Lance Toasty Crackers Are Not Vegan

Here's why vegans should always read ingredients lists every time a familiar product will be consumed, even if the product is known to be plant-based or vegan.

Sadly, the ingredients list on Lance Toasty crackers has changed. In the recent past, these crackers were labeled as being manufactured in a shared facility with milk products, but the list never actually included a milk ingredient. Today I received this bag of non-food from a vending machine. I can't eat this, but my pocket change will not be a waste. I'll just share these with my canine friends. They love peanut butter.

This is really sad. I know of only 2 other Lance products I can eat. I was in the middle of a hard day of work. I really needed a quick snack. This is a major disappointment. But look at the other stuff in that ingredients list. I'm better off without it.

Home-made Fried Batter

Back when I was living in poverty in my non-vegan days, one thing I could order from Captain D's was the cracklin. For 25 cents I could get a whole box of fried batter. Yes. Fried batter. That's all it is. It's not healthy, I know. But it's good and it's cheap! So I tried to make some at home. Mine is not nearly as good because it's just flour and water poured into hot oil. My texture and shapes are not right either. I'm sure Captain D's has a nice blend of non-vegan ingredients.

Avocado Sandwich Combo at Which Wich

Which Wich is a very vegan friendly restaurant. They have vegan and vegetarian menu items clearly labeled. The website has plenty of in-your-face vegan information. They have 3 vegan sandwich choices and plenty of vegan toppings and sauces. And the food is great!

This time I got the Avocado Sandwich on white bread (remember, the wheat bread contains honey). I ordered it with lettuce tomato, roasted red peppers, red onions, black olives, spinach, spicy mustard, salt, black pepper, oregano, and of course avocado. I made it a combo with a drink and Which Wich House Chips. This was excellent!

Wild Reuben at The Wild Cow Vegetarian Restaurant in Nashville TN

The Wild Reuben Sandwich is another awesome lunch choice at The Wild Cow Vegetarian Restaurant!

Click here for The Wild Cow Vegetarian Restaurant website

Cinco de Mayo 2019 at Chuy's Tex-Mex in Huntsville AL

To celebrate this Cinco de Mayo I went to Chuy's Tex-Mex. This was my first time at Chuy's. The restaurant was bright, clean, loud, and decorated with an abundance of dog photography and weird dog themed art. There was a slight 1950's vibe created by the nacho bar built from a 1957 Chevy trunk, retro space-age Chuy's logo, mid-century styled seating, and Elvis painting.

I spoke with a very knowledgeable server about vegan options. I will present to you my meal and what I was told about the vegan foods available. First, let's admire this beautiful plate full of plant-based foods.

Veggie Enchiladas at Chuy's Tex-Mex in Huntsville AL

This Veggie Enchilada meal included 2 roasted veggie enchiladas with refried beans and green chile rice with a small garnish of spinach, lettuce, pico de gallo, and jalapeno slices. I made it vegan by ordering it without cheese. This food was excellent in every possible way, except for the price. This was the best Tex-Mex food I've had in a while. The enchiladas were flavorful with a nice variety of textures. The ranchero sauce was rich and smooth. The veggies were fresh and slightly firm. The corn tortillas were soft with a slight stretch when pulled. Here's a detail of the enchilada with the top pulled off.

Veggie Enchiladas at Chuy's Tex-Mex in Huntsville AL

The mostly blended beans tasted very fresh and clean. The rice was fresh with a nice chile flavor, a hint of lime, and a mild amount of heat.

Refried beans at Chuy's Tex-Mex in Huntsville AL

Mexican rice at Chuy's in Huntsville AL

I added a side of salsa just to try it. The salsa tasted very fresh and natural. It was a bit watery with crisp chunks. The serrano pepper made it very hot! But the taste was excellent.

Salsa at Chuy's Tex-Mex in Huntsville AL

Of course, I had to get a margarita for Cinco de Mayo. I chose the blackberry frozen margarita. It tasted great with a real fruit taste, but I didn't taste any alcohol in it, and the price was over $9! It was a refreshing drink, but anyone who wanted to get happy on this would only get a smile and would need to spend $30 more to even get a giggle.

Blackberry frozen margarita at Chuy's Tex-Mex in Huntsville AL

Now for the vegan details starting with the bad news. The server told me that all fried foods share the same frying oil. So all crunchy fried items are contaminated with fish, chicken, shrimp, etc. Also, the flour tortillas are made in-house with whey, which is a milk derivative. So burritos, soft tacos on flour tortillas, and fajitas are not vegan.

Here's the really good news. The roasted veggies are vegan because they're cooked with a soy-based margarine, the soft blue and yellow corn tortillas are both vegan, both refried and charro beans are vegan, and both Mexican and Green Chile rices are vegan. That's a pretty good selection of vegan items!

Here's the meal recommendations for a vegan at Chuy's Tex-Mex:

• Vegetarian Soft Taco meal (yellow or blue corn tortillas) without cheese, plus your choice of any beans and any rice
• Veggie Enchilada meal (yellow or blue corn tortillas) without cheese, plus your choice of any beans and any rice
• Soft yellow or blue corn tortillas with salsa, pico de gallo, or guacamole as an appetizer

The quality of this meal was greater than expected. The number of vegan options impressed me, especially with the beans and rice, but I was disappointed that the chips were not something I would want to eat as a strict vegan. This meal did cost more than I would normally want to pay, but the freshness and quality of the food made it worth the price. Next time I'll skip the overpriced slushy and get tea. And there will be a next time. This meal was great!

Bama Q Tamales at Delta Blues Hot Tamales in Birmingham AL

Because my last visit was more than satisfactory, I returned to Delta Blues Hot Tamales in Birmingham AL. This time I got the Bama Q tamales. This was excellent! It was so good it made me wish I had grown an extra stomach.

The Bama Q tamales are vegan if ordered with black bean filling. My black bean tamales were topped with spicy barbecue sauce, tangy slaw, and pickle slices, and they were served on corn husks. My choice of side was the slaw. This was all vegan! While Delta Blues Hot Tamales is not a vegetarian restaurant, they do have some vegan and vegetarian foods. I believe two more visits will conclude my exploration of the vegan options available at Delta Blues. So I'll be back!

Click here to see the Delta Blues Hot Tamales menu

A Large Bowl Of Beans And Rice At Salsarita's Fresh Mexican Grill

I ordered a bowl of beans and rice as usual. But this time they gave me the big bowl. That's much more food for the same price. Nice!

Click here to see the Salsarita's Fresh Mexican Grill website

Hummus & Veggies At I Love Juice Bar

The Hummus & Veggies box at I Love Juice Bar makes a great plant-based lunch. Check out the company's website to see all the vegan options they have.

Click here to see the I Love Juice Bar website

Pintos and Rotel

I combined a can of Publix pintos (drained) with a can of Rotel Original Diced Tomatoes and Green Chilies. I heated it up. There it is. One of the easiest, quickest, cheapest meals on this blog. And it was really good!

To get fancy, dump this into a bowl of rice. It will still be cheap and delicious. And rice adds a bit more protein. 

Dutch Apple Pie At Burger King

Can you believe the Dutch Apple Pie at Burger King is vegan? I read the ingredients. It's vegan! I had mine for breakfast with black coffee. The pie and coffee were both excellent. The very sweet pie went well with the unsweetened coffee.

Burger King is making some efforts to be vegan friendly. I'm going to keep my eyes on them. I hope one day they'll have a 100% plant-based meal. 

Nashvillle VegFest 2019

Today I went to VegFest 2019 at the fairgrounds in Nashville TN. VegFest is a vegan and plant-based lifestyle festival.

The entrance of the fairgrounds was blocked by construction and no detour signs were posted. I've never in my life seen so many vegans, herbivores, vegetarians, and animal rights advocates in one place. The turnout was huge and it started up in complete chaos and confusion. The entry line went around the parking lot. It looked like the number of people was much greater than anticipated. Ironically, we were treated like livestock with long disorganized lines and holding areas with no room to move. I felt like one of the chickens in the vegan documentaries. But I made the best of it and found some wonderful treasures to share with you.

The massive crowd at VegFest Nashville 2019

My first stop was at the Core + Rind Cashew Cheesy Sauce table to get free samples. They had three flavors; Spicy Chipotle, Smoky, and Original. Each was fantastic in very different ways, and I could not pick a favorite.

In this first vegan food photograph you see my first snack of the event. I got a jackfruit slider with potato salad from the Sunflower Cafe table. It was excellent in every way!

Barbecue Jackfruit Slider and potato salad by Sunflower Cafe

I tried to make my way around to see everything, but the crowd was massive. I could barely see the vending tables right in front of me. After squeezing my way though the crowd I found peace in the lecture area and stayed a while.

I caught the interesting and enlightening talk by JL Fields (culinary instructor/cookbook author) and Andy Tabor (Compassion Company/The Bearded Vegans) about body shaming and food shaming within the vegan community and in general public. This was an important message that should be heard by more people. I hope they continue discussing those topics to create greater understanding and unity.

I went back out for another snack. This time I found The Wild Muffin and bought a lemon poppy muffin. It was light, fluffy, delicious, and not too sweet. Perfect!

Lemon Poppy muffin by The Wild Muffin

Lemon Poppy muffin by The Wild Muffin

I couldn't end it there. I wanted to experience more plant-based pleasures. I tried to get vegan tacos at Succulent Vegan Tacos, but the menu was too small to see and I got stuck in the long pick-up line instead of the long order line. I gave up.

Before I knew it, much of the food was gone. The Wild Cow's table would have been my next stop, but they completely sold out of the vegan lobster hoagies they were serving.

My only good option at that point was to try the barbecue jackfruit sandwich and potato salad at Avo. I really didn't want to eat the same thing again, but I'm glad I did. It was awesome! It was slightly better than the Sunflower Cafe slider combo, mostly because of the tastier bun and the heavier herbs in the potato salad.

Jackfruit Barbecue Slider and potato salad by Avo

This was a good event but the location was not right. It would have been better in the parking lot of the football stadium. If the event is in the same place next year, I will surely not attend. The fairgrounds building is primitive and still smells like farm animals when the air conditioning comes on. The building's floor plan is like a Halloween corn maze or haunted house. The number of participants was too great for the narrow side aisles. The dining area was too small. However, I wish not to leave you with negative comments. I did enjoy the food, I gathered some good product coupons, and I shared an experience with good people. I hope to attend other similarly themed events in the near future.

All American With Sides At Sunflower Cafe In Nashville TN

I've been wanting to try Sunflower Cafe for a long time. The positive reviews online are plentiful. I finally got the time to go find it and experience it myself.

Sunflower Cafe is at the southern end of a small, strange neighborhood of 1940s houses that have all been converted into businesses with parking in the front and back yards. They still look like cozy little houses, but the familiar feeling of home in the suburbs is slightly disturbed as if visiting an alternate reality. Sunflower Cafe is one of those converted houses. The entire house appears to have been gutted and opened up into large kitchen and dining areas. The exterior remains mostly in the form of a house with added rooms and decks. The photo below was taken from the back yard parking area. The entrance is at the back porch.

I was welcomed with a large menu board which was clearly marked for those with specific dietary needs. The buffet style line presented guests with an abundance of beautiful plant-based foods, each with a label for easy ordering. The menu is almost all vegan. They do have real cheese add-ons for those who are lacto-vegetarian.

I ordered the All American veggie burger. This plant-based high-rise included a house-made veggie patty with dill pickles, red onions, field greens, tomato, and Dusseldorf mustard spread.

Instead of being an imitation beef substitute, the veggie patty was a real veggie patty with what seemed to be carrots, beets, and other garden favorites. It was thick and soft with slightly crunchy edges. The taste was pleasant and mild. The bold pickles and spicy mustard spread offered contrast and balance. The fresh spinach leaves were noticeably thick and tasty. The flavorful pickles had spice and snap. The pressed bun was warm and solid. When eaten together, it all made a really nice meal. This sandwich was larger and more beautiful than I expected.

I wanted to try some good side items, so I told the nice lady it was my first visit, and I asked what sides she would recommend. She said the mashed potatoes "are phenomenal!". They don't usually have them, but it was a special veggie of the day. I will agree with her. Phenomenal! The potatoes were both creamy and chunky with potato peel and grilled onions scattered throughout. The warmth of this dish was pleasing. This was a real comfort food.

The guy behind me in line suggested the Pad Thai Salad. So I tried that too.

The Pad Thai Salad was served cold. The creamy sauce had delicate hints of peanut, soy sauce, and coffee. Coffee? That's what I tasted. But just a hint. The red and green peppers were raw, fresh, and crisp. This was some of the best Pad Thai noodles I've had.

The last item I got was a piece of jalapeno cornbread, a treat for later. It was also very good.

This visit was great! The food was some of the best plant-based foods I've found. The service was very fast and friendly. The vegan options were more than enough. The portion sizes were generous. The atmosphere was casual and relaxed. The dining area did seem a bit rough and well-used, but that's probably because the delicious food attracts so many people. The price for this meal was very high for my budget, but this was real food. Real food has a price.

I plan to return soon. I can see how this could become my new favorite restaurant. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to finally try Sunflower Cafe!

Click here to see the Sunflower Cafe website

Vegan Jerk Tacos From Ale's Kitchen In Straight To Ale Brewery In Huntsville AL

To order a vegan taco meal from Ale's Kitchen in Straight To Ale Brewery just order the Jerk Chicken Tacos and have them use portabella mushrooms instead of chicken. Order the slaw as the side item, because it's already vegan. The jerk taco meal is good for anyone who likes hot and sweet flavors. The slaw is will light you up, but it's so good it could be a meal by itself. Be sure to get a beer while you're there. I recommend Straight To Ale's Belgian style Brother Joseph (8% ABV).

Vegan Jerk Tacos from Ale's Kitchen in Straight To Ale Brewery in Huntsville AL

Click here to see the Straight To Ale website

Vegan Black Bean Wrap At Chef Will The Palate In Huntsville AL

Here's another very good vegan option from Chef Will The Palate in Huntsville. This vegan Black Bean Wrap is a flour tortilla wrapped around black beans, brown rice, walnut sour cream, spinach, and tomato. It rests upon a bed of corn tortillas. This is usually vegetarian with real cheese and real sour cream, but Chef Will can easily make his foods vegan. Everything I've ordered from Chef Will has been excellent!

Vegan Black Bean Wrap at Chef Will The Palate in Huntsville AL

Gyro Pita Sandwich at The Wild Cow Vegetarian Restaurant in Nashville TN

I enjoyed another meal at The Wild Cow. Check out this tasty meal.

The Gyro Pita Sandwich is described on the menu as "Greek seasoned BE Hive seitan with grilled peppers and onions, tofu feta, cucumber, tomato, onion, lettuce, and our house cucumber yogurt dressing in a pita". A pleasant surprise was a generous number of kalamata olives hidden inside. This was great!

My side item was the Lentil Stew. It's a really good standard. I get it very often. The stew was as good as usual, but after eating the stew I noticed the bowl looked dirty. At first I thought it was just stained from black beans, but I was able to scratch the coating off with my finger nail. Like I said, I get this often, and I have never seen a coating under my stew anytime in the past. This was not residue from my bowl of stew. So this makes my first not-so-amazing experience at The Wild Cow.

I've been going to The Wild Cow for several years now, and this is the first time anything like this has happened. I would not want to scare anyone away from such a great vegan restaurant. I do hope this is not a new trend. I'm sure a little bit of vinegar would clean these bowls. I will return soon with the expectation that this freak accident will not be repeated.

Click here for The Wild Cow Vegetarian Restaurant website

Five Guys Fries with Malt Vinegar

I've cut back on my french fry consumption lately for health reasons. Being in a food desert, I have limited options for lunch, so I went to Five Guys. This time I decided not to get the Cajun Fries. I got plain Little Fries with malt vinegar and a regular sweet tea.

If you're curious about the vegan options at Five Guys, an order of fries or Cajun fries is almost all you will find. The veggie sandwich is not vegan because the bread contains milk and eggs. Come on Five Guys. Change the bread, please.

Buddha's Feast at P.F.Chang's

This is the Buddha's Feast with no special requests, however they did go a bit light on the sauce this time. I usually get this with no mushrooms, steamed, and with extra broccoli, but I was feeling like doing something crazy. This came with brown rice. It was a bit expensive, but I had enough to make 2 meals of it. This was very good!

Click here to see P.F.Chang's website

Cashew Coconut Cupcake at Graze in Nashville TN

This vegan cupcake was amazing! Plant-based life is great!

I was told by the staff that this was made by The Moody Foodie, a vegan bakery in Nashville.

Click here to see the Graze website

A Vegan Pizza at Your Pie in Birmingham AL

I accidentally ended up at Your Pie in downtown Birmingham AL, and I ended up with a delicious meal that I would gladly repeat. Your Pie is another brick oven build-your-own style pizza restaurant. I chose regular crust, regular marinara sauce, vegan cheese, black olives, fresh garlic, and onions.

This was a clean restaurant with good service at the time of my visit. I was surprised to see they have vegan meat and cheese. They have plenty of other toppings for omnivores. The crew behind the counter casually made the food at a slower pace than other places, but that's probably why the restaurant was so clean and organized. Some places are in such a rush that they make a mess of the makeline. This slower pace let the crew keep things nice and neat. I appreciate mindful food building. This meal was excellent! They did accidentally give me a piece of green pepper, but it's okay. It's all vegan!

Your Pie restaurants can presently be found in Georgia, Alabama, and Tennessee, but I expect more locations in the future.

Click here to see the Your Pie website

Buffalo Tempeh Strips at The Wild Cow Vegetarian Restaurant in Nashville TN

I ordered the Buffalo Tempeh Strips just to see how good they are. It's not a choice I would normally make, but I've tried almost everything else on the menu, so I figured I'd try this one too. This tempeh was tossed in Buffalo hot sauce and served on a bed of fresh greens. It came with vegan ranch dipping sauce, carrot sticks, and celery sticks.

Like everything else at The Wild Cow, this was very good. The tempeh was mostly firm and chunky with a noticeable skillet fried char flavor. The Buffalo sauce tasted like a typical vinegar based hot sauce with a little bit of oiliness. The carrots and celery were as good as expected. The vegan ranch dipping sauce was amazing and enhanced the flavor of each stick perfectly. The ranch was the highlight of this plate. It brought everything together.

The tempeh's dirtier flavor was balance with the fresh, clean flavors of the veggie sticks and the light, refreshing ranch sauce. This is a great choice for anyone. I may order this again.

Click here for The Wild Cow Vegetarian Restaurant website

Veggie Burger at The Wild Cow Vegetarian Restaurant in Nashville TN

I returned to one of my favorite vegan restaurants in Nashville. The Wild Cow never disappoints me. This time went as well as expected. The food was great, the service was friendly, and the wait time was reasonable considering the popularity of the establishment.

I ordered the Veggie Burger which is described as a "house made black bean patty with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and veganaise, served on a whole wheat bun". It comes with a choice of one side item. I chose the Vegan Queso Dip and Chips.

The patty itself was soft inside and firm outside, much like a pot of refried beans after cooling. The patty includes some whole black beans and other chunks to give it a nice mouthfeel. The flavor wasn't what I expected, but it was pretty good. It was pleasantly beany with a charred smokiness like that of skillet fried foods found at greasy spoon type roadside cafes. It wasn't as clean and natural as I expected it to be, but once I realized what the deal was with it I enjoyed it very much. Meat eaters would like this choice becuase it is a bit dirtier in flavor. The toppings and bun were all perfect. They did forget to include the Vegenaise, but it was great without it. I may order it again in the future.

The queso was excellent. The texture was a little bit slimy, but the taste was perfect. The chips were also perfect.

This was another great meal at The Wild Cow. I will return soon!


Click here for The Wild Cow Vegetarian Restaurant website

Cali Bowl at Fire & Spice TexMex Smokehouse in Huntsville AL

Since my first visit to Fire & Spice went well I decided to go back to try the Cali Bowl, which is one of several vegan options. Surprisingly, it was crowded in there. I had to sit at the bar. But that worked out very well. It gave me a great view of the impressively clean kitchen. Even the bar was spotlessly clean. The food arrived after a few minutes. Check out this bowl full of real food!

Cali Bowl at Fire & Spice TexMex Smokehouse in Huntsville AL

The Cali Bowl is made with layers of rice, pinto beans, roasted onions and peppers, corn salsa, cilantro, hot sauce, and guacamole. Everything about this was excellent! The seasoned rice and corn salsa really got my attention. This meal was not cheap. I paid about $15 plus a good tip for this meal. That's way too much money for the average beans, rice, and veggie bowl with tea. But this was not average! It tasted like real food made with fresh ingredients by people who actually care. Real food does have a price, and I'll pay that price when I can. It was worth what I paid, but I will need to save this kind of spending for special occasions. The Cali Bowl is a large bowl of food, so it could easily make two meals.

During this visit the large crowd was unusually quiet. The classic pop music was playing at a reasonable sound level. It was peaceful and comfortable even with a full house. The service was friendly enough and fast enough.This was another great lunch at Fire & Spice!

UPDATE: I returned to Fire & Spice for another awesome meal. I have more details on the food. All fried foods share the same oil, so the tortilla chips and fried cauliflower may not be considered acceptable for very strict vegans. That explains why I thought the chips tasted kind of dirty during my first visit. The sauteed veggies are cooked on the flat top grill, but they do have a separate area for the veggies. This may still not be acceptable for strict vegans, because it is the same grill with possibilities for cross contamination. The vegan burritos and quesadillas are toasted on the same flat top grill.

On my latest visit, I had a friendly discussion with a server and a member of management just for clarity. They are very familiar with food restrictions. They went over the menu and helped me understand how things are done in the kitchen. For my recent meal they gladly made it "allergy style. They used a clean pan for the sauteed veggies and to toast my burrito. They made it their mission to make it right. The service and food were excellent. It was the best food I've had in months! I will surely return!

Click here to see the Fire & Spice website 

Home-made Vegan Mushroom Gravy

Back in my omnivore days, I always loved gravy on mashed potatoes or biscuits. But as you may know by now, I only eat plant-based foods. Gravy is traditionally made with meat juices, milk, and butter. I will share with you how I make gravy using only the vegan ingredients in the photo below, plus water.

Keep in mind, I will not give you a recipe. I don't write recipes. I'm not a chef. I just cook, mix, and taste until it's right. This is probably the most complicated food item I will include on this blog. I prefer to keep things simple. I just wanted to share this with you because it is really good!

To make my vegan gravy, I used the following ingredients:

• Mushrooms (dried or fresh, several kinds mixed together works best)
• Onion (white or yellow)
• Marmite
• Miso Paste (the darker miso pastes are better than what's in the photo)
• Earth Balance butter alternative (olive oil also works well)
• Black Pepper
• Salt
• Water
• All Purpose Flour (optional)

 Instructions:

1. Make a chunky broth by boiling the mushrooms and onion in water. Cook until its mushy. For smoother gravy, cook it longer.
2. Using a food processor or blender, make the broth as smooth as desired. I don't mind chunks.
3. Add Marmite, Miso Paste, Black Pepper, Salt, and Earth Balance in small increments, tasting often to get an idea of what more is needed to perfect the flavor
4. Sprinkle in tiny pinches of flour to thicken it if needed. It doesn't take much. Just a few pinches. Stir it up. Don't let the flour turn into lumps.

That's it! Here's my gravy with a home-made vegan rosemary biscuit. This time it was a bit chunky. It can be smoother with longer cooking time and more blending. This was very good!

Home-made Onion Soup with Biscuits

This home-made soup was made with water, white onions, green onions, parsley, black pepper, and salt. The biscuits were made with all-purpose flour, water, baking soda, and salt. This Great Depression style meal tasted great and was almost free.

Vegan Chili Made With Carroll Shelby's Chili Kit

I made vegan chili using a Carroll Shelby's Chili Kit. I just used pinto beans and tofu instead of beef. The kit is vegan. It's just a pack of yummy spices. This was some of the best chili I've made.

Vegan Nachos at Hi-Fi Clyde's in Chattanooga TN

Hi-Fi Clyde's has a secret vegan menu! During my first visit to Hi-Fi- Clyde's I chose the vegan nachos.

The nachos were served on a pan with the chips spread out and evenly coated with each topping. The "cheese whiz" had an unusual pumpkin pie taste. The carrots provided an earthy flavor. the vegan mozzarella was creamy and light. The pickled onions provided a pleasantly sour hint. The white chili had a nice hearty bean flavor. The medium tortilla chips were thick enough to hold the toppings but thin enough to be crisp. The salsa was light with a generous amount of cilantro. This was a really good, andvery unique, serving of nachos!

Hi-Fi Clyde's is a restaurant and sports bar with a stage for live bands and ping pong tables. It is not a vegan or vegetarian restaurant, but they do have several vegan options such as Vegan Nachos, Falafel Wrap, the A.L.T Sandwich, and Buffalo Cauliflower Po Boy Sandwich. The fried foods probably get fried in shared oil, so that needs to be considered when ordering. The interior looks like a rough bar with stickers and signs all over the walls but they've mixed in some surprisingly classy sitting areas with large couches, black chandeliers, and lit up pinball machine tables. And the place is cleaner than it looks upon first glance. I visited during the afternoon and crowd was light, but it I can tell it really comes alive at night. It looks like a great place to party for omnivores and herbivores. I'll try to return again in the future.


Click here to see the Hi-Fi Clyde's website

Green Chili Burrito at Graze in Nashville TN

Here's another excellent meal at Graze in Nashville! Everything at Graze is vegan. Close your eyes, put your finger on the menu, open your eyes, and order whatever your finger is on. There's no doubt it will be an excellent plant-based choice.

Click here to see the Graze website

Marie Callender's Lattice Apple Pie

I'm almost afraid to say this is vegan. It's really so good it doesn't seem like it should be true. I read the ingredients. It does have high-fructose corn syrup and other no-so-great things in it. But it does appear to be vegan. It's very sweet, chunky, and smooth inside with a crunchy, crumbly lattice outside.This is an excellent product!

A Vegan Snack at Auntie Anne's

To get a vegan snack at Auntie Anne's, order the original pretzel without butter and get a dipping cup of marinara sauce. They have mustard and ketchup too. Don't expect this to be ready and waiting for you. The pre-made products in the heat rack already have butter on them. They will cook a fresh one for you while you wait, which will take about 8-10 minutes. It's a great snack that's worth the wait.

Click here to see the Auntie Anne's website

Poverty Green Beans

You know how you get green beans and they go bad and get bad spots on them? And all you can save from them is tiny little pieces? Well, here's what I do with those pieces instead of wastefully throwing them all away. Once I cut the good pieces out, I dust the tiny pieces in flour and fry them just like okra. Not bad.

Veggie Enchiladas at Mexiville in Chattanooga TN

I found out the North Shore Mexiville had $7 vegan plates today, so I stopped by to try something. My choice was the Veggie Enchiladas. It came with chips and salsa.

These beautiful veggie enchiladas were filled with grilled onions, spinach, and mushrooms. The corn tortillas were covered in a tasty ranchero sauce. This was very flavorful, inside and out. The tortillas had a very nice authentic Mexican flavor. This was a very good meal at a good price!

But I do have mixed feelings about this meal. My concerns include the fact that the grilled veggies could have been grilled on a shared grill. Also the veggies may have been seasoned with butter. Vegan foods aren't usually this rich in flavor. Maybe I'm just too cautious. While it may seem a bit mistrustful, I do need to confirm that the food is 100% vegan before I order again. If I know the veggies are grilled separately in a vegan oil, I may become a regular at Mexiville.

Mexiville is a regular Mexican restaurant that actually has a vegan section on the menu. That's impressive. But each one of the vegan items include grilled foods. Like I said, that makes me nervous. But don't let me scare you away. The food was excellent, the service was friendly and fast, and the restaurant was clean. Mexiville is a great place for omnivores and herbivores to get together around good food. They have excellent daily specials like the 75 cent tacos and $2 beers.