Vegetables ~ You ~ Your Healthy body ~ Veggie Place

Vegan Menu Items at Fast Food and Family-Style Restaurants—Part II
By Jeanne-Marie Bartas

        Food served in restaurant and quick service chains has become a mainstay in the North American diet. Vegetarianism is also becoming increasingly popular. Where do these two trends meet?
       We surveyed over one hundred fast food, casual theme dining, and family-style restaurant chains, as well as several quick-service food chains to find out the current answer to this question. Over seventy-five chains responded with the intent to show that their establishments can be vegetarian- and vegan-friendly.
       Part I of this article appeared in the November! December 1997 issue of Vegetarian Journal. Readers who would like to obtain a copy of Part I can send $3 to VRG, P0 Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203.
       During the research for this update, we were glad to learn from quality assurance managers of several restaurant chains that many individual consumers contact them for information about their menu offerings. Thus, several chains had already conducted research into their ingredients by contacting their ingredient suppliers. As a result, many responses to us were ready-made. This shows that individuals can and do make a difference.
       The most notable example of this occurred in the case of Wendy’s. During a phone conversation, a nutrition specialist informed us that someone recently called to inquire about the gelatin in the Reduced Fat/Reduced Calorie Garden Ranch Sauce. The nutrition specialist told us that because of this inquiry, she contacted the supplier and requested that the gelatin be taken out of the sauce. The supplier agreed to the request. The new sauce should now be available in Wendy’s restaurants.
       When you talk to a customer service representative or a quality assurance manager about the sources of an ingredient, such as natural flavors or mono- and diglycerides, you are educating people about the concerns of vegetarians and vegans. You are helping the next person who inquires about that ingredient, too.
       Many chains are exploring the use of ingredients which are economical and acceptable to all guests, including vegetarians and vegans. For instance, during the research for this update, we learned that almost all restaurant chains use all-vegetable shortening for frying. However, a few still do use an animal-vegetable shortening blend. Many quality assurance managers told us that the avoidance of animal fats in their recipes and preparation methods was now standard due largely to consumer demand.
       Remember that restaurants often change the ingredients used in dishes. You may want to confirm this information when dining out. Also, if you learn of any corrections, please let us know.
       Please note that this list is in alphabetical order. The first few chains listed below responded too late for us to include in Part I of this article, which included restaurants filling between Applebee’s and Jack in the Box.

ARBY’S: The Garden Salad at Arby's contains lettuce, tomato, broccoli, cucumber, shredded carrot, red cabbage, and cheese. This item may be ordered without the cheese. The Side Salad contains lettuce, tomato, shredded carrot, and red cabbage.
Arby's is currently evaluating some meatless menu options, such as an extended baked potato line.

BRUEGGER’S BAGEL BAKERY: Many of the bagels at Bruegger’s are vegan. Exceptions include the sun-dried tomato and spinach herb bagels, which contain Romano cheese, and the jalapeno cheddar bagel, which contains cheddar cheese. There is egg in the egg bagel, and honey in the honey grain bagel.
       The bagels at Bruegger’s may be ordered any way you like. The customer may choose from a large variety of toppings including lettuce, tomato, onion, sprouts, green pepper, cucumber, and Dijon mustard. Bruegger’s also offers a hummus spread.
       There are several vegetarian varieties of soups. Vegan soups include Chile Cilantro, Garden Split Pea, Marcello Minestrone, and Ratatouille. The Gazpacho soup, also vegan, is offered seasonally and only in certain regions.
       Each Bruegger’s Bakery has ingredient and nutritional information available for customers. Don’t hesitate to ask at the restaurant if you would like further details on any Bruegger’s menu item.

CRACKER BARREL: Cracker Barrel wrote us the following letter in response to our request for updated information regarding their vegetarian menu options:
       "Vegetarianism, as well as health food issues present us with difficulty in that we do not profess to be a health food or a vegetarian restaurant. I feel a bit hypocritical to respond to your request. Please understand that we do not want to boost such claims.
       "We serve traditional hearty country foods that almost always include meat or animal byproducts in some form. We sometimes offer ‘light and lean’ food, which usually are soon removed from the menu as a result of low sales. We promise our shareholders that we will sell what our guests want to eat.
       "Please understand our position. We simply don’t want to misrepresent ourselves."

EL POLLO LOCO: The flour, spinach-flavored, and tomato-flavored tortillas are vegan. The otherwise vegan BRC burrito contains cheese although it may be ordered without it.
Among the many side dishes served at El Pollo Loco, the following are vegan: pinto beans, corn-on-the-cob, cucumber salad, spiced apples, and guacamole. The hot sauce, salsa, and Italian dressing are also vegan. The Spanish Rice and Fiesta Corn, which contain margarine, appear to be vegan. No further information was available on the ingredients in the margarine (which sometimes contains whey).
El Polio Loco would be happy to accommodate vegetarians by eliminating dressings, sauces, cheese, and/or meat from any menu item requested.

KENNY ROGERS ROASTERS: A vegetarian dining at Kenny Rogers Roasters could order a "side sampler" consisting of three side dishes ordered together. Some of the menu side dishes include corn-on-the-cob, side salads, baked potatoes, and baked hubbard squash.

KFC: KFC offers corn-on-the-cob, which you can order without butter. Some stores may offer a garden salad which is vegan.

LITTLE CAESAR’S: Their dough and tomato sauce are vegan, so vegans can order a cheeseless pizza. Other vegan items include the Crazy Sauce and Crazy Bread without Parmesan cheese. The pizza toppings available at Little Caesar’s include mushrooms, onions, green peppers, tomato slices, black olives, pineapple, and hot peppers.
You may contact Little Caesar’s for their Vegetarian Guide at the following address: Corporate Communications, 2211 Woodward Ave., Detroit, MI 4820 1-3400.

LONG JOHN SILVER’S: In November 1996, Long John Silver’s introduced an item known as a Wrap. The wrap itself is made of corn. The contents include fish, chicken, or shrimp along with the following ingredients: rice, lettuce, tomatoes, crumbles (pieces of fried batter cooked in the oil used to cook meat/seafood products), a white sauce, and a flavoring sauce (which could be tartar or picante sauce, or a salad dressing such as Caesar or ranch dressing). It is possible to make a vegan Wrap by ordering it without the meat/seafood, crumblies, and white sauce, but with the picante sauce.

MANCHU WOK: Manchu Wok serves stir-fried mixed vegetables. The vegetables include broccoli, baby corn, carrots, mushrooms, and cabbage, cooked in canola oil. This Oriental restaurant chain does not serve tofu. Some Manchu Woks may prepare dishes upon special request if the particular restaurant is not too busy.

MANHATTAN BAGEL CO.: This bagel chain does have a standard menu, although some differences may exist from restaurant to restaurant. With the exception of the jalapeno cheddar and cheddar cheese bagels, which contain cheddar cheese, and the egg bagel, which contains eggs, the bagels are vegan. The dough conditioner for the bagels is a soybean extract.
This restaurant chain also offers bialys, flattened onion and poppy seed bagels, which are vegan.

MAZZIO’S PIZZA: The thin and original crusts at Mazzio’s are vegan; however, the deep pan crust contains nonfat dry milk. The pizza sauce is vegan. It is possible to order a cheeseless pizza.
       Pizza toppings at this restaurant chain include green peppers, black and green olives, pineapple, jalapeno peppers, onions, tomatoes, and mushrooms.
       Some varieties of pasta are vegan. Vegan marinara sauce made with olive oil is served with the pasta.
       Mazzio’s has a salad bar. There is a three-bean salad among the offerings at some locations. The Italian and French dressings are vegan. The marinara dipping sauce is also vegan.

McDONALD’S: In February 1997, McDonald’s informed us by telephone that the natural flavor in their French fries is a "beef product." At that time, they declined to send us this information in writing. In July 1997, McDonald’s sent us a fax stating that "[t]he natural flavor used in French fries is from an animal source."
McDonald’s offers a garden salad composed of lettuce, tomatoes, and carrots. The Fat-Free Herb Vinaigrette contains vegetable-derived natural flavors and modified food starch of a synthetic source. The croutons contain vegetable-derived natural flavors.
For dessert, McDonald’s offers baked apple pie, which is made with sugar and lecithin and L-cysteine (an amino acid used as a dough conditioner). The latter two ingredients are derived from vegetable sources.

MIAMI SUBS: Miami Subs offers a large selection of salads. The garden salads consist of peppersini (hot pepper), a mix of iceberg and romaine lettuces, cucumbers, black olives, radishes, and green peppers.

NATHAN’S: Their thick French fries, made from fresh potatoes at the restaurant, are cooked in unused corn oil. The potatoes are not treated or pre-cooked in any way.

OLIVE GARDEN: Olive Garden told us that they do not provide any information other than that which is stated in their menu and their brochures. Due to the large number of their food suppliers, many of which change, they cannot identify the sources of the ingredients used in their menu items. We were also informed that to suggest to readers that they call or ask at the restaurants about specific ingredients would be unproductive.

PAPA JOHN’S: Papa John’s sauce contains no animal fats or flavors. It is made with canola and olive oils. The original dough is all-vegan; however, the dough used to make the thin crust pizza contains olive oil and Parmesan cheese. It is possible to order a cheeseless pizza at Papa John’s. Vegan toppings include black olives, banana peppers, jalapeno peppers, pineapples, onions, green peppers, and mushrooms.

PIZZA HUT: Pizza Hut’s Thin ‘n Crispy, Hand Tossed, and Dessert crusts are vegan. The Pan crust contains whey and enzymes, and the Stuffed crust contains enzymes and mozzarella cheese (which is made with enzymes). All of the enzymes used in the cheeses at Pizza Hut are from unspecified sources.
       Please note, however, that as far as we can tell it is impossible to order a vegan cheeseless pizza from Pizza Hut since the regular pizza sauce contains beef base, whey, cheese solids (which is made with animal enzymes), buttermilk powder, nonfat milk solids, and MSG. The Cavatini, meatless, and bread stick sauces contain beef base, beef flavor, meat type flavor, natural flavor, and MSG. And the Zesty pizza sauce contains chicken fat and two types of cheeses (made with enzymes).
       If you order a salad, only the Italian dressing is vegan; however, it contains MSG. All the pasta at Pizza Hut is vegan. However, there appears to be no vegan pasta sauce.
       The dessert pizza cherry topping and icing are vegan.

PIZZA PRO: Pizza Pro is mostly a carryout pizza chain. The crust and sauce are vegan; therefore, vegans can order a cheeseless pizza.

PIZZERIA UNO CHICAGO BAR & GRILL: The thin crusts are vegan and you can special-order vegan deep dish crusts that do not contain cheese. The regular pizza sauce and the Uno pizza sauce are also vegan. The Uno sauce contains chunky tomatoes. Pizzeria Uno is happy to prepare a cheeseless pizza with toppings of your choice.
Pizzeria Uno also serves pasta dishes. All pasta at Uno’s is vegan. There is a vegan Grilled Vegetable Maranara served with ziti pasta. It is possible at Uno’s to Pick-A-Pasta. You may choose the pasta (either ziti or fettuccine) and choose marinara (vegan) sauce.
Uno’s also offers a number of salads including Pasta & Greens (marinated ziti pasta tossed with salad greens and served with Ike’s dressing), and the House Salad (tomatoes, carrots, onions, peppers, cucumbers, and croutons).

POPEYE’S: The corn-on-the-cob is dipped into butter, although a customer may request it without butter. The apple pie at Popeye’s is vegan.

RITA’S ITALIAN ICES: Rita’s ices are vegan. There is no animal-derived color. Rita’s also serves vegan pretzels.

ROUND TABLE PIZZA: Round Table Pizza uses one type of dough for all of its pizzas and sandwiches. This dough contains nonfat dry milk and is not vegan. The sauce at Round Table is vegan.
Customers create their own salads at the salad bar in restaurants that have this option.

ROY ROGERS: This chain is in the process of converting all of its restaurants into McDonald’s. The process should be completed over the next year.

SHAKEY’S PIZZA RESTAURANTS: There are two varieties of pizza crusts at Shakey’s. Both are made with vegetable shortening and are vegan. The pizza sauce is also vegan. Shakey’s offers a cheeseless Garden Ranch Pizza. The crust is coated with garlic butter, which is actually vegetable margarine. Toppings on this pizza include tomatoes, green peppers, mushrooms, and roasted red peppers.
Shakey's also offers a variety of vegan pastas. The marinara sauce served with many of the pasta entrees is vegan. The pomodoro sauce, composed of chunks of Roma tomatoes, olive oil, basil, oregano, and garlic, is also vegan. However, please note that the roasted red pepper sauce contains chicken stock and the bolognese sauce is meat-based.
There is an extensive salad bar at Shake/s restaurants. A three-bean salad is offered. Condiments may vary from location to location. You may be able to find alfalfa sprouts, sunflower seeds, and raisins.

SKIPPER’S: They offer a garden salad, which includes mixed greens and carrots. They also serve baked potatoes.

STEAK ESCAPE: The French fries at The Steak Escape are freshly cut and cooked in peanut oil. Only fries are cooked in this oil.
Vegetarians also have the choice of smashed potatoes, which consist of a baked potato served with sautéed vegetables. The grill used to sautéed these and all vegetables is used to prepare meat, although the grill surface is scraped clean between orders.

It is also possible at this restaurant chain to request a meatless sandwich. The multi-grain and white rolls contain no eggs or dairy. Sautéed vegetables may be served on the sandwich. Condiments include yellow, brown, and German mustards.
Salads may be ordered without cheese.

SUBWAY: A Veggie Delight^tm Salad is on the national menu at Subway. It consists of lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, green peppers, and olives. Subway offers a vegetable/olive oil blend and vinegar that can be used as a dressing. Red wine vinegar is used in this dressing.
       The Veggie Delight^tm Salad may be ordered on a sub roll. Subway offers a wheat sub roll, which contains honey and powdered honey. The Italian roll is vegan.
       Subway restaurants have the choice of offering a few other menu items besides those on the national menu. Among them is a meatless burger. The most popular brands are Wholesome & Hearty’s Gardenburger® and Morningstar Farms’ Veggie~Max®. Both of these items contain egg whites and cheese. Vegan Boca Burgers or White Wave soy turkey subs may be offered at certain Subway restaurants in certain areas. The "turkey" in the soy turkey sub is vegan but the soy cheese used on it contains casein. If you are interested in seeing a veggie burger in your area, contact your local Subway restaurant.
       Subway is testing Fruizle^tm Smoothie (a non-dairy, fit-free, fruit-based drink). The smoothie is made with frozen or canned fruit in its own natural juice and fruit syrups and juices. It contains unrefined cane sugar and other sugars of an unknown source. There are twelve blend-ins. Some are in powdered form and others are veggie-encapsulated ingredients such as wheat grass and wheat germ powder.

TACO BELL: The corn tortillas (hard tacos) at Taco Bell are vegan. The wheat tortillas (soft tacos) and the tortillas used for burritos are also vegan. The pinto beans, which arrive pre-cooked and mashed at Taco Bell restaurants and are simply rewarmed but not refried before being served, are vegan.
       Taco Bell also serves a bean burrito consisting of a soft flour tortilla filled with beans, cheddar cheese, red sauce, and onions. The red sauce is vegan. You can order this item without cheese.
       Other sauces available at Taco Bell include the mild and hot taco sauces, salsa, green sauce, and Pico de Gallo. All of these sauces are vegan.
       The tortilla chips and tacos arrive pre-made at the restaurants. The taco salad, tostada, and pizza shells are fried at the restaurants. Corn oil is used in all frying processes. There are no meat products fried in this oil.
       The Cinnamon Twists are made of wheat, corn, and rice flours and all-vegetable seasoning. The Twists are fried at the restaurants where the pizza and tostada shell are fried. No meat products are fried along with these vegetarian items. The Border Ice products are also vegan.

TACO CABANA: In all markets except the Denver, Colorado area restaurants, the refried beans contain bacon fat and the rice contains chicken stock. In the Denver area restaurants, vegetarian refried beans are used and the rice seasoning is all vegetarian. Taco Cabana reported that only in the Denver region were vegetarian alternatives justified due to consumer interest.
Their black bean tacos and burritos contain no bacon fat.

TACO JOHN’S INTERNATIONAL: Vegetarian items at Taco John’s include bean burritos made with beans cooked in canola oil. No lard or tropical oils are used in any products or food preparation.
       The burritos and enchiladas are made with a wheat tortilla. The bean burrito comes with cheese, but a customer may order the item without cheese. The Corporate Communications and Public Relations Manager at Taco John’s International, who is a vegetarian, suggested that tomatoes might be added to the cheeseless bean burrito to make a great-tasting meal.
       The taco and fajita salads contain shells, which are fried in the same oil used to cook the meat products. The guacamole contains modified food starch but is otherwise vegan.
       Taco John’s uses three brands of corn tortillas—all of which are vegan—to make their nachos.

TACO TICO: This restaurant chain serves several items which are veggie-friendly. The tortilla chips and Tico de Gallo sauce, composed of tomatoes, onions, garlic, and cilantro, are vegan. They serve a Fresh Mex Wrap which consists of Mexican rice, black beans, cheddar cheese, and the following vegetables cooked in vegetable oil: mushrooms, carrots, and black olives blended with the Tico de Gallo sauce. The mixture is wrapped in a soft flour tortilla, which is vegan. It is possible to purchase this wrap without the cheese. No further information was available on the Mexican rice.
       Taco Tico offers vegetarian burritos. The tortilla filled with refried beans and topped with the Tico de Gab sauce is vegan. Lettuce and tomatoes are optional.
       Deep-fried corn tostadas are available. All-vegetable oil is used to fry the shells and no meat products are fried in the same vat. The tostada is served with vegan refried beans, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, and sauce of choice. There are vegan hot, mild, and green chili sauces from which to choose. This menu item may be purchased without the cheese.
       For dessert, Taco Tico serves Cinnamon Crustos, which are deep-fried, flour tortillas covered with cinnamon and sugar. This item is not fried along with meat products.

TCBY: All of the soft-serve frozen yogurt contains the following ingredients: milk, non-fat dry milk, cane sugar, cream, and natural flavor of unspecified nature. The sorbet contains sugar and mono- and diglycerides of an unspecified nature.

T.G.I. FRIDAY’S: TG.I. Friday’s vegan items include the House Salad and the Fresh Vegetable Medley, when ordered with a plain baked potato instead of the brown rice pilaf. The brown rice pilaf has chicken base in it.

TONY ROMA’S, A PLACE FOR RIBS: Tony Roma’s serves a baked potato, which may be topped with chives. There is a side dinner salad on the menu, which consists of lettuce, tomatoes, onions, and croutons. No further information was available as to whether the croutons are vegan.

WENDY’S: Wendy’s receives high marks for its attempts to educate its customers about the ingredients in its menu offerings. Their February 1997 Nutrition Guide brochure is among the most detailed of all those available from the restaurant chains. For instance, their source of mono- and diglycerides (vegetable) is listed each time this ingredient appears. The brochure also indicates in parentheses the function (e.g., preservative, flavor enhancer, etc.) of~many ingredients so the consumer understands the reason for having that ingredient in the food. We hope that Wendy’s will continue to improve the nutritional information which it provides to its customers.
       There are two corrections to the February 1997 brochure, which Wendy’s asked us to mention. First, a typographical error was made in the description of the Garden Veggie Pita. Contrary to the information given, there is no Parmesan cheese in this pita sandwich. (However, the pita bread does contain skim milk, L-cysteine, an amino acid of an unspecified source, and enzymes of an unspecified source.)
       Secondly, by August 1997 Wendy’s should have changed the formula for the Reduced Fat/Reduced Calorie Garden Ranch Sauce. Due to a customer s request, gelatin will no longer be an ingredient in this sauce.
       Wendy's explained to us that since the summer of 1996 when chicken nuggets were introduced, the possibility exists that their French fries and hash browns (the latter only in the few Wend/s which serve breakfast) could be fried in the same oil used to cook meat and seafood products. Normally, fries and hash browns are cooked in different vats. However, when the demand for fries is high, it may be necessary to cook them in a vat normally reserved for meat or seafood products. Wend/s suggests that if a person is concerned about this, he or she should request that the fries be cooked in a vat reserved only for French fries. Wendy’s would be happy to comply with this request. The French fries at Wendy's contain no natural flavors which are animal-derived. The fries are pre-blanched in partially hydrogenated soybean oil.
       Wendy’s offers a large selection of salads and dressings, both to carry out and to eat in. There are also the makings for a salad at the Garden Spot salad bar. Vegetables offered at certain Wendy’s restaurants may include alfalfa sprouts, broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, cucumbers, chives, green peppers, lettuce (iceberg/ romaine), mushrooms, onions, and tomatoes. Vegan dressings include the French and Reduced Fat/Reduced Calorie Italian dressings. Other vegan items found at the salad bar may include applesauce, sunflower seeds, raisins, and fruit.
       The Garden Spot salad bar is found at all Wendy’s, whereas the SuperBar is found only at some locations. Hot vegetarian items at all Wendy’s include a baked potato. Some Wend/s restaurants also offer rotini and spaghetti sauce, both of which are vegan.
       At the Mexican Fiesta, available only at certain Wendy’s restaurants, the refried beans no longer contain lard. The flour tortillas contain whey, but their taco chips, taco sauce, and taco shells are vegan.

WESTERN SIZZLIN’: The vegetarian and vegan items at the hot and cold food bars may vary greatly from one Western Sizzlin’ to the next. Recipes for certain items may likewise vary. It is always best to inquire at the particular restaurant when you are in doubt.
Some of the thirty to forty items that you may typically find at the cold food bars include garbanzo beans and fresh vegetables. There are plenty of ingredients for garden salads. Oil and vinegar are available.

WESTERN STEER FAMILY RESTAURANTS: Western Steer offers a large buffet, which includes several hot and cold menu items. The steamed squash and carrots are prepared in all-vegetable stock. The French fries at this restaurant chain are all vegetable. They are fried separately in vegetable oil.
There is a large number of raw vegetables at the salad bar. There may be a three-bean salad, pickled beets, soy nuts, alfalfa sprouts, sunflower seeds, and raisins. Ken’s salad dressings are used. The tomato vinaigrette is vegan.

WHATABURGER: The French fries at Whataburger are all vegetable. They are fried in a vat of vegetable shortening apart from the meat/seafood products.
Whataburger offers a garden salad composed of iceberg lettuce, tomatoes, carrots, purple cabbage, green bell pepper, and cucumbers. The lowfat vinaigrette dressing is vegan.

The Vegetarian Resource Group has been providing information on vegetarian food offered at restaurant chains for over thirteen years. Special thanks to Jeanne-Marie Bartas for doing this year’s update. Readers should let us know if they hear of any new vegetarian items being offered at restaurant chains. Write to The VRG at P0 Box 1463, Baltimore, MD 21203. E-mail address is vrg@vrg.org and our web site is www.vrg.org

Jeanne-Marie Bartos was a research assistant at The Vegetarian Resource Group and is now working on her Ph.D. in chemistry. Previously, she spent 3 years in the Peace Corps in Benin, Africa, teaching science to high school-age students.