Vegan/Vegetarian Restaurant/Dining Help Thread

[rkrose1]

We ate at 1900 Park Fare on Nov. 11. Chef TJ walked me through the buffet to let me know what I could eat (I am also a Pescetarian).

He surprised me with some veg spring rolls and warned me not to eat too much at the buffet. Then he came out with the famous "tower." YUM!

The spring rolls were delish, and the veggies on the tower were perfect.

He took a picture with me, which I will spare you, and told him he was a legend on these boards. I was so excited to meet him, and was totally spoiled with these goodies.

 

[Teresa Pitman]

Thanks Danyella, I've been prepping for a couple of weeks slowly weaning out dairy (cheese being my downfall).

Have you tried Daiya brand vegan cheese? While we use it sparingly, it's been very well received around our house and by friends who are not vegan. It melts beautifully and is great on pizza, nacho chips, lasagna, etc.

Teresa

 

[Teresa Pitman]

How great to hear that Chef TJ is still working his magic!! He made me a birthday dinner in November of 2009 that I will never forget - SEVEN COURSES of vegan yumminess!! That's when he was still at Ohana's. People at other tables kept coming over to ask us what we were eating - it was all amazing. He really is a treasure.

Teresa

 

[s&k'smom]

Thanks Theresa I'm going to try and find it, there is a whole food market near my mom's I can check out.

 

[eeyore81]

Thanks for posting the Chef TJ food pics. Does anyone know his work schedule at 1900 Park Fare? We are trying to plan our trip and I wouldn't want to make a reservation for a night he doesn't work. Thanks!

 

[Li-sa]

I'm a writer who did an article on the animals at AK for an inflight magazine (it comes out this spring). I was able to spend a full day with the animal team at Ak and go around backstage to see how they are cared for and I have to say I was quite impressed. They spent a full year designing the animal habitats before any animals were brought in, and consulted extensively with experts about how much space and what kind of environment each animal needed....

I have been highly impressed by the dedication of the CMs caring for the animals, and by the lengths they have gone to to provide good environments for the animals in their care. I enjoy visiting that park more than ever because I know the animals are happy and well-cared-for. Would it be ideal for all animals to be free? Yes. But one of the CMs said to me that people are more likely to care about animals they know, and giving people a chance to see these animals at Disney may motivate them to be more concerned about protecting them.

Sorry this is so long!

Teresa

Thanks so much for your reply Teresa, I really appreciate it.
I loved the bit about the lion and his air conditioning! Some of our zoos in the UK are pitiful, despite animal welfare regulations...they make me want to cry

Thanks also to RKRose about chef TJ... that meal looks amazing. I hope he's still at Park Fare when we go, as I'm addding it to my DDP reservations short list!

 

[danyella522]

Thank for the pictures of park fare! Looks like we might be going Wednesday and Sunday haha YUMMY!

are you both pescatarians who don't eat dairy? We do that as well. My bf was raised macrobiotic and they include small amounts of fish (usually) into their diet.

 

[itsalebeau]

Thanks for posting the Chef TJ food pics. Does anyone know his work schedule at 1900 Park Fare? We are trying to plan our trip and I wouldn't want to make a reservation for a night he doesn't work. Thanks!

I've been working under the assumption that he is there Saturday through Wednesday....info via Vegan Satori from a few months ago. I made a reservation for Sunday night.

 

[LisaS]

I've been working under the assumption that he is there Saturday through Wednesday....info via Vegan Satori from a few months ago. I made a reservation for Sunday night.

We ate at 1900 Park Fare on Nov. 11.

Nov 11, 2010 was a Thursday so that conflicts with the info that he is there Sat - Wed. Anybody know for sure?

Also, for those that got those wonderful special meals, did you call ahead of time to let them know you were dining there that night or did you just show up and ask about the vegetarian options on the buffet? That "tower" looks delicious!

 

[itsalebeau]

Nov 11, 2010 was a Thursday so that conflicts with the info that he is there Sat - Wed. Anybody know for sure?

Egads you are right! I just checked where I saw that to make sure I wrote down the right info... I did, but that was back in July. Is it possible to call a restaurant directly?

 

[Li-sa]

Hi,

I've noticed that quite a few CS meals come with a Caesar Salad. Does anyone know if the dressing is already on the salad, or whether you can ask for it to be left off, and whether it's vegetarian (i.e. no anchovies)?

If the CS desserts contain gelatine, can they provide an alternative such as ice cream instead?

TIA

 

[eeyore81]

When we were at Pizza Planet we got the carrots from the kids meal in place of the salad. As for the dessert, almost every place had vegan cookies. A couple of places gave us apple slices/grapes in place of the dessert because they did not have the cookies.

Hi,

I've noticed that quite a few CS meals come with a Caesar Salad. Does anyone know if the dressing is already on the salad, or whether you can ask for it to be left off, and whether it's vegetarian (i.e. no anchovies)?

If the CS desserts contain gelatine, can they provide an alternative such as ice cream instead?

TIA

 

[rkrose1]

Nov 11, 2010 was a Thursday so that conflicts with the info that he is there Sat - Wed. Anybody know for sure?

Also, for those that got those wonderful special meals, did you call ahead of time to let them know you were dining there that night or did you just show up and ask about the vegetarian options on the buffet? That "tower" looks delicious!

Hello,

When I booked the ressie online, I marked the "allergy." I reminded the waitress when we were seated, and asked if someone could walk me through the buffet to let me know what I could have.

Chef TJ came out to show me the buffet, asked me a couple more questions, and surprised me with those wonderful dishes.

How nice!

 

[danyella522]

Just wanted to say we had a great time! Chef TJ was spectacular. I told him how is a celebrity in vegan world and he just laughed at me

We had chef Amy at V&A's who was very sweet. We gave her two options... move to Boston or deliver ;p

Ohana was not the same without Chef TJ. The food was okay but we only got one course. It was rice with some tempura and tofu. Oh and they brought out vegan ice cream with 3 raspberries on top for us to split. Gee thanks haha

 

[VeganCupcake]

I went in September to Ohana and was lucky enough to get Chef Julie! She hooked it up! She brought me salad free of the honey dressing, hummus & baba ganoush with pita chips, I had the noodles & steamed veggies(which I would've been fine filling up on - those noodles are to die for!) sweet&sour tofu, and she made me an ice cream sandwhich using rice dream, divvies, and a cherry on top smothered in chocolate syrup! Can;t wait for those noodles again in 2 weeks!

 

[steamboat_rachel]

I think Boma is the best place for vegetarian options, the wait staff was delightful and took us through the entire buffet saying what was vegitarian

 

[danyella522]

do they usually make special noodles for vegans? I thought the noodles were safe at Ohanas' and as I was forking some onto my plate the chef said 'you know those have egg powder on them right?' I said no... and he said he had no noodles available and all he could do was rice.

 

[itsalebeau]

So, do y'all think Crystal Palace would be awful for breakfast (vegan-wise?). It just sounds so cool to get the the park early and dine there...

 

[bicker]

Can't say about breakfast, but Crystal Palace is one of our favorite dinner spots, as vegetarians.

 

[Eeyore's Pal]

We ate dinner at Crystal Palace this past weekend and had a great experience. The chef walked us through the line and was very specific about what was truly vegetarian -- very careful to point out those hidden non-vegetarian items like chicken/meat stock, gelatin, etc. I do not recall his name, but he was a soft-spoken gentleman from Columbia (South America).

We also ate at Mama Melrose on Monday evening and had a similar positive experience. Chef Julie (I don't know if it's the same one from Ohana?) came to the table and reviewed the entire menu, offering to adjust dishes to remove non-vegetarian ingredients and to substitute sauces or sides where necessary. We had a great dinner!