Tower of Vegan Deliciousness and Other Vegan Disney Dining Reviews (August 2009)

[Twoboysnmygirl]

but when I was there about a year ago they had switched to some other type of patty. I didn't like them. They seemed more like grains and chucks of vegetables in the shape of a patty

Ooooh! Like a GARDEN BURGER?!?!?! This would make me VERY happy, I don't care for Boca and I thought that was what they were serving at the parks. Last Sept. at Cosmic Rays, I got one and it was rubbery and plain. I like garden or mushroom burgers. :yum

 

[Wall-E1]

I'm just the opposite. I love Boca Burgers and fake meat products that taste like real meat. I have been a vegetarian for over twenty years, but I still remember how delicious meat was. So, I love Boca Burgers, Quorn, or Morningstar Farm products. Oh well, plenty of other options at Disney.

You have gotten me really excited about Ohana. I'm not eating there this trip, but I am eating there on our December trip. After seeing those pictures, I can't wait.

 

[itchin2go]

HOLY %!@#!*@!!!!!!

I am vegetarian, but I'm more of a order-what's-on-the-menu type of girl. I HATE to call attention to myself.

THAT, my friends, is worth calling a bit of attention to yourself.

This is the first time I have ever wanted to curse in a post - not in a bad way. It's just - the whole 'Ohana review was yum-o-rific, and then ... THAT picture. And all I could think was HOLY !@#$!@#!!!!!

I had 'Ohana on our list of ADRs for our upcoming trip, but that was for my meat-eating husband. It's staying on the list, but now I am excited about it too!

Edited to add: After reading through the rest of this thread, it makes me sad that some people read about Chef TJ's GENEROUS efforts, and the EXPECT the same experience when they visit. 'Ohana's menu is basically a meat-fest, and anything off-menu that is delivered to your table is a bonus. Friends have told me that I will like the salad, the veggies and the noodles, and honestly, along with the bread, I'll be stuffed. IF I receive any generous "gifts" from the chef, that will be terrific.

 

[Plasticletters]

I'm just the opposite. I love Boca Burgers and fake meat products that taste like real meat. I have been a vegetarian for over twenty years, but I still remember how delicious meat was. So, I love Boca Burgers, Quorn, or Morningstar Farm products. Oh well, plenty of other options at Disney.

if you haven't tried it already (I know you listed the brand in the types you like) Morningstar farms bacon is pretty realistic (right down the the white "fat" and the red "meat" having two distinct flavors) as far as fake meat stuff goes, so if you liked bacon before, you'll like that. Yves "meatless pepperoni" tastes rather like real pepperoni as well (note: the Morningstar Farms bacon is NOT vegan, the Yves Pepperoni is).

I very much prefer patties that do not try to taste like meat, and leave the veggie taste intact, but I was not always this way. Those two products were the ones I liked the best years ago.

For those of you who want to try a "bacon substitute" but don't like the fake meat type, try pan frying thinly sliced tempeh. I've been doing this for years now and it is a great snack/breakfast.

 

[Plasticletters]

HOLY %!@#!*@!!!!!!

Edited to add: After reading through the rest of this thread, it makes me sad that some people read about Chef TJ's GENEROUS efforts, and the EXPECT the same experience when they visit. 'Ohana's menu is basically a meat-fest, and anything off-menu that is delivered to your table is a bonus. Friends have told me that I will like the salad, the veggies and the noodles, and honestly, along with the bread, I'll be stuffed. IF I receive any generous "gifts" from the chef, that will be terrific.

Just make sure you are there on a night that chef TJ works (sunday-thursday), mark that you are vegetarian on your reservation and he will come talk to you.

The house noodles and salad are actually really good and the bread (though not vegan) is supposed to be terrific (made with coconut!), the normal dessert is also supposed to be quite good (again, not vegan so we did not try it), it is some kind of bananas foster concoction. So even if you come on a day chef TJ is not working, being vegetarian probably is not so bad at 'Ohana

 

[onelilspark]

The MSF Bacon has a good Bacon to Veggie Bacon realistic flavor. But I don't know who designed the product. It tastes good, it doesn't look good.

My favorite of the MSF (which is Morning Star Farm btw) is the Sausage Patties. That's another that tastes like real meat. Honestly, you can put it in front of someone, not mention that it's meat-free and they won't know the difference!

The burger currently being used at most locations at WDW is the Gardenburger Malibu Burger. It's a food service only burger, not available in stores. It's the highest quality burger that GB makes. It's also "made from" Organic indredients. Prior to Kellogg's buying GB it was listed as an Organic burger, but Kellogg's is a little picky when it comes to putting labels on things (reasons why they won't claim things are Gluten free even when the product is naturally gluten free...it might come in contact with a machine that was used on a product that contains Gluten...) So now it's "made from" organic. So anything in the burger than isn't totally organic is pretty much natural.

Just don't ask me how I know

 

[Plasticletters]

So, because you only get one table service credit per day on the free dining plan (and we used up two credits at both California Grill and the Hollywood Brown Derby) we had run out of table service credits to use during our last 3 days. Originally I had booked us an ADR for the Rose and Crown Dining Room in the UK pavilion at Epcot during Illuminations, but after learning about their menu changed we decided not to spend money on a place that might not really be able to accommodate us (the Rose and Crown used to have a curry noodle meal which they have now phased out in favor of a vegetarian shepherds pie. This is good for vegetarians as it is more authentic British food - as opposed to what's POPULAR to eat in Britain but not native cuisine - but this is bad for vegans as the shepherd's pie is NOT vegan and cannot be made to be vegan, which the noodle dish was. They also used to offer vegetarian samosas as an appetizer, which they got rid of in favor of a scotch egg appetizer. Again, more authentic British food, but bad for vegans).

We had however saved up a significant amount of counter service credits (some days our meals were so big we didn't need to do anymore than share a lunch entree) and snack credits. It worked out that we could get counter service meals on the remaining days (we flew out in the late afternoon on our last day) and only have to buy one meal out of pocket. This worked out excellently.

We spent our first "counter service only" day at Epcot (our first Epcot day we only visited future world, this next day was to be strictly world showcase) and decided to get lunch at the Tangierine Cafe in the Morocco pavilion. There were a few different veggie options but we decided that the vegetarian platter had the most bang for the buck, it comes with tabbouleh, Hummus, green salad, moroccan bread, falafel, olive salad, tangierine couscous, and lentil salad. Since we knew the lentil salad had mayonnaise in it (our friends at allears.net have a handy - but incomplete, so don't rely on it exclusively - guide to that kind of thing http://allears.net/din/vegcsparks.htm) we asked that they leave it out. To our surprise they told us we could double our portion of anything else. We asked for more falafel and they said "oh...except falafel", so we got double tabbouleh. It came with baklava for dessert, which is did not have any dairy or eggs in it, but did have (of course) honey. Here's what the dish looked like.

Later in the day we went to the Japan pavilion to get a treat from the KakiGori Stand. KakiGori comes in tangierine, strawberry, cherry, melon, and rainbow (which is tangierine, strawberry and melon...I don't know why you don't get cherry too). We opted to share a rainbow KakiGori and it was delicious! KakiGori is basically shaved ice with sweet syrup on top. It is like a snowcone but the ice is less crunchy (it melts in your mouth) and the syrup has a VERY strong and sweet flavor. Emily and I were both surprised (and happy) at how the syrup tasted more like actual fruit than the artificial fruit flavors most of us are used to in sweet treats.

We headed to the Boardwalk after that and made a halfhearted attempt to find a counter service place there. We didn't have any luck (we were REALLY over there to check out the hotels anyway ) so we headed back into world showcase to get dinner in Morocco again (it was so good the first time!) and got another vegetarian platter (this time we shared it). I had been a bit suspicious about the moroccan bread the first time because it had kind of a buttery taste to it, so I asked this time if the bread had milk products in it. They told us that indeed it did and they brought a chef out to talk us through some other options. After a bit of a lengthy wait, the chef came out and said he could give us a "tortilla like" bread instead of the moroccan bread. We said that would be great, and got the platter this time with the "tortilla" (which was more like pita), and again with extra tabbouleh instead of the mayonnaise lentil salad. This time they also threw in a portion of saffron rice for us at no additional cost (maybe for the wait?)

After the meal, we stuck around to watch Illuminations (the Morocco pavilion is actually a great place to watch illuminations from! it doesn't fill up ridiculously quick like on the other side of the lagoon and there are great views on the water). The next day would be our last FULL day at Disney World (we had to leave mid afternoon on day 7 to catch our flight home).

 

[v_gan]

So, the pita bread that comes with the vegetarian platter isn't vegan? Sucks.

I don't suppose you asked about the falafel? I was thinking about trying the falafel wrap or sandwich or whatever it is on our next trip. I'm worried about the falafel now that I saw a Disney falafel recipe that contained egg. I don't know if it was just a recipe they give out, or one they use in the parks. I guess I'll just check whenever we go. (If they still have it, that is!)

I'm so sad the reviews are almost over! It's so nice to have new veg reviews to look at.

 

[onelilspark]

I love the Tangierine Cafe, it's so tasty! We're eating around the world this time for F&W, so my boyfriend is disappointed that we might not get to eat a meal there!!

 

[katrocity]

So, because you only get one table service credit per day on the free dining plan (and we used up two credits at both California Grill and the Hollywood Brown Derby) we had run out of table service credits to use during our last 3 days. Originally I had booked us an ADR for the Rose and Crown Dining Room in the UK pavilion at Epcot during Illuminations, but after learning about their menu changed we decided not to spend money on a place that might not really be able to accommodate us (the Rose and Crown used to have a curry noodle meal which they have now phased out in favor of a vegetarian shepherds pie. This is good for vegetarians as it is more authentic British food - as opposed to what's POPULAR to eat in Britain but not native cuisine - but this is bad for vegans as the shepherd's pie is NOT vegan and cannot be made to be vegan, which the noodle dish was. They also used to offer vegetarian samosas as an appetizer, which they got rid of in favor of a scotch egg appetizer. Again, more authentic QUOTE]

I'm so enjoying your posts! Did you post the rest of your meals elsewhere?

What did you guys do for breakfasts?

Thanks so much!

Kate

 

[ehartman4]

I'm so enjoying your posts! Did you post the rest of your meals elsewhere?

What did you guys do for breakfasts?

Thanks so much!

Kate

All of our other meals are described within various posts included in this thread.
Go to pages 1-4 to check them out!

We didn't usually eat breakfast since we ate such big meals the night before. Check our other reviews in this thread for more details.

 

[Lizzybear]

Great reviews of California Grill and Tangierine Cafe I like the idea of sushi made with avocado, my experience of it is only of the fishy variety! We loved the rainbow kakigori last trip, I think we had it twice

 

[ehartman4]

I don't suppose you asked about the falafel? I was thinking about trying the falafel wrap or sandwich or whatever it is on our next trip. I'm worried about the falafel now that I saw a Disney falafel recipe that contained egg. I don't know if it was just a recipe they give out, or one they use in the parks. I guess I'll just check whenever we go. (If they still have it, that is!)

I have never heard of falafel with egg in it. That is just strange to me! The falafel there DID taste differently than the falafel we make at home and eat at middle eastern restaurants, though. I hope it didn't have egg in it...

 

[Plasticletters]

So, the pita bread that comes with the vegetarian platter isn't vegan? Sucks.

I don't suppose you asked about the falafel? I was thinking about trying the falafel wrap or sandwich or whatever it is on our next trip. I'm worried about the falafel now that I saw a Disney falafel recipe that contained egg. I don't know if it was just a recipe they give out, or one they use in the parks. I guess I'll just check whenever we go. (If they still have it, that is!)

I'm so sad the reviews are almost over! It's so nice to have new veg reviews to look at.

The bread that automatically comes with the vegetarian platter isn't pita. It's very soft and fluffy with a hard crust (not unleavened like pita), they called it "Moroccan Bread". The tortilla-like thing they gave me as a replacement was more like pita.

I did not ask specifically about the falafel in Morocco, but the second time we ate there I was very specific about asking if ANYTHING in the platter had milk or egg products (which is how we got the tortilla/pita). We DID eat falafel somewhere else later on in the trip and I DID ask there. They assured me the falafel was vegan and when I received my meal, it looked and tasted the same as the falafel in Morocco (which, like emily said, is unlike pretty much any falafel I have had. It is a lot mushier than I'm used to, but I still liked it). We'll have the review of that "other" falafel restaurant up next!

 

[ehartman4]

Today was our second day at Magic Kingdom. For lunch we ate at El Pirata Y El Perico again. We didn't take a picture this time since we ate it before (check page 1) and also because my camera was running out of battery/memory. This time, we paid for the meal since it's the best deal with how much food you get. We love the tacos there!

Since extra magic hours were until 1am, we decided to take a break for dinner and go to Animal Kingdom Lodge to look around and eat at The Mara. When we got to Mara, we quickly noticed there was a falafel wrap on the menu. We told the man taking orders our dietary needs and he left to get the chef. It took a while for the chef to come out so we felt a little awkward just standing there where others grab their food. Once the chef came out, he told us that the falafel wrap was vegan, except for the sauce which could be easily left out. He also told us that we could get fruit in place of a dessert (they had refrigerators surrounding the area with beverages, fruit, and desserts). Awesome! He left to make our vegan-friendly falafel wrap while we went in search of fruit. Michael got watermelon and I got grapes. I also grabbed a bottle of cranberry apple raspberry juice to count for my drink (Michael got a fountain drink). We got our falafel and headed to the fixin's bar. We love fixin's bars! We loaded up on veggies and grabbed some crackers for a snack later...

It was really good and really filling. It was nice being able to add our own veggies.

Here is a nice story that happened while I got up to go get more crackers from the fixin's bar (Michael didn't tell me that this happened until way later). Michael heard some woman go up to an employee at Mara and said "THOSE people are ruining my dining experience" and pointed at our table. Ummm? Michael noticed that a few more words were exchanged (he couldn't hear) and the woman just sort of stormed off. Now let me tell you, Michael and I enjoyed our meals minding our own business. I think she was angry because we have facial piercings and tattoos. But come on, it's 2009. It's not like you NEVER see anyone with facial piecings and tattoos nowadays. I found this to be quite funny, but Michael thought I'd angry about it. That's why he waited to tell me. It's sort of strange that the way we LOOK can ruin someone's dining experience. That woman sucks.


Later on in the night we got hungry, and we didn't really want a full meal, so we grabbed a side of french fries from Cosmic Ray's...

(sorry, the rest of the pictures were taken on my cell phone)

They have a fixin's bar as well! We stocked up on sauteed mushrooms and pickles. The fries are good there! Not exactly healthy, but good, haha.

Up next, our last day

 

[v_gan]

I have never heard of falafel with egg in it. That is just strange to me! The falafel there DID taste differently than the falafel we make at home and eat at middle eastern restaurants, though. I hope it didn't have egg in it...

I doubt it did. Seeing that recipe online that was supposedly from Boma just got me worried. I'm thinking that's not the real recipe they use.

The bread that automatically comes with the vegetarian platter isn't pita. It's very soft and fluffy with a hard crust (not unleavened like pita), they called it "Moroccan Bread". The tortilla-like thing they gave me as a replacement was more like pita.

I did not ask specifically about the falafel in Morocco, but the second time we ate there I was very specific about asking if ANYTHING in the platter had milk or egg products (which is how we got the tortilla/pita). We DID eat falafel somewhere else later on in the trip and I DID ask there. They assured me the falafel was vegan and when I received my meal, it looked and tasted the same as the falafel in Morocco (which, like emily said, is unlike pretty much any falafel I have had. It is a lot mushier than I'm used to, but I still liked it). We'll have the review of that "other" falafel restaurant up next!

Good to know! Thanks so much for asking all the questions you did when eating out. It's so helpful The recipe I saw online was supposedly from Boma. So I'm hoping the chef I talked to knew what he was talking about when he said the falafel balls there were ok for vegans.

 

[bookmama]

OMG! This looks yumster. As a meatatarian this looks so lovely. Wish I could find a way to get this when I get there.

 

[v_gan]

Also - That is both hilarious and sad that that woman felt like you two were "ruining" her meal!

Really? She couldn't just look away? That's just ridiculous. I think you're both adorable!

 

[Plasticletters]

Since extra magic hours were until 1am, we decided to take a break for dinner and go to Animal Kingdom Lodge to look around and eat at The Mara.

I should mention that "the Mara" is Animal Kingdom Lodge's counter service restaurant. We got a chance to peak at Boma and Jiko as well (their table service places) and they looked amazing (maybe next time)!

I also grabbed a bottle of cranberry apple raspberry juice to count for my drink (Michael got a fountain drink).

This has nothing to do with being vegan, but I thought it was worth mentioning - I was expecting there to be some kind of lemonade or fruit punch drink I could have at the fountains, but when I got there everything was carbonated (my stomach can't handle carbonation) or "light" (IE: made with aspartame - which I also don't consume) so I ended up settling for water and coffee...which worked out well enough

Michael heard some woman go up to an employee at Mara and said "THOSE people are ruining my dining experience" and pointed at our table. Ummm? Michael noticed that a few more words were exchanged (he couldn't hear) and the woman just sort of stormed off.

I was so worried when that woman pointed at me! I didn't know what I had done. I checked the table, checked to see if my fly was open, tried to revisit the conversation Emily and I had together to make sure there was nothing possibly offensive/objectionable said (there wasn't). I got really upset that I had ruined this woman's meal and I didn't know what to do to make it better. I was considering talking to her, but she stormed off. I think the employee at the Mara told her more or less "there's nothing I can do, they're not doing anything wrong" and the woman got mad and left.

Later on in the night we got hungry, and we didn't really want a full meal, so we grabbed a side of french fries from Cosmic Ray's...

Boy is that place cool! There is an animatronic Alien called Sonny Eclipse that sings his lounge act to you while you eat! Lots of fun!

Something not food related, but really cool is that we were riding on the Astro Orbiter while "Wishes" was going off. One night watching wishes from 'Ohana, one night watching it from California Grill at our seat by the window, and one night ON the Astro Orbiter watching "Wishes"...not bad

 

[Lizzybear]

That woman does indeed suck! Me and the bf both have tattoos too and used to have a lot of piercings so we've certainly had our fair share of dirty looks and 'whispered so we can hear them' comments... I think some people need to get out more!