the “Mee Prik Pao Kai”, it’s the vermicelli noodle, fake chicken with tom yum chilli sauce and chinese kale.

While there won’t be a lot of varieties when it comes to vegan proteins unless you count the different types of prepared soy foods, you can easily find vegetarian/vegan food here. Find a place with English menu if you can, they usually have a vegetable section. This doesn’t mean those are all vegetarian, but some of them are. If you’re lucky, you’ll see the vegetarian section in there. Just remember “Jay” and “Mai Ou Naam Mon Hoi” (No oyster sauce) and you should be alright…

I just got word that one of my favorite restaurants, Flore Cafe, is having an All You Can Eat Vegan Brunch this Sunday from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm.Miranda’s brunch used to be the highlight of my week when she had it every Saturday at her previous restaurant, Tierra Cafe in downtown. I can guarantee there will be a lot of hungry vegans, so get there early! Here are all the details:

Event: All You Can Eat VEGAN BRUNCH “we will keep it coming until you say no more!”
Time: Sunday, February 22 at 10:00am to 3:00pm
Where: Flore Cafe, 3206 W Sunset Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90026

We stopped by Friday night’s event but had to leave before Doomie showed up with the food, but we were the first people there at 4 o’clock on Sunday. We had to wait around for a little while, but it was worth it. One of the best ways to spend $10 that I can think of although there are no championship eating contests in my future. 1 1/2 plates of “all you can eat” and I was done. My favorite part, 3 different types of “chick’n”, chick’n legs, chick’n fingers and chick’n breasts. Plus pot roast, mashed potatoes, mac n’ cheese and cole slaw. There was also salad, but come on, salad? Like I’m going to fill myself up on that. Here’s hoping they’ll find a new space soon…