Vegetarian, Vegan and Pescetarian Dining Reviews With Pictures

[Vegcentric]

Hi all!
I want to preface this review by stating that these reviews aren't exactly...ahem...new. My husband and I went on our Disney trip during the week of November 15th through the 21st, though I have been working on these reviews on and off ever since we got back, I just never got around to finishing them or posting anything. I wanted to post these before the end of the month before they became so dated they weren't of any use to anyone anymore, but I hope they are still helpful regardless.

Who We Are

I'm Dana, I'm 25 years old and living in Ontario, Canada with my husband of one and a half years. We never got a chance to go on a proper honeymoon due to immigration red tape, expenses and the adjustment period so we finally got to go in November. I'm currently a licensed esthetician, journalist and taking classes for holistic nutrition.

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Not the most flattering picture ever...I have a very round face and it bothers me. Anyway...I'm very into eating healthy. In fact, food and health are two major passions of mine. I could talk for ages about wellness in general, having worked in a holistic spa for a few years in the past and I loved everything about it. I eventually got married to a Canadian though and moved north to be with him, so my career has been on the back burner a bit while I further my education and get settled in.

My husband, Phil, is 30 and works as an IT Tech Guy at a local company. He loves technology in general, specifically computers and video games. He isn't one for being fussy with food though he is very interested in eating healthy as well. He identifies himself as a pescetarian, someone who eats fish but no other meat. We eat vegan 98% of the time at home, though while at Disney World we ate mostly vegetarian due to complications and for convenience sake. My husband eats fish and shellfish...I only eat shellfish on the very rare occasion.
I really hate dairy and everything about it so if I can help it, I won't touch it. Our basic mindset is that if we can eat vegan, we will always eat the vegan meal. If it's not possible and there's only a vegetarian option available, we'll move onto that. Usually I can easily veganize something by omitting cheese or another ingredient, but sometimes omitting ingredients wasn't possible and my husband and I really dislike stressing ourselves out about food on trips, which is why these food reviews aren't 100% vegan.

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Before leaving for our trip we called the Special Dietary Requests Hotline. When I called, I received an automated message requesting that I leave my name, phone number, e-mail and dietary request in detail. To simplify things, I simply stated that my husband and I were vegan. The very next day, I received an e-mail in my inbox stating "Regarding your inquiry for VEGAN." I was asked to fill out the dietary request form and e-mail or fax it back to the hotline, which I did promptly.

The number for this hotline 407-560-1355 and the e-mail is specialdiets@disneyworld.com.

This hotline proved to be more of a waste of time for me, since it didn't seem to work...not at all. It was disappointing that it didn't seem to work, though it didn't ruin our meals or our trip. It just meant that some of our requests were not met.

Where we dined

The restaurants that we visited were:

Portobello Yacht Club Restaurant (Downtown Disney)
Columbia Harbor House (Magic Kingdom)
California Grill (Magic Kingdom)
Sunshine Seasons (EPCOT)
Tangerine Cafe (EPCOT)
Tusker House (Animal Kingdom)
Boma: Flavors of Africa (Animal Kingdom)
Sci Fi Dine-In (Hollywood Studios)
'Ohana (Polynesian Resort)
Cinderella's Royal Table (Magic Kingdom)
Port Orleans French Quarter Food Court (For breakfasts and 1 dinner)

I hope these reviews prove to be fun to read as well as useful for you all. First review starts with Portobello! :wizard:

[Vegcentric]

Day 1 - Portobello Yacht Club at Downtown Disney

Our first day at Disney World was very short, since we were traveling most of the day. We left our home in Ontario, went to the local airport to hop a ride to the Toronto airport and then headed on down to Orlando. Snacks were very few and far between, which isn't good since my husband has type 1 diabetes. Fortunately the Orlando airport has tons of food around.

After a quick snack we were on our way via the Magical Express to our resort, the Port Orleans French Quarter. I know this is a dining review but I wanted to point out how wonderful our stay at the French Quarter was. I stayed here in 2006 and it was...well, it was good but it just wasn't great. Still, I adored the atmosphere which made me pay a little extra to stay here again this time around, otherwise we were going to stay at the Pop Century (my sister loves this resort). Everything was very spot-on and wonderful, and the food court food wasn't terrible, though we only ate our breakfasts here (minus the veggie burgers we had at the end of the week, but more on that later).

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After getting to our room, we decided that we were absolutely famished and had to have food in the very near future, but we weren't hungry enough to go down to our food court. Instead we opted to take our chances with the Downtown Disney fare and hopped on over there by taking the resort boat. The boat ride was very pleasant, though our stomachs were roaring and all we could think about was how slow the boat ride was. Everything is slower when you're hungry.
Even though we were really hungry by the time we got down there, we were still being picky. Ever hear that beggars can't be choosers? Yeah, that didn't apply to us. We were still being picky. We floundered between Rainforest Cafe ("But I have a migraine right now, and it's loud in there," I moaned) and the T-Rex Cafe ("There doesn't seem to be ANY vegetarian options on this menu!"). We finally settled on the Portobello Yacht Club. I hadn't heard a single thing about this restaurant, but we were starving and it seemed to have some things on the menu that we could eat.

The host gave us our pager and directed us to a few chairs which were in complete disarray behind us. We didn't care. We sat down and were really surprised when our pager went off within a minute of us sitting down. We were expecting to wait quite a while, especially since the place was very busy. Upon entering the dining room, I could instantly feel my migraine give a loud whimper and a moan. The decibel levels in this place were crazy. I remember there being lots of tile and hard surfaces and I suppose the sound proofing in that place wasn't the best.
If you can't stand loud noises, well...I looked around the restaurant quite a bit and I couldn't see a spot in there that I would deem to be any quieter than the rest so you may wish to skip this place, at least at dinner time. Lunch may be a completely different story.
The decor was nice, though nothing outstanding. It reminded me of a Macaroni Grill. It was neither unpleasant to look at nor special. We were seated in a booth that was so close to our neighbors that I nearly elbowed one while eating throughout the meal. For some reason my husband and I couldn't hear our own conversation, but we could hear every single word our dining neighbors said. Go figure, right? They were complaining rather loudly about how the server was terrible and hadn't checked on them in ages, so I started to worry for a moment until he came by to greet us.
Unfortunately I can't remember his name, though I wish I did. He was extremely nice and friendly and very helpful. He immediately took our drink order and returned within a minute with our waters and teas, along with the massive roasted bulb of garlic. This was as big as my husband's fist. I was surprised by its size, and even more surprised when our server suggested we eat it like butter on top of our bread.

It was delicious. I know many of you probably roast your own garlic at home all the time but honestly this never even occurred to me to do this. It was velvety, rich and smooth - just like normal butter. I happen to LOVE garlic, so I thought this was great.

Our appetizer was the portobello mushroom. According to its description, it was wood-roasted and sprinkled with gorgonzola cheese. It was in a rosemary sauce and over top of polenta. Though I said previously that I hate dairy, sometimes I can't pass up on some cheese (this includes gorgonzola, bleu and goat cheese). I left most of the cheese to my husband to eat, but it did taste amazing with the mushroom. If anything in the veggie world tastes just like a steak, this dish would be it. As soon as I popped it into my mouth I instantly thought, "Oh, this tastes like steak. Interesting."
Normally I don't associate things tasting like meat with good things, but this mushroom was absolutely delicious and I would go back to this restaurant just to eat it. The only criticism I had for the appetizer was that it could have been a little hotter. Other than that, it was great...though filling. It would have been best if the polenta, though delicious, was left out of the dish completely because I couldn't eat much of my entree.

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Another thing I did not mention earlier was that I have IBS, which is irritable bowel syndrome. It isn't pleasant, at all, and my doctor told me that I pretty much need to eat smaller portions. I tend to graze on food all day at home, so eating three meals a day on vacation was a bit tough for me, especially when you're paying for such an expensive meal (I didn't want to waste anything).

Our server was really attentive, visited our table often to ask us how we were doing and to refill our drinks. Our dining neighbors sat there, looking really bent out of shape and continued to complain that they weren't getting enough attention. I wasn't paying attention to their dining experience, though ignoring their loud complaining was pretty much impossible so I have no idea if they were truly being ignored (which would mean that perhaps service was inconsistent) or if they were just...complaining.

I apologize in advance for not having pictures of our main meals, but we were so hungry that we couldn't be bothered. :rotfl: My husband had the tiger prawns, and I had the black pasta without the shrimp and cheese. My husband scarfed down his tiger shrimp, which were huge and he got quite a few of them, which made me feel better about the price tag (I don't normally spend $30 on a meal but I wanted to spoil him). This dish was served with polenta too, which he happily ate. He ate everything on his plate (he's a pretty big guy and always finishes his meals, whether they are good or bad).

I asked him what his opinion the meal was, and he just shrugged and said it was good. He didn't rave about anything, and if he finds something particularly good he'll usually say so. So, the tiger shrimp were good but nothing too spectacular. My pasta dish without the shrimp and cheese was alright, but it tasted as though it was missing something and it was insanely expensive for basically being a bowl of pasta, tomatoes, asparagus and greens.
The tomatoes though...oh, the tomatoes! I put one in my mouth and it literally burst gently in my mouth and exploded with so much flavor that it made up for the blandness of the rest of the dish. It was a huge portion of food, and I hated wasting it but it was so filling. I wouldn't order this again, but maybe it's better and more satisfying with the shrimp and cheese.

We didn't have dessert. I normally don't have dessert because I don't have much of a sweet tooth (don't shoot me!) unless I'm having a really bad case of PMS (then I reach for a dark chocolate bar...or five). Mother nature was extremely cruel to my diabetic husband, giving him the biggest sweet tooth I have ever seen on a single person ever. Seriously...this man loves dessert. He doesn't order it when we eat out, though...not usually. He loves dessert but hates paying for it. We went during a Free Dining period and got a free Dining Plan, so expect to see more desserts popping up.

The verdict is that we liked Portobello. We loved our server, we liked our food but I don't think we'd go here for a second time. There are probably better places to eat at Downtown Disney but this wasn't bad at all. It got a B+ in our book.

[flamingglobessigmund]

Well, count me in!

My son(19) eats a vegan diet and we had some trouble meeting his requirements while in the World. I always enjoy learning what others like about the non-meat meals or how to make something more vegan, to help my son, during our next time at WDW.

I was directed, after we got back, to contact Brenda at Special Diets. I'm sorry to hear the hotline didn't work for you.

Very nice pictures of you and your husband. We stayed at POFQ in May 09. Nice to see the sun shinning on the place. :sunny:

Can't wait to read more!

[Vegcentric]

Day 2 - Magic Kingdom and California Grill

Our first full day in Walt Disney World was spent at the Magic Kingdom. Though we had filled out our special diets form, this was only for the restaurants that we made advance reservations for and so this meant that we had to wing it on the places we didn't mark down on the form or make reservations for.

After doing Pirates of the Caribbean and walking around the park to take in all the sights, we were starting to get a little hungry. We wandered over to Frontier Land around 12 o'clock-ish after squeezing in a ride on It's a Small World and a tea cup ride.

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We passed by the Columbia Harbor House, where we had heard good things about the Lighthouse Sandwich (broccoli slaw, hummus and tomato). There was a woman outside ringing the lunch bell (so cute!) and we were surprised by how adorable the interior of this quick-service restaurant was! There was vegetarian chili on the menu, which I do believe is vegan as long as you don't put the crackers in it.
I debated on getting the veggie chili, but in the end I stuck to our dining plan and got the Lighthouse Sandwich. This was served with a bag of chips and our choice of dessert (we both picked the apple dumpling-like thing). I really appreciated the fact that they give you Miss Vicki's chips, which are pretty good quality chips.

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The sandwich itself was probably our favorite meal out of the entire trip (if you can even believe that). When I later asked my husband which meal he'd do again, he mentioned this sandwich so it made a pretty big impression with him as well. This sandwich is okay for vegetarians, but if you want it vegan you'll need to leave out the broccoli slaw since it contains dairy. I left it in because I wasn't in the mood to only eat a sandwich with hummus and tomato (I don't normally like the texture of tomatoes on their own). This sandwich is extremely filling, satisfying and even if you're an omnivore I highly recommend that you try this.
We maybe took two bites out of our desserts (it was too sugary for me) and I took maybe one sip of the soda and just called it a day by eating the entire sandwich (the small meal thing went out the window by this point since I worked up a serious appetite) and bag of chips.

We left the Magic Kingdom a little earlier than we would have liked to in order to get back to our resort to get ready for dinner at the California Grill.
We arrived at the Contemporary Hotel earlier than expected as well, and they weren't even seating anyone for dinner by this point. We checked in with the hostess, who was extremely polite and professional but had absolutely no clue that I had filled out a dietary request form. When I pointed it out to her, she stared at me a bit blankly (this is the expression I became accustomed to receiving on this trip whenever I mentioned the dietary request form) and then told me that our diets shouldn't be a problem. I was really looking forward to getting back into the habit of eating vegan, having slipped up with the previous meals.
When I was making the reservations online I came across in the fine print that it stated that most dietary requests could be met, including vegetarian, vegan and kosher. I figured we were safe, and I made a bit of a mistake by not calling ahead. This is one thing I would do differently on my next trip, which is calling the restaurant in advance and not just filling out the form and assuming everything will be okay.

After about a half hour of waiting around the resort, we were finally allowed to go up into the dining room. The man in the elevator boasted about the award-winning menu, and once inside the restaurant I nearly lost my breath. The dining room is very beautiful, even with the shades down. The hostess upstairs was definitely a Disney person - she never stopped smiling and she assured me that our dietary requests would be met and that we would be able to speak with a chef, absolutely no problem.
The dining room was very calm and serene. Once it got dark enough outside and the sun was disappearing, the shades went up automatically.

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Since we were on our honeymoon, we were ecstatic by how romantic everything was until our server came to our table. Unfortunately, I don't remember his name either, but he seemed very rushed even though dinner had just started and never made any eye contact. He was polite, but not overly friendly. I noticed several times throughout the evening that the tables around us were making lots of small talk with their servers, who hung around their tables to talk about where they were from and what they were doing that week.
We saw our server three times. Once to get our drink orders, second to get our entree orders and at the very end to deliver the check. Any time someone filled our glass, it was someone else. He never delivered any of our food. When we told him about our dietary restrictions, he sighed and said, "Let me see if I can get a chef for you" after getting our drink order. About twenty minutes rolled by when the chef came to our table.
The chef did not seem pleased when I told him that we were vegan. He kind of grunted a bit and said, "Hm...vegan, huh? Okay. Well, on the menu there's not a whole lot to work with. Was there anything on the menu that you wanted us to veganize for you? Oh wait, no, nevermind...that ravioli has cheese in it. Okay, well we can probably just do a vegan unplugged for you."
I had heard about vegan/vegetarian unplugged, and since it was an award winning restaurant, I was eager to see the chefs flex their creative muscles. Of course I was also counting on the restaurant getting the request form in advance, and then I kind of felt horrible that I had put out the chefs with my request. I know it isn't realistic to expect a chef to just work off the menu for everybody. Still, I was expecting a better attitude.
After my husband and I agreed to have the vegan unplugged, the chef went back to work his magic and I received the $10 cocktail that I ordered, which was the sangria.

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This wasn't very good. In fact, it tasted like spiked orange juice. I normally LOVE sangria and I hear wonderful things about the sangria over at Kouzinna, so maybe next time I'm in the mood for some I'll just get it over there instead. I was really disappointed with this, and kind of took that as a sign of things to come. Still, I hadn't lost all hope...and the view was very pretty, which made the experience still good in our minds.

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Since I had seen other reviews where vegans and vegetarians had great luck at the California Grill (and not just on these boards) I figured it would be fine to make a reservation here. I really did feel tremendously guilty because the attitude that I received from the waiter and the chef unnerved me a little bit. Eating out at home is pretty hard to do, and I don't expect special treatment there. I wasn't expecting special treatment here either, but I was hoping for something really great since it was a signature restaurant.

A couple servers brought out our meals, and set them down in front of us but never told us what anything was. I apologize for the bad quality of the picture, and even poorer quality of the descriptions.

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In the bottom right corner was the veggie sushi, which was pretty good and the only thing that I managed to finish on my plate. It was fresh and clean tasting, and I could have eaten several plates of the sushi. I have heard wonderful things about the sushi at the California Grill, and from the small example I was given, I would say that everyone was correct. In the bottom left is some sort of potato and mushroom mixture. The potatoes were lukewarm and mealy. I liked the mushrooms...but I always like mushrooms.

In the top right corner were some steamed veggies including carrots, green beans and baby zucchini. In the top left, some pieces of soft flat bread with a shredded onion mixture. With the exception of the sushi, nothing tasted very good. It was our first major disappointment of the vacation. The veggies were cooked properly but lacked any real flavor. To sum up the meal, I would say it was pretty uninspired.

I later noticed that there was a wedding reception going on in another room. I'm not sure if the staff would have been more accommodating if there hadn't been a wedding. I'm not sure if they have two different teams working or whatever, but the food was really disappointing for us. We had the mango sorbet. One of the servers said he was going to get us some fresh fruit for the sorbet, but we never got it. Just plain ol' sorbet for us. It was good, but it wasn't anything too terribly exciting. Still, as far as sorbets go, this was probably the best I've had!

We were really thrilled by the view and we took advantage of the rooftop observation deck. That was really cool, though we didn't wait around for Wishes. We were pretty beat and just wanted to go back to our room since our feet were bugging us (and I wasn't wearing comfy shoes for dinner). The girl working on the elevator on the way down was very enthusiastic and kept going on and on about how we should have ordered the ostrich because it's just "sooooo good, it's amazing, it's my favorite, nobody else seems to want to order it because it's ostrich!" We smiled and laughed because she was just so cute how intense she was, and I didn't feel like putting her out by telling her we didn't eat meat.

The California Grill is definitely romantic, and I'm sure that their regular menu items are absolutely fantastic but as a vegan I would call ahead. If you're vegetarian, they almost always have at least one option on the menu (like the ravioli). The view is definitely worth it, though since we had the experience once we won't be going back again. The cool attitudes from the chef and waiter really made us feel unwelcome, though I wouldn't say it was a 100% bad experience...just not one we'd do again.

[Vegcentric]

Well, count me in!

My son(19) eats a vegan diet and we had some trouble meeting his requirements while in the World. I always enjoy learning what others like about the non-meat meals or how to make something more vegan, to help my son, during our next time at WDW.

I was directed, after we got back, to contact Brenda at Special Diets. I'm sorry to hear the hotline didn't work for you.

Very nice pictures of you and your husband. We stayed at POFQ in May 09. Nice to see the sun shinning on the place. :sunny:

Can't wait to read more!

Excellent, thanks for reading! I saw two other vegan reviews on these forums very recently and I was just amazed by how much luck they had with getting everything vegan. I just couldn't do it, even when I asked.

Thank you for the compliment! We will be saying at the POFQ again this October for the Food and Wine Festival and we really hope it's just as nice this time around as it was the last.

I heard from another vegan couple that the hot line worked to some varying degrees and on their tickets it was noted that they were vegan, though I never had a ticket with the word vegan on it. I guess it all depends on the individuals, but we struggled here and there. Next time around, I'm just going to call ahead and see if that gets us better results.

[Linda67]

Great reviews so far
I am looking forward to hearing more :thumbsup2

[Vegcentric]

Great reviews so far
I am looking forward to hearing more :thumbsup2

Thanks for reading, glad you're enjoying them!

[Vegcentric]

Day 3 - Sunshine Seasons and Tangerine Cafe at EPCOT

Epcot is probably my favorite of the four parks. This was my fourth or fifth time to Walt Disney World and I just never get sick of this park. It was my husband's first trip to Walt Disney World and he had no idea what anything was about. By the end of this trip though, he said that Epcot was definitely his favorite park.
Our first stop was the Living Seas...or rather, I remember it just being the Living Seas and haven't been to Disney since they added all the Nemo stuff. So now it was the Seas with Nemo and Friends. It was a really nice surprise and we both loved it, especially entering the Seas vias clam mobile.
After spending quite a bit of time in there we headed to my favorite area of the park - The Land.

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We managed to sneak in a ride on Soarin' before the lines got too long (we already grabbed a fast pass for Test Track) and the minute we got off the ride we stepped onto Living With the Land. Living With the Land was closed for refurbishment the last time I was at Disney World, so I was really thrilled it was open this time around.
Since I'm in love with plants (along with holistic nutrition, I study botany...I'm a huge nerd) this was easily my favorite ride that we went on the entire trip. I loved seeing all the different fruits and vegetables and I heard that they actually made salads in the Garden Grill made from the veggies grown here.
The way the automated recording in the boat made it seem, it sounded as though they also served the fish they were farming here as well in the Garden Grill as well as in Sunshine Seasons but I have absolutely no idea if this is correct (does anyone know?). When at home my husband and I tend to gravitate towards the local and seasonal produce so I found Living With the Land to be really fascinating.

Staring at all those fruits and vegetables really made us hungry and we both decided that once we were off the boat, it was time to eat. Today we were only eating at counter service restaurants, and I had heard very good things about Sunshine Seasons and how they have lots of vegetarian and vegan food.

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The cafeteria itself is very large, loud and extremely busy during regular feeding hours - completely normal and expected. No surprises here! We managed to find some Silk soy milk, the kind we drink at home (the chocolate soy milk is delicious and I recommend people try it at least once) and I wandered over to the refrigerated section. My husband snagged a pasta salad and I found a black bean salad.

This black bean salad was the best black bean salad I have ever had, and I am not even exaggerating here. I studied the ingredients list very, very carefully so that I could recreated it once I got back home (which I did just the other day and it came out pretty delicious!). The black beans salad, while I do not have a picture of it (I'm sorry!) was very pretty to look at and was bursting with flavor.
I could have eaten a few little bowls of the salad, and wish I had made that my meal. I stood in line for the noodle station with my husband, and we both ordered the tofu noodle bowl. We eat tofu often at home, and we are both really picky about the texture. Far too often do we go out to a restaurant and we order the tofu dish, only to be served a plate of mush. We use extra-firm tofu at home. We absolutely hate silken...in fact, that stuff is pretty much only useful for pies, creams and tofu scramble. Eating it on its own is not going to give you a very good idea of what tofu is supposed to taste like.

I was pleased that it came with a generous serving of veggies as well as noodles, though I was surprised by the addition of broth. I wasn't even paying attention when the woman scooped the broth into the bowl (I really wish I had been). When I tasted the broth, it me me a little nervous because I think it was chicken stock. It could have just been my paranoia, but they put this broth on all of the noodle dishes and the tofu noodle bowl didn't specifically say it was the vegetarian option. (Does anyone know for certain of what kind of broth this is?)
I was going to get up and ask when a few of our dining neighbors next to us plowed into our table and blocked the exit. When I said excuse me, they didn't even acknowledge that I was there. My stomach was killing me, so I sat back down and just ate my noodles the way they were.

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My husband and I actually ran into quite a bit of bad luck on this trip, but we still had a really great time. They gave a generous amount of tofu cubes on the noodle bowl, and as you can see they were pretty big. If I ordered this next time I'm going to make sure that they don't get hit with the broth. I wasn't in the mood for soup anyway. My husband said his pasta salad was excellent and would definitely get it again, though he admitted he liked my black bean salad better.
The tofu cubes themselves were okay, but not great. They were a little shriveled and kinda dry. If I was really in the mood for noodles and was sticking to quick service in Epcot I might order this meal again, but it's not likely. There are other things on the menu for vegans and vegetarians to eat, and even more options if you eat fish.

We're both very laid back when it comes to our food (when we eat out, we have calling attention to ourselves and just order off the menu; California Grill was the exception to this rule), though we absolutely will not eat any meat outside of shellfish. We probably ate things that were cooked in chicken stock (which we would never do at home), but I'm going to point out the food that we ate that was questionable so that vegans and vegetarians know what to totally avoid or ask questions about.

My husband and I had a great time going around the world, but all that walking without any snacking really throws his blood sugar for a loop. For some odd reason I can almost always tell when he's a little off and in need of some rest and a snack. Before leaving for vacation I was really worried that all the activity was going to be a bit too much for him, but there were snacks literally everywhere so it turned out to be just fine.

Not pictured, but definitely note-worthy: We made it all the way over to Japan when my husband decided he just had to sit down and have a snack. I'm really glad he chose Japan, because there is a little station in Japan called Kaki Gori, which is flavored shaved ice. They are similar to snow cones, but a million times better.

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He had tangerine flavored, and I had melon. When it's hot out (and man, it was really hot that day) and you're doing a lot of walking, these things really hit the spot without filling you up before dinner. Two adorable ducks came over to say hello while we were eating.

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They were really cute until they started to make very vocal demands for food. There were several pairs of ducks wandering around Epcot, demanding food from people and sometimes snagging a french fry or two for their efforts. Once my husband decided that he was okay to continue, we continued walking and checking out the remaining countries.

We passed the Tangerine Cafe in Morocco, which I had heard about on these forums from other vegetarians/vegans and decided that we were going to have our dinner there, but not before we checked out Canada. We were about to turn around to head back to Morocco for dinner when I saw this:

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I decided that I had to take a picture, it was just too cute.

We headed back to Tangerine Cafe, which had indoor and outdoor seating. We both ordered the vegetarian platter, which came with hummus, lentil salad, olives, couscous, tabouleh salad, greens, bread and falafel.

The NON-vegan items include the lentil salad (it contains a little dairy), the bread and possibly the falafel. I had heard from others that the falafel was vegan, and some other people said it wasn't. If you don't want to take your chances, I heard that Tangerine Cafe will give you another serving of something else on the plate to replace whatever it is you didn't want, excluding the falafel. They won't give you more of that, unfortunately.

My husband is in love with falafel and could eat it every single day.

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If you are really, really, really hungry...you may want to order more food after this, because it isn't very filling. I fill up extremely easily though and couldn't even finish what was on my plate. Everything tasted good, especially the tabouleh salad. The falafel was pretty good too. Not the best I've had...I still think the best falafel I've had was at Maoz (http://www.maozusa.com) but this was certainly better than the Casbah boxed brand that I buy at our local grocery store.

The platter also comes with baklava for dessert, also good:

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I really liked this place, and would definitely eat here again. It's a great spot for vegetarians and vegans, especially since they'll swap out the stuff on the platter that you don't want with something you do. I loved the way everything looked inside, especially the color of the wall paint:

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It was warm and inviting and the cast members working there were pretty nice, too.

Both Sunshine Seasons and Tangerine Cafe are easily veganizable, and have vegan items already on the menu. I remember seeing some vegetable sushi at Seasons as well, and it looked pretty good. I remember I was tempted to grab that instead of the black bean salad, which I am so glad I did NOT do.

We actually skipped Illuminations and headed back to our hotel early to see if we could sneak into the hot tub...no dice, but we still managed to have a really peaceful evening after walking around the world! We can't wait to go back to Epcot in October for the Food and Wine Festival.

Our next day was Animal Kingdom, which I will review later. :goodvibes

[NHMom4]

Thanks for doing this. It is great. My husband is a Meat-atairan, the rest of us could live without and my mom is a vegetarian. We love The World and this is very helpful.

[Vegcentric]

Thanks for doing this. It is great. My husband is a Meat-atairan, the rest of us could live without and my mom is a vegetarian. We love The World and this is very helpful.

Really glad that the reviews are helpful to you!

[disney_princess_85]

Great reviews so far. I'm a vegetarian so they are quite useful to me! :)

[Vegcentric]

Great reviews so far. I'm a vegetarian so they are quite useful to me! :)

Glad to help! :goodvibes

[flamingglobessigmund]

This place was on my list to try, but we never made it up there. Now I've developed a plan of attack to get there so my son can try the vegetarian platter.

He did get the vegetarian platter at Sunshine Seasons and really enjoyed it. The server asked him how long he had been a vegetarian, and he told her, "since I was 8, so 10 years."

I am loving your pictures and descriptions.

[Vegcentric]

This place was on my list to try, but we never made it up there. Now I've developed a plan of attack to get there so my son can try the vegetarian platter.

He did get the vegetarian platter at Sunshine Seasons and really enjoyed it. The server asked him how long he had been a vegetarian, and he told her, "since I was 8, so 10 years."

I am loving your pictures and descriptions.

10 years is very impressive! My husband and I have been been pescetarian for 2 years now, but we eat shellfish maybe once every two months, if that. He eats more of it than me. I was planning on staying vegan as a New Year's resolution, though vacation is probably going to throw a wrench in those plans.

One week out of the rest of the year isn't too bad, though.

The vegetarian platter is definitely worth it, I would just check on the falafel, since it wasn't confirmed/denied that it was vegan.

[rkrose1]

Thanks for the great info.

[MelanieC]

joining in - vegetarian here :)

[Vegcentric]

Day 4 - Animal Kingdom, aka the really good day of food!

If there was ever a day where my husband and I felt as though we'd need a tow truck in order to make it back to our hotel at the end of the day, this would be it. We woke up very early and headed down to the Port Orleans French Quarter food court like we did every morning.

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That reminds me, I haven't mentioned anything about the food there yet, have I? Well, there's not a whole lot to mention about it other than that it's a quick service cafeteria! They have the usual suspects such as burgers and chicken tenders, but I do recall seeing some other interesting food choices for vegetarians and omnivores alike.
For one thing, there was some sort of noodle dish on the menu for vegetarians. I'm not sure how it was since we never ate there for lunch. Every morning we had Mickey waffles with fruit. The waffles were fine. Nothing special about them. They were always fluffy, never overcooked though they were not especially filling. I would have appreciated a bit more fruit on my plate. A very small handful of sad looking strawberries didn't really cut for me, and by the time we got to the parks I was pretty hungry.

I learned from my mistake though and started getting a piece of fruit and a couple of Silk soy milk cartons to tide me over a little longer. I heard from a vegan friend of mine that she has been able to actually get the Mickey waffles veganized, though I didn't know about this until after I got back. Apparently at her resort (I believe she stayed at the Coronado Springs Resort) she asked if she could get some vegan Mickey waffles and the chef actually made them for her!
This could definitely be hit or miss, of course. If they say yes, I'd consider it pretty lucky. Otherwise, the fruit and some of the cereals may be the only thing there (I didn't look too hard around the cafeteria). Something I definitely remember from my omnivorous days were some biscuits with gravy at the POFQ.
I remember that they were pretty good, but I made the mistake of eating them every single day that week (no one should do this) with the meat gravy, and I wound up on the toilet a little more than I would have liked. I know that's gross, but I just thought I'd share. :rotfl:

After finishing up our breakfast we headed out the door and waited for the bus to take us to the Animal Kingdom park!

When we got there, my husband took a few pictures of the Christmas tree that was out front:

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In this picture you can see all the animal decorations, which we thought was pretty neat.

We were surprised by how quickly we were able to get through all of the attractions (minus Expedition Everest - we can't do roller coasters, they make us sick; I know, I know, we're no fun). We had a lunch reservation for the Tusker House at 1:40. This was the first time I've ever eaten anything at the Animal Kingdom park, and I was pretty convinced up until recently that there wasn't anything worth eating here.

I was very mistaken.

Because I made a reservation for 1:40, my husband and I were given two tickets to see Finding Nemo: The Musical in the special seating area. If you haven't seen Finding Nemo: The Musical yet, you should! It was a lot of fun, especially at the end of the day when our feet were tired. It gave us plenty of time to rest and recoup.

At first, we weren't sure where the entrance to the Tusker House was. We saw the podium, but we didn't see an entrance. We approached the man at the podium and he escorted us all the way behind the restaurant, where we had to check in with the hostess. It was a little odd, but it was fine and it was a lot quieter back there.

When I checked in I almost didn't feel like telling them about the dietary request sheet that I had filled out. After debating over whether or not I should, I just decided to ask our server what my husband and I could eat. Now, I have heard several other reviewers say that if you're vegan, the server will take you around the buffet and show you what was safe to eat and what wasn't.

No such luck, here. He was really busy and said, "Oh yeah, there's tons you can eat here! We have a whole section!" He was really friendly, and made a bit of small talk with us but he wasn't exactly quick with clearing away plates. I noticed he was really busy though, so I cut him some slack. It might be different at calmer hours of the day as far as buffet escorts go, but as I learned from the California Grill experience, I wasn't expecting anything magical to happen. I was really just happy there was a ton of food we could eat.

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The buffet room is set up like an outdoor market; it's beautiful and really immerses you in the setting. I also loved how large the room was. Even though it was very busy, there wasn't too much clutter going on with everyone flying around trying to get to the food. Most buffets I've been to can turn into absolute chaos, but this wasn't the case here.
In the above picture (which is my husband's), he has some tabouleh salad, an oatmeal raisin cookie (definitely not vegan), some cornbread (not sure if this is vegan or not, I'd ask), dried fruit sambal and mango chutney (both vegan). I think some hummus crept in there somewhere behind the cookie.

We both highly recommend eating all of the dips and chutneys. They have tons of delicious pits chips and breads to use as a vehicle for the dips. I almost made my entire meal out of the dips and chutneys, they were so delicious! The dried fruit sambal was a little bit difficult to get onto my chips and so I ate it with a fork instead, but it was still very good and very sweet.
I was expecting the mango chutney to be a little bit sweeter, and instead it was a little bit more acidic tasting as well as runny. I had better tabouleh salad at Tangerine Cafe, but there was nothing wrong with it. I love tabouleh because it is so crisp and fresh tasting.

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In this picture (I'm sorry it's so blurry!) there is more dried fruit sambal, some dried fruit bread of some sort, pita bread and hummus. Oh, and the cornbread. Since I cannot even remember eating the cornbread, it must not have been anything note-worthy. The hummus was a bit runnier in consistency than I am used to, but the flavor was quite good.

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In this picture we have some spiced tandoori tofu, endive, apple and walnut salad with bleu cheese dressing, tunisian couscous and curried basmati rice.
I had heard many, many negative things about the tofu here and I just want to say...

It was pretty much as gross as everyone said it was. For some reason though I ate three platefuls of it (I was famished). The zucchini that was in with the tofu was horribly overcooked. It was mushy, and mushy zucchini is not appetizing zucchini. The tofu was shriveled up and dry. The tofu that was in my noodle bowl at Sunshine Seasons was much better than this tofu, and that isn't saying much. Someone really needs to rework this recipe, because it's not working.

The couscous was extremely flavorful. The acidic taste from the tomatoes mixed in with the couscous was delicious and I would definitely eat this again. The endive and apple salad was extremely tart and bitter and I wouldn't eat this again. It probably would have worked out a bit better if the apples were sweet instead of being just as tart as the endive.

The rice was good, but nothing over the top fantastic about it. Still, it was very filling and really hit the spot for an active day. We each had several vegetables samosas (not pictures) despite my hatred of most things fried (I like tempura but that is about it). Fortunately though, the samosas were light, crisp and didn't leave me feeling nauseous after eating a couple of them. I recommend eating them with the mango chutney...they're really fantastic that way. The batter they are fried in isn't as heavy as say, some onion rings (more on that later) but I still wouldn't consume these babies in excess, they seemed to retain quite a bit of oil.

I heard from a few people that the samosas were cooked in the same pans as the meat (I'm not sure if this was confirmed or not), so if this bothers you, you can probably mention it to your server and they might make some up for you on the side. The green beans are also cooked in butter (I believe), so that's another deceptive veggie dish that may appear vegan, but really isn't.

Also consumed by not pictures: Orzo pasta (delicious!), jollaf rice (really, really good...better than the curried basmati), pearl couscous laced with sweet basil essence (absolutely flavorless), and a few other things that I didn't really care for and didn't feel like even mentioning. Overrall, the Tusker House is a really great spot for vegetarians or for those just wanting to get away from fried chicken, burgers and ribs.

My husband and I felt like we were about forty pounds heavier by the time we went to leave, and our server was absolutely shocked that we were done eating so quickly!
"What, you're done? REALLY? Already?!"

Hahaha. I guess we really were ravenous. I think we'll be back next trip, since I still have those chutneys and veggies on my mind. I really hope they rethink that whole tandoori tofu thing, though. Yech.

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After Finding Nemo: The Musical and seeing the Jingle Jammin' Parade (I think that's what it was), it was time to head back to our resort. We wound up almost late for our dinner reservations because the bus from our resort took us straight to Kidani Village. We didn't even realize we were in Kidani Village until I went downstairs and saw Sanaa. I was like, "wait...Sanaa is in Kidani Village, not the Animal Kingdom Lodge!" I'm so glad that I read websites like this one before I head off on my vacations!

It was no problem, though. We just took the road all the way over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge and checked in for our reservations at Boma. We sat around for maybe 30 seconds before we were seated (we always had such good luck with being seated right away). Our server, who was a teeny, tiny Asian woman took care of us that evening. She was absolutely brilliant and I envied her endurance. She was insanely busy, but we never had plates on our table that we didn't want and our waters were always topped off.

She was fantastic, and I wish I could remember her name. I remember sitting there thinking that if I was in her position I would have passed out despite being 25. She was running around the room, so incredibly focused and not missing a single table.

I've eaten at Boma before, but never as a vegetarian. I had heard a rumor that some of the rice dishes and pasta dishes were cooked in chicken stock, but since I could never get a confirmation on this, I ate them all anyway.
It isn't terribly loud in Boma, but it isn't exactly quiet, either. It's dark and really beautiful. I recommend heading over to the Animal Kingdom Lodge just to look around.

Unlike Tusker House, the buffet area was pretty much straight and narrow and very crowded at dinner time. In 2005 I made a dinner reservation for 4:30 (I left Animal Kingdom early) and it was dead. I got a lot of special attention from those working there and could get to the food without any hassle or problems. Everything was really relaxed and the food was still hot and delicious.
If you can eat that early, then I suggest going early to avoid the chaos in the dining room. It was absolutely chaotic and I thought I was going to spill my plates and was amazed when I didn't. Don't let the crowds stop you from going here, though. This place never seems to disappoint me!

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This was my husband's plate. My husband said that the macaroni was "just okay." On this plate is a bunch of couscous (we ate a lot of couscous that day!) and rice dishes. The only thing that sticks out in my mind is the lentil salad. I have no idea really what was in it, but I do recall a little bit of feta cheese (I think it was either feta or goat cheese) and cherry tomatoes. The lentils were covered in something that almost tasted like barbecue sauce. Whatever it was, it was the best thing I ate at Boma.

You'll find lots of pita bread and dips here like the Tusker House, but you'll find some more interesting food at Boma, such as the carrot and ginger soup and fufu. The falafel at Boma was better than the falafel at Tangerine cafe and had a yogurt sauce to go along with it. My husband ate a little seafood this evening...

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It was a seafood soup with shrimp, fish and other shellfish along with pearl couscous. This was his favorite out of the entire meal. He also really liked the mac and cheese, since he never eats any at home. He said that this was much, much better than Kraft mac and cheese and had a very good consistency to it.

In the background you can sort of see my plate, where I had a plate full of green beans and tofu. Again, the tofu was shriveled and not at all appetizing and I did not go back for seconds.

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There was a delicious orange, carrot and radish salad. I really enjoy eating clean, fresh flavors and this really hit the spot. The watermelon rind salad was also very good but very different, and I can understand why many people may not like it. It's a bit bitter and has a very strong ginger flavor to it. None of the desserts here are vegan and I ate one zebra dome. Unfortunately this wasn't the right dessert for me to choose because I later found out that it contains gelatin (d'oh!). It wasn't anything really special, though I realize those little things are very popular. I just thought it tasted a little overly sugary sweet.

By the end of the night my husband and I were busting at the sides, we were so incredibly full. Boma and Tusker House are probably two of the best places a vegetarian can eat because you will not leave hungry. I'm very interested in trying out Sanaa next time, but I will definitely be returning to Boma.

If you're worried that some of the rice and couscous is cooked in chicken stock, I would ask your server if you eat here. I didn't get around to asking (I'm so bad, I honestly just like to relax on vacation!), but someone would probably show you what was and wasn't safe to eat if you have strict dietary restrictions.

Our next day was spent at Hollywood Studios, where we ate a bit of so-so and disappointing food. More on that later.

[disney_princess_85]

Great reviews of Tusker House and Boma, very detailed. :) We visited Boma on our last trip and I was expecting to love it but unfortunately I didn't. I enjoyed the soups and the different types of houmous (or "hummus" as you guys say!), but I found everything else a little sweet-tasting for my liking. I want to try Sanaa too, I hope I manage to get an ADR!

[Linda67]

Thanks for the reviews of Tusker House and Boma

We have a breakfast ADR at TH and an early dinner ADR at Boma which we are very excited about :cool1:

[Vegcentric]

Great reviews of Tusker House and Boma, very detailed. :) We visited Boma on our last trip and I was expecting to love it but unfortunately I didn't. I enjoyed the soups and the different types of houmous (or "hummus" as you guys say!), but I found everything else a little sweet-tasting for my liking. I want to try Sanaa too, I hope I manage to get an ADR!

Thanks!
I've noticed that Boma is one of those restaurants you either love or hate. I haven't heard of anything saying that it was "just okay." Hopefully Sanaa is more appealing to you. I hope we can snag an ADR for it.

[Vegcentric]

Day 5 - Sci Fi Dine-In and 'Ohana

Hollywood Studios has never been my favorite park, which is why I always save it until last. Most people would leave the best for last, well...I always go to Hollywood Studios last because I haven't learned yet that I shouldn't make an entire day of it. When I go in October, I will remember to make a half day out of Hollywood Studios.
I'm sure what it is about it is that I'm just not crazy about. Perhaps it's the fact that most of the rides excluding the Tower of Terror and the Rock'n Roller coaster are so dated. Fortunately there's the new Toy Story Mania, which was totally worth standing in line for thirty minutes for.

The food in Hollywood Studios has never impressed me, so the park loses more points for that. I ate at the 50s Prime Time Cafe in the past as an omnivore and I remember liking the meal but not our server. This time, my husband suggested the Sci Fi Dine-In because he was amused by the novelty of sitting in the cars.

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We arrived about 30 minutes ahead of our check-in time for our ADRs, and this was probably the only restaurant where we waited a considerable amount of time. We were seated about 30 minutes after our ADR time, and by the time we got to our seats we were both starving so I did something really uncharacteristic and ordered some onion rings. Normally I do not consume fried foods since they make me sick to my stomach, but there wasn't really much else on the menu we could order or felt like ordering.

Our server was nice and was willing to get my husband a soy milkshake, though he couldn't get the flavor he was after (he wanted strawberry, she could only get him vanilla). The onion rings came out about twenty minutes later, and by then we had already seen the tape loop over on the movie screen.

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These were just okay. They were onion rings. There is nothing interesting about them other than they're onion rings and filled a void in our stomachs until we received our main courses. This restaurant would be ideal for children, since I can only imagine that they would love to sit in the cars (I know I would) and it's dark enough in there that some of them might fall asleep.

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My husband is left handed and kind of a big guy and mentioned that he felt a bit too crammed in, like a sardine and had a hard time eating his food without bumping me. We were both really pleased to see the tofu dish was still being offered on the menu, though as I mentioned before, he and I are really picky about the texture of tofu. These sorts of things don't deter me though, as I am afraid of missing out on something really delicious. I would be sad with myself if I skipped out on it just because I was afraid of it being mushy.

The lighting was really terrible in here, since it was supposed to look like an outdoor drive-in theater, so I apologize for the bad photo:

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This is actually one of the better tofu dishes on property but for some reason it tasted a bit odd. There was the savory flavor from the tofu conflicting with the sweetness of the mango puree. The puree contains honey, so it isn't vegan. I think this dish would have been much better if the puree was not on the tofu, and if I were to order it again it wouldn't be with the mango puree. The texture of the tofu was also a little strange, but not as bad as the other tofu I've had on vacation. I believe it was baked, but it wasn't baked for very long.
When I baked tofu as home I usually leave it in there for 45-60 minutes so this dish had a similar texture to an egg mcmuffin. Strange comparison, but it did kind of remind me of egg whites! The rice mixture it was sitting on was really good and I ate more of that than I did the tofu. The portion was generous - four slabs of tofu was really nice of them. I was expecting one slab of tofu. I thought it was also a really creative recipe even though I personally wasn't a big fan, but it's so much better than just having a measly salad for the vegetarians. Even though my husband and I won't do this one again, we still suggest it to vegetarians and vegans.

After walking around the park a bit more and doing a little shopping, and of course seeing the animation studio...

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It was time to go see Fantasmic and the Osbourne Festival of Dancing Lights and then leave to get ready for our 8:30 ADR at 'Ohana. I was worried about eating so late, but I had heard so many wonderful things about this restaurant when it came to vegan food because of the very famous Chef TJ, that I was really pumped for this meal regardless.

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Of course, if there was one thing that I learned at the beginning of the week, it was not to expect pixie dust and Disney magic everywhere we go. It can really set you up for disappointment in the end. Just because other people had a great time at the California Grill didn't necessarily mean we would have the same experience. I learned this first hand, and I was about to learn it again at 'Ohana, unfortunately.

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I had read about the days that Chef TJ wasn't available, and I didn't think Thursday would be a problem and went ahead and booked the reservation. It was a last minute addition to our reservation list, and I was really crossing my fingers that it would all pay off. We got there about 30 minutes ahead of our ADR time again, and when I spoke to the hostess I mentioned that I had filled out the special dietary needs sheet.
More blank stares. I was really not having any luck with this at all and it kind of put me in a bit of a funky mood. When the hostess was taking us to our seats, I mentioned to her that my husband and I were vegan (I specified vegan because I really wanted to eat vegan on this trip and was really hoping for the best, haha). She assured us that we'd be able to "make a meal out of the sides."
I felt a little crestfallen at this remark, but thought well maybe we'd get to meet Chef TJ anyway. Once we were sat at our seats, it took ten minutes for our server to come to our table to welcome us and bring us the bread. I then told her that we were vegan, and she looked at us as though she was a deer in headlights before saying, "Oh that's no problem! Okay, sooooo...you'll be okay with the noodles, and the salad..."

The salad actually has honey in it, so it isn't suitable for vegans.

She stopped mid-sentence and then said, "Huh, actually let me go and see what else we could get you, I think there's a veggie dish. Better yet I bet the chef is going to come out!"

My husband and I perked up a little bit at the potential of still being able to speak with the chef. She wandered off to the kitchen and to take care of other tables, and about five minutes later a man approached our table. It wasn't the chef, but rather a guy with shrimp. He asked us if we wanted any shrimp and we politely said no thanks. He stood there and looked at us both closely and then pressed on with a, "Are you sure?" We said no thank you again and then he wandered off.

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A few minutes after this happened, another server wandered up to our table very, very apprehensively and literally DROPPED a plate of noodles onto our table before picking it back up again. He looked so confused before putting it back down on the table while stammering, "O-oh!" and then ran off.
We had no idea what was going on, and my husband and I were very close to asking for a manager (we're actually very bashful and never do this, but this was getting kind of insane) and to also see if we could be seated somewhere else because the air conditioner was really cold.
Our server returned but made no comment about whether the chef would come out and smiled cheerfully, placing two veggie dishes in front of us:

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Now, the service at this place was absolutely horrendous and I think I've already made it evident, so now to talk about the food. This is the "staple vegetarian dish" that they give to all of their vegetarian customers, or so our waitress told us. The tofu was lightly coated in some type of batter and lightly fried, giving it a very satisfying texture. This was probably the tastiest tofu we had during our entire stay and we were quite pleased with it. We were also surprised when our waitress said that it was "all you can eat tofu", but I would have personally liked more veggies (if they weren't in the sauce) too in order to balance things out.

The sauce the veggies were sitting in was way, way, way too sweet. I couldn't eat very much of this dish because of its sweetness. Loved the tofu, hated the sauce. My husband picked at his dish and wouldn't even finish his tofu, which worried me a bit. He normally finishes everything on his plate (he finishes even the stuff he doesn't like) so this tipped me off that the entire situation just soured his mood to the point where he didn't want to eat. I only get really upset when someone or something upsets my spouse, so this had me really bothered.

(But yet we still didn't say anything and I fully admit that this wasn't the right thing to do...we should have said something!)

I could eat those peanut lo mein noodles every single day if I could, they were really tasty. And since I couldn't do more than pick at my tofu dish, I was still pretty hungry and so I dived right on into the salad, honey be darned! Actually, that salad is not bad at all and quite refreshing. The salad dressing was light and quite good, but I preferred the noodles and broccoli, even though the broccoli was nothing really special.

When the fireworks went off, my husbands mood lightened up and he seemed to be forgetting his meal and paid attention to everything that was going on outside (I promise you, I am not married to a kid, though he sometimes acts like it :rotfl: ), which made me feel a bit better. Our waitress brought out fresh fruit, and everything was nice and ripe and delicious. I am not really into ice cream or cakes so fruit was just fine with me.

I would unfortunately have to say that this was the worst meal we had all week, and it wasn't just because we didn't get to see Chef TJ. It was definitely a bummer we didn't get to eat his multi-course veggie feast, but if the veggie dish that they did give us was good we would have been happy. Also, if we had actually seen our server for more than three seconds during the entire night. It just felt like we were pushed in a corner to be forgotten about. My husband and I are generous tippers when we eat out (we've both worked in the service industry before) but there were only maybe two servers the entire vacation that got a 20% tip.

The bottom line for 'Ohana is that I wouldn't personally recommend eating here as a vegetarian or vegan if you are going alone. I might be going back here in October, but that's because my sister and her boyfriend want to take his nephews. It's a great place for children, and I know they will enjoy it and I will be able to make do just fine with the tofu, noodles and broccoli. I know this probably goes without saying, but Chef TJ isn't a guarantee so I don't think I'd risk it by making a reservation here again in the future. The food just wasn't interesting enough to warrant us going back, but there are things here for vegetarians and vegans to eat if they find themselves in a party that is dining at 'Ohana.

I've also heard very mixed things about the service at 'Ohana, and it seems that my husband and I really just didn't luck out here. The next day was a really pleasantly surprising day for food because we played it all by ear (no ADRs, gasp!). We had so much fun the next day and just winging it turned out to be very rewarding!

[mkleinbe]

Awww, I'm feeling very sorry for you guys. I can't explain it, but my heart goes out to you. :sad2: I think I'm just as disappointed in your experience as you are. :) I look forward to more reviews.

[disney_princess_85]

What a shame about 'Ohana. I ate there in September and I was lucky enough to meet Chef TJ. I received some chips and various types of houmous to snack on before he brought my entrée out, which was a huge plate of tempura vegetables with tofu and noodles. It was fantastic! I think if you can manage to get there on a night Chef TJ is working, then it's totally worth going. We had a really good server that night too, which obviously helps.

By the way, I had the WORST tofu sandwich at The Wave. While I was absent-mindedly eating it, I actually thought it was an omelette before I remembered it was meant to be tofu. :(

[Vegcentric]

What a shame about 'Ohana. I ate there in September and I was lucky enough to meet Chef TJ. I received some chips and various types of houmous to snack on before he brought my entrée out, which was a huge plate of tempura vegetables with tofu and noodles. It was fantastic! I think if you can manage to get there on a night Chef TJ is working, then it's totally worth going. We had a really good server that night too, which obviously helps.

By the way, I had the WORST tofu sandwich at The Wave. While I was absent-mindedly eating it, I actually thought it was an omelette before I remembered it was meant to be tofu. :(

It seems as though everyone has managed to meet Chef TJ. I honestly have no idea what went wrong that evening, but I wanted to write the review from a no Chef-TJ perspective since not everyone is going to get a chance to meet him (even if you do go on a night he's working, which we thought he was but he might have just been too busy or the staff didn't bother to talk to him about it). Obviously if you can get Chef TJ, it's worth the risk.
We aren't going to risk it again, since the veggie meal they did give us just wasn't that good and the service was really terrible. I'm sorry you didn't like your sandwich at the Wave! It seems as though Disney dining is extremely inconsistent just about everywhere because I have two vegan friends who just got back from their trip and they loved that sandwich at the Wave.
If there is one thing above everything else that truly bugs me about a restaurant, it's inconsistency.

[jamjar84]

What great reviews, thanks. :)

I'd class myself as a pescetarian, which isn't normally a problem, but actually more so in the US, as a lot of restaurants completely forget to cater for vegetarians, it has got better in the past few years, I remember about ten years ago going to Charlie's steak house in Kissimmee, and when I enquired about a non-meat option they suggested chicken. Coming from a family of carnivores I was the only one who left hungry. :lol: Though when I went back to Charlie's a couple of years ago on I drive I noticed that they have started doing sea food too. :)

It's a shame that you seemed to find such a difficult time catering for your vegan diet. :(

[flamingglobessigmund]

Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry your dining experiences didn't totally work out. We didn't have any TS just CS. He had to figure out things from the hints and tips I had brought and what was on the CS menus. He's a different sort of vegan. Doesn't like tofu, and is "not a big fan of the wraps." :rolleyes1

I can't wait to read your next review. I feel like I'm right there with you guys.

[Vegcentric]

What great reviews, thanks. :)

I'd class myself as a pescetarian, which isn't normally a problem, but actually more so in the US, as a lot of restaurants completely forget to cater for vegetarians, it has got better in the past few years, I remember about ten years ago going to Charlie's steak house in Kissimmee, and when I enquired about a non-meat option they suggested chicken. Coming from a family of carnivores I was the only one who left hungry. :lol: Though when I went back to Charlie's a couple of years ago on I drive I noticed that they have started doing sea food too. :)

It's a shame that you seemed to find such a difficult time catering for your vegan diet. :(

I've heard about places offering chicken as a non-meat option...which I think is absolutely ridiculous. I totally and completely understand when someone asks me what the difference is between a vegetarian and a vegan. That can get a little tricky...but I didn't think anyone actually believed chicken wasn't meat, LOL.
Here in Canada I have noticed that we have quite a few veggie options, even at the fast food places. Our Burger Kings around the area serve veggie burgers and certain KFCs actually have faux chicken sandwiches. I don't eat fast food very often unless there is just nothing else available but I do appreciate that there are options for those who may be out on the road and in need of some food.
I've seen other vegans have huge success with their diets while at Disney World. I just think that the biggest problem here is lack of consistency and the fact that the woman I spoke to about our special dietary needs said she contacted all of the restaurants - it's not that I don't believe her, she most likely did do her job, but something got completely lost in translation. I don't think I'll be using the dietary hotline again in the future. Next time, I am either just going to order right off the menu and ask to omit a couple ingredients or I'm going to call ahead.


Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry your dining experiences didn't totally work out. We didn't have any TS just CS. He had to figure out things from the hints and tips I had brought and what was on the CS menus. He's a different sort of vegan. Doesn't like tofu, and is "not a big fan of the wraps." :rolleyes1

I can't wait to read your next review. I feel like I'm right there with you guys.


I'm glad you're enjoying the reviews. Despite the fact that we couldn't eat vegan like we wanted to, we had a fantastic time. I know quite a few vegans and vegetarians that actually don't like tofu. How does he feel about tempeh? I like quite a few things but I actually had to force myself to enjoy avocados. I can be a little picky sometimes, and I get fussy when someone else prepares my tofu (as you can probably tell from the reviews, hahaha).

[flamingglobessigmund]

I'm glad you're enjoying the reviews. Despite the fact that we couldn't eat vegan like we wanted to, we had a fantastic time. I know quite a few vegans and vegetarians that actually don't like tofu. How does he feel about tempeh? I like quite a few things but I actually had to force myself to enjoy avocados. I can be a little picky sometimes, and I get fussy when someone else prepares my tofu (as you can probably tell from the reviews, hahaha).

He's been living with his dad for the past 3 years, and that's when they went from vegetarian to a vegan diet. I'm not sure how he feels about tempeh. I'll have to ask him.

On one of his dishes, I think at Lotus Blossom Cafe, there was tofu and maybe the vegetarian platter at Sunshine Seasons. He just ate around it.

[dpndka]

Thanks for the reviews. Sorry to hear about O'hana. I guess Chef TJ is what makes it special for vegans.

[ehartman4]

The bottom line for 'Ohana is that I wouldn't personally recommend eating here as a vegetarian or vegan if you are going alone. I might be going back here in October, but that's because my sister and her boyfriend want to take his nephews. It's a great place for children, and I know they will enjoy it and I will be able to make do just fine with the tofu, noodles and broccoli. I know this probably goes without saying, but Chef TJ isn't a guarantee so I don't think I'd risk it by making a reservation here again in the future. The food just wasn't interesting enough to warrant us going back, but there are things here for vegetarians and vegans to eat if they find themselves in a party that is dining at 'Ohana.

I've also heard very mixed things about the service at 'Ohana, and it seems that my husband and I really just didn't luck out here. The next day was a really pleasantly surprising day for food because we played it all by ear (no ADRs, gasp!). We had so much fun the next day and just winging it turned out to be very rewarding!

It seems the main thing that ruined your experience was your server. Chef TJ isn't the only chef who cooks vegan/gluten free/etc. It was the server's responsibility to get the chef and tell him or her your dietary needs. I am so thankful I got the meal I did when I went there. It's a shame your server sucked so bad!

[disney_princess_85]

If there is one thing above everything else that truly bugs me about a restaurant, it's inconsistency.

I agree, although it's one of those unavoidable things I guess. There is only one place I have never read a bad review on and that is Wolfgang Puck Express in Downtown Disney.

[Vegcentric]

I agree, although it's one of those unavoidable things I guess. There is only one place I have never read a bad review on and that is Wolfgang Puck Express in Downtown Disney.

Really? That's actually surprising to me because I actually have read some fairly rough things about the place, specifically about how the chicken was dry or the service was just really lackluster. Something that has to do with Wolfgang Puck himself not being involved with the restaurant anymore.
Because these places are frequented by vacationers and therefore there are usually large gaps of time between visits, it's more difficult to gauge whether a restaurant is really consistently good or consistently bad.
I would really like to have dined at some of the same places more than once during the week, but since it was a vacation and not an article this just didn't happen :rotfl: Still, it makes me really curious.


When it came to 'Ohana, it wasn't just our server that kind of ruined the whole thing but a whole bunch of other things that just added up. The vegetable dish we were given wasn't very good, the other servers didn't seem to be sure of what they were doing. It was just a really meh experience overall. If the food they gave us was really good, then it would have salvaged the experience. I agree, it was definitely the server's responsibility to let the chef know about our dining restrictions, but to me so-so food is just so-so food and it can really make or break a place for me.
I really hate lingering on this one particular restaurant though because it just makes me feel uncomfortable overall whereas the rest of our trip was so good.

I'll get to the rest of the reviews tomorrow at some point :)

[mkleinbe]

I'll get to the rest of the reviews tomorrow at some point :)

Get to it girl! :) I'm excited to hear about the rest of your vacation. We're not huge Ohana fans either (I prefer my shrimp deveined thank you....).

[Plasticletters]

I'm sorry to hear that so many of your experiences were not up to the level they should have been. Our experience with the "Special Dietary Request" only worked for one of our ADRs. The thing that really seemed to save us was having the cast member we made our actual ADRs with note we are "vegan" on the ADR and list us as having "allergies" to dairy, eggs and shellfish. These notes made on the actual ADR caught all of our servers attention (as they are printed right on the table bill), the special dietary requests only made it to one of our restaurants.

[Vegcentric]

Final full day of food - Cinderella's Royal Table (And counter services)

Okay, so I kind of lied a bit ago when I said I was going to get around the last bit of the reviews tomorrow. I was in the mood to jot down my thoughts on our last day of eating at Walt Disney World, which also happened to be our favorite day. The strangest part about it was that it was all totally random. Neither my husband or I knew we would be eating at Cinderella's Royal Table when we woke up that morning.
We headed back to the Magic Kingdom since we didn't feel as though we got enough time in the park on our first day. We did a few of our favorite things that we had done the first day as well as a few new things until it was getting pretty close to lunch time.
The hunt for our lunch was on, but we were all out of table service credits and were down to our last counter service credits. We had planned on using those for dinner, so my husband and I wandered over to Tony's and check out their menu. We weren't exactly impressed with the selection and wandered around a bit more when my husband had remembered that he had wanted to see the sword in the stone before leaving. While we were walking through the castle to get to it, we both noticed people lining up for their reservations to Cinderella's Royal Table.
We both looked at each other and shrugged and decided to approach the menu which was hanging on the wall.
"I don't think we'll get in, but we can always just look at the menu" I suggested to my husband, whose stomach was already gnawing away at his insides. He was completely okay with eating literally anywhere at this point, and I wasn't feeling particularly picky myself (for once). I noticed there was a pasta dish on the menu - vegetable penne pomodoro, I think it was. I was in one of those moods where I just wasn't in the mood for eat anything in particular so this sounded fine by me.
We approached the hostess to inquire about any availability for lunch expecting to be turned away when she said that she actually had one time slot open. My husband and I took it, not even actually knowing what Cinderella's Royal Table was. I had no idea that we were actually in for quite a treat at this point, and we still had time to kill before our meal so we did a little bit more shopping at Sir Mickey's and go our pictures taken with the sword in the stone:

http://i480.photobucket.com/albums/rr161/Dayf1sh01/100_0825.jpg

http://i480.photobucket.com/albums/rr161/Dayf1sh01/100_0836.jpg

We returned to the restaurant at the time they suggested we be back, and stepped into the hallway. A woman turned around and handed us our "royal invitations" and quickly explained what we were about to do, which was head into the next room and get our pictures taken with Cinderella. We had no idea this was part of the experience, but we were pretty pleasantly surprised nonetheless.

http://i480.photobucket.com/albums/rr161/Dayf1sh01/100_0839.jpg

There was a chandelier hanging on the wall in this room, and a Christmas tree next to Cinderella. My husband and I were already pretty impressed just by the fact that we got to eat in the castle, but we were also delighted that Cinderella stayed in character really well despite the fact that two adults were getting their pictures taken with her.
She made me laugh when we approached her and she asked me if I was with my prince. When I told her yes, she asked for my permission to take his arm for the picture and said very sweetly, "Oh, I promise I will give it right back!" She then asked me if he still danced with me, and when I said he never has because he doesn't know how, she turned to him and said, "But it's always easy to dance with your one true love!"
It was adorable and my husband was very amused. After getting our pictures taken, we were led upstairs into the dining room where we took our seats towards the back. It was extremely sunny in the dining room and I was actually grateful we got to sit in the back and out of the sun, and I could still see everything in the castle dining room.

http://i480.photobucket.com/albums/rr161/Dayf1sh01/100_0843.jpg

Our server greeted us and brought us our water and menus and explained that we would be getting a tasting dish but we could order our entrees and desserts right away at the start. I ordered the pasta dish with the vegetables, which was the only vegetarian dish on the menu (they have another one for dinner, but I can't comment on how that one tastes) and the rice pudding with pistachio cream.

http://i480.photobucket.com/albums/rr161/Dayf1sh01/100_0844.jpg

When we were brought the tasting plate, they princesses were being introduced and entering the room. It was at this point my husband and I wished we actually had a daughter, because the experience felt a little lacking without one (though don't get me wrong, this was a really great experience...maybe in a few years or so, who knows).

http://i480.photobucket.com/albums/rr161/Dayf1sh01/100_0846.jpg

We had absolutely no idea what was going to be on this tasting plate so I was relieved that most of it was vegetarian, except for the piece of salami on the very, very bottom. There was only one piece of it, and we just completely steered clear of it. The grapes were really ripe and juicy, the bruschetta was...well, I've definitely had better but this wasn't bad. My husband ate all the cheese cubes and for the most part it was okay.
I don't think most people who eat here eat here for the food, and I wasn't expecting to even like the food but I was pleased with it. I had pretty low expectations for it and while it wasn't memorable cuisine the experience of eating in the castle and getting our pictures taken with the princesses was well worth the price.

http://i480.photobucket.com/albums/rr161/Dayf1sh01/100_0847.jpg

Sorry about the poor quality pictures...my husband and I really don't know how to take pictures. :rotfl: The pasta dish was large and I couldn't finish it all, and it came with a nice bit piece of garlic bread. I was content by the end of the meal but the best part was actually the dessert:

http://i480.photobucket.com/albums/rr161/Dayf1sh01/100_0856.jpg

This was the best rice pudding I've had in years. I looked around the dining room at the other desserts and they were all just as pretty as this one. The princesses didn't even skip a beat when they approached our table. We didn't have a child with us, but they took the time to talk to us and take pictures with us. When Princess Aurora approached the table she asked for my husband's name, and when he told her that it was Philip she gasped and said, "Did you know that I have a Prince Philip!?" She was great fun, and definitely our favorite of the princesses that visited us.

We were given our picture package before leaving and we both decided that we definitely had to go back again in October, though it wouldn't be for the food. Overall, it was the only experience that week where we truly felt like there was some pixie dust sprinkled around the air, a definite Disney moment.

I got a few last pictures of the castle before leaving the Magic Kingdom:

http://i480.photobucket.com/albums/rr161/Dayf1sh01/100_0858.jpg

Later that evening we ate dinner at our resort's food court, which happened to be just a couple veggie burgers and fries. It was really late, my husband was groggy and wanting to just go back to the room to relax before our early morning departure and I wanted to eat and use the hot tub. Before leaving the food court, the girl ringing up our meal noticed we had a bunch of snack credits left. She was very adamant (but extremely polite and friendly) about not letting us pay out of pocket for our meal and just rang it all up as snacks. The veggie burgers themselves were okay, nothing special but they were better than average.
I'm actually not sure if this was okay for her to do this (I really hope it was okay and she didn't get in trouble) but I greatly appreciated the effort she gave us even though it was nearing closing time and she looked so tired. I was just really impressed in general with Port Orlean's staff and I will definitely be back in October when we return.

Overall, we found it to be a bit of hassle to try to squeeze our vegan diet into our vacation. We really just wanted to relax and not worry about much since we do plenty of that back at home. But that's the kind of people we are. We're adaptable as long as it doesn't involved eating meat (excluding a little bit of shellfish on rare occasion). There are other vegan reviews around these boards that helped me a great bunch when deciding on where to eat.
If we could name one thing that disappointed us the most during the entire trip, it would be the service. The service just wasn't where we would have liked it to be, and I think if we had better luck with our servers we would have been able to pull off our vegan diet without as many hitches.
I know quite a few people who like to go with the flow when they're on vacation, and fortunately every restaurant we went to had a veggie option on the menu. By omitting a couple ingredients, many things can be make vegan.
Some meals I ate had cheese on them just for the sake that sometimes I really cannot resist it no matter how hard I try. Out of all the restaurants we ate at, we will probably only be returning to Cinderella's Royal Table, Boma and Tusker House on our next visit. Of course, these are all matters of opinion and I hope that these reviews helped at least a little bit for some of you. :)

A big thank you to Ehartman, Plasticletters and V_gan for their vegan dining reviews that I am sure many of you have already seen on these forums. If you're wondering why so many of the restaurants I chose echoed their reviews...well, that's why. Your reviews rocked, guys. While I wish I could have recreated ALL of their experiences in my own vacation, it wasn't bad. I think I'm going to take Plasticletter's recommendation next time and get them to put a food allergy note on my dining ticket. Good advice, thanks!

Next time I'm at the World I'm going to branch out and dip my toes into some other restaurants and try not to be so fearful, especially since the day we decided to wing it turned out to be the best day of all. Thanks for reading!

[Linda67]

Thanks for taking the time to write such great reviews
Hope you have a wonderful trip in October :)

[disney_princess_85]

Great CRT review! The Cinderella you met sounds really nice, the one we met was a good one too. DBF took quite a liking to her! :rolleyes:

Thank you for all your reviews, I've enjoyed reading them and I look forward to more in the future. :thumbsup2

Really? That's actually surprising to me because I actually have read some fairly rough things about the place, specifically about how the chicken was dry or the service was just really lackluster. Something that has to do with Wolfgang Puck himself not being involved with the restaurant anymore.

Just to clarify, I meant the counter service restaurant, not the table service restaurant. If that's what you meant, I've heard quite a few bad things about it too.

[ehartman4]

Out of all the restaurants we ate at, we will probably only be returning to Cinderella's Royal Table, Boma and Tusker House on our next visit. Of course, these are all matters of opinion and I hope that these reviews helped at least a little bit for some of you. :)

A big thank you to Ehartman, Plasticletters and V_gan for their vegan dining reviews that I am sure many of you have already seen on these forums. If you're wondering why so many of the restaurants I chose echoed their reviews...well, that's why. Your reviews rocked, guys. While I wish I could have recreated ALL of their experiences in my own vacation, it wasn't bad. I think I'm going to take Plasticletter's recommendation next time and get them to put a food allergy note on my dining ticket. Good advice, thanks!

Next time I'm at the World I'm going to branch out and dip my toes into some other restaurants and try not to be so fearful, especially since the day we decided to wing it turned out to be the best day of all. Thanks for reading!

Thanks for YOUR reviews! I'm glad there are vegans/vegetarians on here who can help each other :grouphug:

I've heard so many good things about Boma. I think Michael and I will have to go there next time!

[Vegcentric]

I'm sorry to hear that so many of your experiences were not up to the level they should have been. Our experience with the "Special Dietary Request" only worked for one of our ADRs. The thing that really seemed to save us was having the cast member we made our actual ADRs with note we are "vegan" on the ADR and list us as having "allergies" to dairy, eggs and shellfish. These notes made on the actual ADR caught all of our servers attention (as they are printed right on the table bill), the special dietary requests only made it to one of our restaurants.

Aw, no it was okay. I am really into your idea of marking them down as food allergies, though. I think we're going to attempt this and see what happens because we'd both really like to keep with our lifestyle while on vacation...even though I slipped up and ate a little cheese when it could have been avoided at some spots. Thanks for the awesome suggestion!


Thanks for taking the time to write such great reviews
Hope you have a wonderful trip in October :)


Thank you, and thanks for reading. I hope these were helpful!

Great CRT review! The Cinderella you met sounds really nice, the one we met was a good one too. DBF took quite a liking to her! :rolleyes:

Thank you for all your reviews, I've enjoyed reading them and I look forward to more in the future. :thumbsup2



Just to clarify, I meant the counter service restaurant, not the table service restaurant. If that's what you meant, I've heard quite a few bad things about it too.

Thanks a lot! I actually haven't heard a single thing about the counter service to begin with but since you pointed out that there hasn't been anything negative said about it, I think we may try to eat here when we go in October. We're always looking for places to eat in Downtown Disney.

Thanks for YOUR reviews! I'm glad there are vegans/vegetarians on here who can help each other :grouphug:

I've heard so many good things about Boma. I think Michael and I will have to go there next time!

Boma is our must-do for every trip just because I have never had a bad meal here and I love how different the food is. If you guys liked Tusker House, you will probably love Boma, though of course this is a matter of opinion and the service always waxes and wanes.
I do remember my trip in 2005 was extremely different from my trip in 2009 in terms of service. Every single host and hostess in 2005 asked us if we had any dietary restrictions or allergies up front so they could let the chef know, and this time around in '09 we even went out of our way to tell them and were still let down. I wonder what happened? I liked that they asked up front! :rotfl:
But lots of things at Boma are vegan and the people working there are always pretty nice and they would definitely tell you what is and what isn't vegan. I actually heard from a vegan blogger that he managed to get a sandwich wrap at Boma made for him using gardein chik'in. We eat this every now and then at home and it's really good and he mentioned the chef being a woman, but I can't remember her name. Oh well.
If you do decide to go to Boma, I left out a good bit of information from my review on accident - their house punch/juice whatever it is, is REALLY good.

[TillyMarigold]

http://i480.photobucket.com/albums/rr161/Dayf1sh01/100_0648.jpg

In this picture we have some spiced tandoori tofu, endive, apple and walnut salad with bleu cheese dressing, tunisian couscous and curried basmati rice.
I had heard many, many negative things about the tofu here and I just want to say...

It was pretty much as gross as everyone said it was. For some reason though I ate three platefuls of it (I was famished). The zucchini that was in with the tofu was horribly overcooked. It was mushy, and mushy zucchini is not appetizing zucchini. The tofu was shriveled up and dry. The tofu that was in my noodle bowl at Sunshine Seasons was much better than this tofu, and that isn't saying much. Someone really needs to rework this recipe, because it's not working.
I'm sorry you didn't like the tofu at Tusker House. It's the same tofu you can get with Picnic in the Park, and it was our absolute favorite QS food that we ate the whole trip. Ours was absolutely perfect. The zucchini was a little soft, of course (I mean, it was cooked, but still firm enough to need chewing) but the tofu was just the right level of firm and it had a nice spice level to it.

[Vegcentric]

I'm sorry you didn't like the tofu at Tusker House. It's the same tofu you can get with Picnic in the Park, and it was our absolute favorite QS food that we ate the whole trip. Ours was absolutely perfect. The zucchini was a little soft, of course (I mean, it was cooked, but still firm enough to need chewing) but the tofu was just the right level of firm and it had a nice spice level to it.

Aw, don't be sorry about it, I mean it wasn't THAT bad where I couldn't eat it. I ate three helpings of it so it was definitely edible, it was just...mushy and bleh. Perhaps it was just a bad day for someone in the kitchen? Or someone different cooked it? Endless possibilities with that one but I'd be willing to try it again just to be sure...

[lilpnutmama]

Thanks for your reviews! i am looking forward to vegetarian dining on my upcoming trip. I am too lazy to call ahead though so am hoping to just 'wing it'
my husband (omnivore and big meat guy) has no idea I've planned all of our adrs based on the vegetarian dining threads... bahaha

[prttynpnk]

Thanks for posting this! I love reading the veggie reviews because I love to see the chefs flex a bit and go freestyle!

[Vegcentric]

Thanks for your reviews! i am looking forward to vegetarian dining on my upcoming trip. I am too lazy to call ahead though so am hoping to just 'wing it'
my husband (omnivore and big meat guy) has no idea I've planned all of our adrs based on the vegetarian dining threads... bahaha

Hahaha, how sneaky of you! Just out of curiosity, which places did you pick?


Thanks for posting this! I love reading the veggie reviews because I love to see the chefs flex a bit and go freestyle!

No problem! I also like it when the chefs get creative. I once dated a chef, and it's always fun to see what they come up with when they're feeling ambitious.

[disnut1149]

Hi
Thanks for taking your time to write such great reviews with pictures. I don't eat any meat so I love to read all the veggie reviews!!

[sunny45]

Thanks for the reviews. Sorry to hear about O'hana. I guess Chef TJ is what makes it special for vegans.



When does Chef TJ work at O'Hana's? I am trying to figure out where to make ADR's for the 4 of us and would love to try O'hana's in the hopes of getting Chef TJ. My other choice is Boma's. We'll be eating quick service the rest of the time but I want to at least have 1 sit down meal for the 5 nights we're there.

Thanks for all the information on this thread!!

[Vegcentric]

When does Chef TJ work at O'Hana's? I am trying to figure out where to make ADR's for the 4 of us and would love to try O'hana's in the hopes of getting Chef TJ. My other choice is Boma's. We'll be eating quick service the rest of the time but I want to at least have 1 sit down meal for the 5 nights we're there.

Thanks for all the information on this thread!!

Okay, from what I have learned from past experience and from my veggie friends around here, you are going to want to call ahead of time and check in with the hostess before you sit down for dinner at 'Ohana to make sure Chef TJ is in. I heard he works Sunday - Thursday, and doesn't work on Fridays or Saturdays but this isn't guaranteed.
I went on a Thursday evening, and he wasn't there. Like anyone else, he can take sick days and go on vacation on a moments notice, so make sure you confirm he's there before you sit down at your table if you really have your heart set on having him prepare your meal. Sunday - Thursday seems to be his normal schedule. Hopes this helps :)

[sunny45]

Okay, from what I have learned from past experience and from my veggie friends around here, you are going to want to call ahead of time and check in with the hostess before you sit down for dinner at 'Ohana to make sure Chef TJ is in. I heard he works Sunday - Thursday, and doesn't work on Fridays or Saturdays but this isn't guaranteed.
I went on a Thursday evening, and he wasn't there. Like anyone else, he can take sick days and go on vacation on a moments notice, so make sure you confirm he's there before you sit down at your table if you really have your heart set on having him prepare your meal. Sunday - Thursday seems to be his normal schedule. Hopes this helps :)

Thanks for the advice. I want to make one backup ADR just in case he isn't there when we are. What would be the next best choice for vegan sit down dining, do you think Boma? Or is there a better choice?

Thanks.

[Vegcentric]

Thanks for the advice. I want to make one backup ADR just in case he isn't there when we are. What would be the next best choice for vegan sit down dining, do you think Boma? Or is there a better choice?

Thanks.

Both Boma and Tusker House will have you leaving stuffed!