Creativity counts?
Hello,
I would like to visit your restaurant. Can you tell me what menu items are vegan (no animal products)? Thank you for taking the time to research this.
Best,
Erin
Au bon Pain response:
Dear Erin,
We currently do not call any of our items “vegan.” Having said that, you could look through the nutritional information and creatively find some options, if you eat honey, you could create a sandwich on our lavash. www.aubonpain.com
Sincerely,
Donna Alsheimer
Hospitality Manager
Au Bon Pain
One Au Bon Pain Way
Boston, MA 02210
Office: 617-423-2100 x1264
Fax: 617-737-2310
mailto:donna_alsheimer@aubonpain.com
The verdict:
It's up to you to come up with something vegan. Website displays full ingredient lists, which is helpful. However, Donna tells me the lavash is vegan except for the honey, but the ingredients list shows an additive that is not considered vegan (cysteine), in addition to several additives that may or may not be of animal origin (monoglycerides, sodium stearoyl lactylate, and enzymes - see resources for a guide to vegan food additives). Being vegan is difficult, as we all know, and it's hard to expect a hospitality manager to fully understand the extent of ways in which a food might not be vegan. This is why it's so important for restaurants to provide full ingredient lists (kudos to Au Bon Pain for that), and for vegans to remember that any time someone else is making your food, especially someone unfamiliar with a vegan diet, there is a risk of consuming animal products. Donna was at least trying to be helpful in coming up with a creative solution for which she had no good answer.
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Do you like asking, "what's vegan?" No you don't.
About Me
Disclaimer
Note that any time you allow someone else to be responsible for your diet, by preparing food for you, cross contamination with animal products is a risk. Some following a vegan lifestyle may choose not to dine out for this reason. I provide this blog as a guide to making the best possible food choices for those who do, and the full text of correspondence to enable individual assessment of the claims as to the vegan status of any item. As a best practice and for health, cook at home for yourself! The cultural importance of the ritual of cooking and eating for oneself or one's family should not be underestimated.
The Question
I go straight to HQ in my best attempt to get definitive answers from the nation's most popular restaurants, seeking the answer to not only what's to eat that is vegan, but which restaurants are helpful, and which are making vegan life harder.
Labels
- Arby's (1)
- Blimpie (2)
- Bravo Cucina Italiana (1)
- Bravo Italiana Cucina (1)
- Buca di Beppo (1)
- Carrabba's Italian Grill (1)
- Chili's (1)
- Chipotle (1)
- chuy's (1)
- Claddagh Irish Pub (1)
- Fazoli's (1)
- Jimmy John's (1)
- Maggiano's Little Italy (1)
- Noodles and Co. (1)
- Nothing But Noodles (1)
- O' Charley's (1)
- On the Border (1)
- P. F. Chang's (1)
- Panera Bread (1)
- Papa John's (1)
- Pei Wei (1)
- Qdoba (1)
- Quizno's (1)
- Razzoo's (1)
- Rockfish Seafood Grill (1)
- Romano's Macaroni Grill (1)
- Subway (2)
- TGI Friday's (1)
- Uno Chicago Grill (1)
Progress Report
Resources
- Additives: Vegan or not?
- Community Walk Vegan and Vegetarian Restaurant Guide to the World
- Consumersist's "The Ultimate Chain Restaurant Nutrition Guide: Who Is Hiding Information About The Food, And Who Isn't."
- Fast Food Maps (Google Earth mashup)
- my del.icio.us vegan links
- Peta's guide to chain restaurants
Followers
1 comment:
Don't order the bruschetta. The menu said there was permassean cheese, so we ordered it with no cheese. It came out with bread toasted with diced tomatoes on top, and a film of butter in between. If you say no cheese or butter, then do you really want to eat just bread with diced tomatoes, when they already served bread with olive oil and balsamic vinegar?
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