Vegan/Vegetarian Restaurant/Dining Help Thread

[winnieatepooh]

Just wanted to give my two cents about dinner at 'Ohana. I am a pescetarian but eat mostly vegetarian. I let the server know when I was seated that I am vegetarian (it's easier this way). I was able to eat the bread, the noodles & broccoli, and I was brought my own appetizer of pita chips with roasted red pepper hummus and baba ganoush. For my entree it was a humongous stir fry of potatoes, vegetables and tofu. It wasn't very good, but it wasn't bad either. Luckily my fiance doesn't like broccoli so I was able to eat all of that and a ton of noodles, plus dessert (and a lapu lapu ) so I left very full!

 

[DaymanX]

Last night we ate at Kouzzina by Cat Cora at Disney's Boardwalk.

For starters, I was disappointed to learn that the talented, creative, and vegan friendly Chef Miguel is no longer at Kouzzina. Our server told us he was there for a internship/residence starting last year, but recently left--apparently he is still in the area, but no longer working at a restaurant on Disney property. She did indicate that he may return at some point, so fingers crossed.

However, where as a custom meal was required in the past, Kouzzina now has a vegetable Briami over orzo pasta, which can be easily made vegan by holding the cheese.



We started with the pita and a selection of spreads (the hummus, olive tapenade, and eggplant are vegan). It was good, but they never give you enough pita bread. Thankfully the regular bread at Kouzzina is vegan.



Then I had the vegetable Briami. It was flavorful but simple. Definitely filling and nice to be able to order off menu (with that one slight modification).



For dessert, I inquired about the loukoumades, which are greek donut holes covered in honey (which I do eat). There was no dairy or eggs in the listed ingredients, so I ordered them. Unfortunately, they did not taste freshly fried and they were a little tough. My wife, who is much more well versed on Greek food, said they were the work loukoumades she had ever had. I thought they tasted like giant-sized versions of that sugar puff cereal I remember having as a kid.

All in all, the meal was good but not great. On our last trip, Chef Miguel was second only to Chef TJ in terms of wowing us, and he definitely showed equal passion and attention to our dietary needs. I think Cat Cora would definitely benefit from getting him back at Kouzzina, but as it stands, I give the meal I had last night a vegan 6 rating.

 

[DaymanX]

Today we took the Keys to the Kingdom tour, which included lunch at the Columbia Harbor House in Disney's Magic Kingdom.

I'd heard about the hummus sandwich before, and I was pretty sure it wasn't vegan. We looked at the ingredients list (which I love is so readily available) and it included egg and dairy in the broccoli slaw inside the sandwich. I'm also not a huge tomato fan, so I skipped the as well.



As you can see, what I got was essentially garlic hummus between two pieces of toast. This wasn't bad per se, but I'm glad it was included in the price of our tour. I'd feel silly using a Quick Service credit on it, but at least it included french fries.

I'm sure it's marginally better with tomato, and vegetarians seem to love it with the broccoli slaw, but for a vegan, I would rate this a 3--satisfying as a snack maybe, but hardly a meal.

 

[DaymanX]

Tonight we had dinner at Ohana at the Polynesian Resort.

I'd read about it in this thread and knew it was a family style restaurant that leaned heavily on grilled meats, but I'd heard about the tofu stir fry and how Chef TJ first came to everyone's attention for his vegan meals when he worked there.

When we sat down, in close proximity to the grilling station, my wife was panicked that we'd made a huge mistake dining here.

Thankfully, that was not the case.

Chef Brandon came out to talk with us, and they are very used to special diets. We weren't made to feel weird asking for vegan food for me and vegetarian food for my wife. Chef Brandon explained what he would be bringing us, including salad, vegan pita chips with two kinds of hummus , the tofu stir fry with potatoes, peppers, onions, broccolini, and mushrooms, as well as dessert (bread pudding for my wife and a vegan sundae for me). That calmed our nerves substantially.

The salad had a honey lime dressing that was tasty and made me thankful I eat honey, but it was just a simple salad of letter and carrots.



The pita chips were a bit tough, but the hummus was very good.



The stir fry was different than an Asian stir fry, which we really appreciated. It had a nice, mellow flavor, and the inclusion of potatoes and tofu made it a great comfort food. The portion was very generous, and we finished almost all of it.



While not a Chef TJ dessert tower, the sundae was a very nice mix of vegan cookies, raspberries, vanilla Tofutti ice cream, and Hershey's syrup.

(I'm assuming that the noodles aren't vegan because we weren't brought any?)

Overall, I really liked the vegan food at Ohana and my wife and I both agreed that it was substantial, filling, tasty, and comforting. My only word of caution for some would be that you're going to be *around* a lot of meat if you eat at Ohana, but if you're not in front of the grilling station, it shouldn't be bad at all.

I give Ohana a vegan rating of a 7, and definitely recommend using a Table Service credit here.

 

[tripletsmama]

I started a thread with a question about breakfast options, but thought someone here might know more. If the breakfast you order comes with bacon or sausage, are they willing to substitute something else? I'm specifically wondering about Kona Cafe. Thanks!

 

[DaymanX]

After reading this vegan tips post, I decided to try the Liberty Inn at the American Pavilion in EPCOT.

Unfortunately, that post is wrong. Thankfully I asked to check the ingredients of the veggie burger and it has egg whites in it.

They also had chili on the menu, but it had beef in it.

So it's confirmed: the Liberty Inn at the American Pavilion in EPCOT doesn't have anything vegan.

On a related note, one thing I'm noticing this trip is that Quick Service options change frequently. Some QS recommendations and vegan food I got last year is no longer being served. To be safe, ask them to break out the binder so you can check the ingredients yourself!

 

[DaymanX]

Finally tried the Trick'n Chick'n Curry with Basmati Rice at EPCOT's Terra booth.



This is easily one of the best things I've eaten this trip. The curry taste actually isn't strong (it just coats the chick'n), but the red sauce is tangy and spicy. I easily ate two of these back to back--that's how good they are.

Also: the chick'n is not as dense as other Gardein faux chicken I've had, and that was an improvement.

If you're visiting Food & Wine, you *have* to try this! I give it a 9--and for a vegan, it's certainly the best use of a snack credit so far.

 

[Sehsun]

I had the Vegetarian Plate at Sunshine Seasons recently. It was one of the items in the grab and go fridge section, which also had other vegetarian items available (yay!).

I really enjoyed it! It reminded me a lot of the vegetable platter at Tangierine Cafe in Morocco. It came with pita bread, hummus, tabbouleh, couscous, and two cabbage leaves. Also it came with the orange dip in the middle, which was an interesting taste.

The portion size was more manageable than the vegetable platter at Tangierine Cafe. I paired this with some strawberry Greek yogurt, also available in the same section.

 

[Laura]

That looks great!

 

[LisaS]

Finally tried the Trick'n Chick'n Curry with Basmati Rice at EPCOT's Terra booth.



This is easily one of the best things I've eaten this trip. The curry taste actually isn't strong (it just coats the chick'n), but the red sauce is tangy and spicy. I easily ate two of these back to back--that's how good they are.

Also: the chick'n is not as dense as other Gardein faux chicken I've had, and that was an improvement.

If you're visiting Food & Wine, you *have* to try this! I give it a 9--and for a vegan, it's certainly the best use of a snack credit so far.

We had the Trick'n Chick'n at least twice (I think DH had it three times) during our recent stay! We also enjoyed the Chili Colorado, the other vegan option at the Terra booth. While not vegan, the vegetarian Spinach and Paneer Pocket at the South Africa booth was good too. We've been to the F&W festival three times and this one has been the best so far for vegetarians.

In your 'Ohana review you posted the hummus photo twice. I would like to see your photo of the stir fry dish if you get a chance to edit your post. Thanks for the great reviews!

 

[LisaS]

After seeing The Pointer Sisters at Eat to the Beat, we had a quick snack tonight at the Terra Booth at EPCOT's Food & Wine Festival.

We got the Chili Colorado with House made Chips & Cashew Cheese, which has Gardein beefless tips in it. It is a relatively small "taster" portion, but you can use a snack credit for it.

The chili tasted good, but it wasn't very chili-like (in the traditional sense). The cashew cheese was a sauce drizzled over it, and the chips were kettle-style potato chips (for some reason I'd assumed they would be corn chips).

We enjoyed this too and I thought the name "Chili Colorado" was just that, a name they invented for this dish for the festival. I googled it hoping to find the recipe online and discovered that this is a vegan version of a meat dish of the same name that looks very similar, chunks of meat with a coating of chili sauce on them. I had never heard of it.

It was tasty and I'm glad Epcot is doing this. There wasn't much of a line though, which makes me wonder how it's doing. They also really weren't promoting the vegan aspect on the booth signage, which probably is a net positive in attracting omnivore customers, although it's a shame that a lot of vegans probably don't know it exists.

We overheard an interesting conversation while standing near the Terra booth. A woman with her DH and two kids walked up to the menu sign, took a look and then said "Oh, this is the booth with the fake food. I'm not eating that." Another woman standing next to the sign explained that it wasn't "fake food', it was protein from plants instead of animals and that the Trick'n Chick'n was one of the tastiest things she had tried at the festival. The first woman said something like thanks for the information but "it's not for me" or something along those lines. It made me a bit sad that it's so difficult to overcome some people's prejudice against trying something different where meat substitutes are concerned. (And what would it have cost her just to see what it was like? $3.75?) To me, that's part of the fun of the festival -- trying new things.

Fortunately not everyone we came across was so closed minded. We ate at the Terra booth several times and usually ended up sharing a table with another couple. Everyone was raving about the food and many of them were not vegetarians but just people who have been reducing the amount of meat in their diet.

 

[nansmama]

I had the Chick'n curry. It was great!

Sehsun, can I ask how much the vegetarian plate was?

 

[DaymanX]

I'll edit and update the Ohana post later. At 50's Prime Time right now.

Also, I have super exciting news about something new, delicious, and vegan in a park that I'll post when I catch up on my reviews in a bit.

 

[winnieatepooh]

I started a thread with a question about breakfast options, but thought someone here might know more. If the breakfast you order comes with bacon or sausage, are they willing to substitute something else? I'm specifically wondering about Kona Cafe. Thanks!

On my most recent trip at QS spots anyways I was able to substitute the meat for a biscuit, potatoes, or fruit very easily! I'm sure at a TS restaurant they would be much more willing to give you a substitute!

 

[DaymanX]

Here is a picture of the Ohana Vegan Stir Fry:



We're going to try and eat there a second time this trip. Been craving it!

 

[DaymanX]

Art of Animation Resort - Vegetarian & Vegan Options

We decided to venture to AofA today and they have some very interesting vegetarian Quick Service options: Tandoori Squash with Cailiflower, Paneer, and Naan. Also, a house made veggie burger with a fried green tomato slice on top.

I spoke with a chef and neither are vegan (butter, milk, egg whites). But she was very nice and offered to make me a veggie stir fry or vegetable pizza with soy cheese. Waiting on the latter while I post this.

So definitely worth the trip for vegetarians, but vegans can be accommodated.

Edited to add: Babycakes Vegan Cupcakes are available in the refrigerator case, however. So while my custom vegan meal was only okay, it was awesome to be able to get a pack of 4 vegab Babycakes mini-cupcakes for dessert using a Quick Service credit.

 

[LisaS]

Here is a picture of the Ohana Vegan Stir Fry:



We're going to try and eat there a second time this trip. Been craving it!

Thank you so much for posting this. I've been trying to convince my DH to give Ohana a try. He likes to have some idea up front what he's going to get so this is a huge help!

 

[rani8600]

I started a thread with a question about breakfast options, but thought someone here might know more. If the breakfast you order comes with bacon or sausage, are they willing to substitute something else? I'm specifically wondering about Kona Cafe. Thanks!

Hi! I just ate there on my last trip and had a great experience. I have the full review plus pictures in my trip report

Trip report day 6

 

[danijake]

Has anyone eaten at Be Our Guest yet? They have one item on the menu that looks to be vegan.

Layered Ratatouille - oven-baked zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms, tomatoes and caramelized onions sliced and layered with quinoa served with a bell pepper sauce $15.99

Has anyone tried it? Or did the chef make you something else?

 

[vdub322]

Has anyone eaten at Be Our Guest yet? They have one item on the menu that looks to be vegan.

Layered Ratatouille - oven-baked zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms, tomatoes and caramelized onions sliced and layered with quinoa served with a bell pepper sauce $15.99

Has anyone tried it? Or did the chef make you something else?

I am wondering this too, as we have a reservation here on 1/25. This item sounds pretty yummy, but I would love to hear what others have experienced. Hopefully we can get some information soon!