Calling all Vegetarians - What are your favorites, what where the biggest surprises?

[chamonix]

Oh, that reminds me, my favorite MK snack is a samosa from the eggroll cart in adventureland. Yes, it's not always open, and they are sometimes out of the samosas too (that's Ok, we always come back a short time later for some--they're worth walking back for!)

I don't know if these are fully veg or not, they may have chicken broth in them or something, but they are filled with peas and potatoes in curry. Yum.

 

[Tabetha]

My sister and I really enjoyed the "Amber Waves of Grain" dish at Liberty Tree Tavern - we ate that for dinner while our mom ate the usual fare of turkey and whatnot.

We were pleasantly surprised when we found some pretty decent steam buns at MGM - made a yummy little snack!

 

[Amphigorey]

I'm looking for recommendations from other vegetarians as to what are your favorite places to eat in WDW.

Also what restauarants had you thought would not be very good for a vegetarian and surprised you?

My favorite places are California Grill and Jiko, especially the latter because it actually has more than one thing that I can eat on the menu without alteration!

Of course, any Disney restaurant will happily make you a special dish, but it does make things easier when you don't have to modify, or when the modifications are small.

I tend to not have very good luck at Downtown Disney, probably because most of the dining options are outside vendors and not Disney. At the moment, my best option is the pumpkin-sage ravioli at Wolfgang Puck's takeout at the West Side.

For quick service, I tend to go for Columbia Harbor House, because there's the vegetarian chili (no longer in a bread bowl, unfortunately) as well as the tasty sandwich. To my dismay, none of the restaurants on property (on stage, anyway; the cast cafeterias are different) serve actual Gardenburgers; they all serve Boca burgers. Bocas are great for some people, but not for me; I can't abide the taste of meat, and they're made to taste like meat. I'd much rather have a veggie burger that tasted like a veggie burger!

A couple of years ago, I had a wonderful dish with (among other things) beets and goat cheese at, of all places, Le Cellier, but it seems to no longer be on the menu.

The 50's Prime Time Cafe, which you would think would be very meat-oriented, turned out to be surprisingly good for vegetarians. I think the last time I was there I had a very tasty pasta dish with fresh vegetables and a lemon cream sauce.

I've always enjoyed the Restaurant Marrakesh, but the last time I was there, I found a piece of chicken in my vegetable couscous! It was upsetting, especially as I'd already eaten half the dish. The waiter assured me he'd take care of it, but when the bill came he'd only taken 20% off (the standard cast member discount). Since that came to about $6 and the price of the couscous was $20, this was not sufficient. I felt a little weird about complaining, but I was not about to pay for contaminated food, so I went to the front and had them take the whole dish off the bill.

 

[iankh]

That Tusker House sandwich is HUGE! plus a giant bunch of grapes. Sadly much of the rest of AK doesn't cut it for veggie food - I am holding out hopes for the new restaurants to come there . How about a nice veggie curry?

You know, I've always thought it was really odd that the worst place in WDW for vegetarian food is AK. I mean, you would thing that being surrounded by animals there would be more choices of food that was flesh free.

 

[barbeml]

You know, I've always thought it was really odd that the worst place in WDW for vegetarian food is AK. I mean, you would thing that being surrounded by animals there would be more choices of food that was flesh free.

ITA! AK would be a wonderful place for a vegetarian restaurant encompassing cuisine from Asia & Africa.

 

[bavaria]

You know, I've always thought it was really odd that the worst place in WDW for vegetarian food is AK. I mean, you would thing that being surrounded by animals there would be more choices of food that was flesh free.

You know, I told the powers that be at AK exactly that!!! and as I posted a while back, the noodle place near Kali didn't have a veggie item on the menu for awhile. When I asked if they had one, the server asked if I was one of 'those animal rights people' in a rather disgusted voice....

Amphigorey, I really encourage you to try Raglan Road at DTD - I have always had great success there and schedule business meetings there. I try and dine there at least twice during my vacation trips.

Also Le Cellier's menu chagnes VERY frequently, they had an open ravioli last August and by October it was gone. So give it another try if they don't have what you like.

I finally tried Amber Waves of Grain at LTT in Dec; I was so disappointed as my dish was so salty that I couldn't eat it. I'd heard such great things about it, guess that it was a bad day in the kitchen.

And re Marrakesh - yuck! I don't meat because of a chronic health issue, and often get very ill if I 'accidentally' have the wrong thing. That's very dangerous and I would have brought it up. 20% was not a great discount, but the fact that it was there was more disturbing.

I agree about Gardenburgers - I don't like the taste of meat and that's why I don't like Boca Burgers. Years ago DL didn't serve ANY veggie burgers (I got that changed!) and a CM actually went to the cast kitchen and got me one because he was so embarassed that they didn't serve any veggie options.

 

[maddhatir]

Oh, that reminds me, my favorite MK snack is a samosa from the eggroll cart in adventureland. Yes, it's not always open, and they are sometimes out of the samosas too (that's Ok, we always come back a short time later for some--they're worth walking back for!)

I don't know if these are fully veg or not, they may have chicken broth in them or something, but they are filled with peas and potatoes in curry. Yum.

GET OUT!! I had NO IDEA they had samosas! they are my fave when i go to the indian restaurants!! i dont think they have any chicken broth in them-- not at the indian restaurants anyway-- WOW- i hope the cart is open when we are there in sept!

anywho---- i would say the most SURPRISING (did not say the best- but pretty darn good!) meal was believe it or not at the sci-fi, it was the

Vegetable Potato Bake - Layers of grilled vegetables, portobello mushrooms with a shredded Potato Crust $13.99-- i cant believe i ate all of it.

My FAVORITE- is the gnocci pomadoro at Alfredo's not sure if it is on the menu-the waiter may have just suggested it for me.

and the Lighthouse Sandwich - hummus with tomato & broccoli slaw $6.349
at the Columbia Harbour house was tasty. i dont usually eat there- but i had it when we stopped for lunch during the KTTK tour.

 

[bavaria]

Wow that potato dish at SciFi sounds good!!!

Now, don't get too excited about the samosa, if they are the same as at F and W. I had read a review here, and was disappointed too. (I live in a city with a very large South Asian population and I eat Indian 2-3 times/week when I am home; my former place of work used to serve the best veggie samosas). The ones at F and W were very dried out and not really tasty, sorry to say!

 

[LisaS]

{...] I really encourage you to try Raglan Road at DTD - I have always had great success there and schedule business meetings there. I try and dine there at least twice during my vacation trips.

I am so happy to hear there are veggie options there. I looked at the menu posted on allears when Raglan Road first opened and didn't see anything we could eat. I was so disappointed because we very interested in having dinner there on our trip this May. Looks like I need to revisit our dining plans for our this trip!

 

[doberlady]

OK, now I am starving!

 

[bavaria]

I am so happy to hear there are veggie options there. I looked at the menu posted on allears when Raglan Road first opened and didn't see anything we could eat. I was so disappointed because we very interested in having dinner there on our trip this May. Looks like I need to revisit our dining plans for our this trip!

ooooh Lisa do I have to drag you to Raglan Road in May???!!!!

I was there the day they put the veggie risotto on the menu recently..mmmmmmm

Before then I used to order the soup, and the potato mash and asparagus and anything else they wanted to put on the plate.

For lunch, the risotto is not on the new lunch menu, but they will make it. I also had the Irish breakfast sans meat.

And great desserts!!!!!!!

 

[LisaS]

ooooh Lisa do I have to drag you to Raglan Road in May???!!!!

I was there the day they put the veggie risotto on the menu recently..mmmmmmm

Before then I used to order the soup, and the potato mash and asparagus and anything else they wanted to put on the plate.

For lunch, the risotto is not on the new lunch menu, but they will make it. I also had the Irish breakfast sans meat.

And great desserts!!!!!!!

Sounds great! We're taking my mom to WDW in May. She's of Irish descent so I really want to take her there. DH wants to try the beer so I figured we would go to Raglan Road for a drink if nothing else. But I really wanted to have dinner there. I already have ADRs booked for every night of our trip so I'll have to see what I can do. If it doesn't work out for this trip, we'll be back in December.

Too many restaurants.... too little time!!

 

[amarberry]

Just bw aware that at Kona, the noodle/rice bowl is served in a tortilla shell which is deep fried in the same oil as chicken fingers (as are their fries). You can ask for no shell, or shell to be cooked in fresh oil but that will take extra.

I can't say for sure about the tortilla shell, but I do know that when we ate at Kona in January, we were told by one of the chefs that the french fries are cooked in a seperate fryer than the chicken fingers (DD has severe egg allergy).

 

[amarberry]

So Tusker House veggie sandwich fans....are you talking about the sandwich on the focaccia bread (I had this one last Sept.) or the pita bread sandwich (I had this one in January). I thought that the focaccia bread sandwich was incredible! The pita bread sandwich...inedible .

Another big fan of the Lighthouse Sandwich at CHH! Personally, I think that and the vegetarian platter at Tangerine Cafe are the best veggie CS meals.

As for TS meals...Boma is at the top of the list! I'd say our better veggie meals were at Le Cellier, Crystal Palace, Kona Cafe and Coral Reef. I was underwhelmed at California Grill , Spoodles, and Akerhaus.

I'm very happy to hear about the veggie entree at Raglan Rd. I know that DH would like to try it, but I didn't see any veggie entrees on the menu.

 

[chamonix]

Now, don't get too excited about the samosa, if they are the same as at F and W. I had read a review here, and was disappointed too. (I live in a city with a very large South Asian population and I eat Indian 2-3 times/week when I am home; my former place of work used to serve the best veggie samosas). The ones at F and W were very dried out and not really tasty, sorry to say!

I never had the samosas during the Food and Wine fest, but I will agree that the ones from the cart in adventureland certainly aren't the "best ones I have ever had", LOL, but they are better than many of the other choices for a snack in the parks. To make them even tastier, we stopped by the Tomorrowland Noodle Station on the way and filled up a small condiment cup with the asian chile/hot sauce there, then took it over to dip the samosas in.

 

[Laura]

So Tusker House veggie sandwich fans....are you talking about the sandwich on the focaccia bread (I had this one last Sept.) or the pita bread sandwich (I had this one in January). I thought that the focaccia bread sandwich was incredible! The pita bread sandwich...inedible .

I heard they changed the veggie sandwich at Tusker. What was the pita one like? We're eating at Boma for dinner on our AK day, so I may skip Tusker's sandwich if it sucks that much and just grab a pretzel and fruit or something instead. I'd rather fill up at the buffet!

It is so ironic that AK is the worst park for us veggies.

 

[bavaria]

A few weeks ago I went to Tusker House and passed on the new sandwich. Not appealing looking. Did my usual wandering around every food location there (except Rainforest Cafe) and ended up going to AKL as usual for the excellent hummus and pita chips at the Mara instead.

Hopefully the two new Landry restaurants in AK will offer some veggie items... Why couldn't they do an African curry in Tusker House for instance? and don't suggest a cheese pizza please as the dairy makes me ill. Nothing on offer at Flame Tree every time I look.

While WDW has improved the veggie options elsewhere, AK is still sadly lacking.

 

[amarberry]

I heard they changed the veggie sandwich at Tusker. What was the pita one like? We're eating at Boma for dinner on our AK day, so I may skip Tusker's sandwich if it sucks that much and just grab a pretzel and fruit or something instead. I'd rather fill up at the buffet!

It is so ironic that AK is the worst park for us veggies.

It was such a disappointment, especially since I was expecting the old veggie sandwich. The pita bread was very hard and very dry. I usually don't care for pita sandwiches unless the bread is very fresh or has been toasted or grilled. The filling reminded me of a greek salad with bottled salad dressing drenched all over it. It was also quite small (not much fit in the pita pockets) which didn't really matter since I had to force myself to eat what was in front of me. I asked one of the CM's why they got rid of the old veggie sandwich and he told me that there was too much labor involved in the preperation of the old sandwich.

I think I might follow your idea and just skip a meal at AK (or steal DH's dessert from his lunch!) instead of wasting a CS credit at that park. Too bad, the old veggie sandwich was probably one of the better CS meals. Maybe I'm pathetic or I don't have enough to think about in my life, but I feel like I mourn for the old veggie sandwich at Tusker House...bring it back!!!!

 

[amarberry]

What is everyone's favorite CS meal at MGM? We struggle everytime we are there. I've had bad experiences with the tabouleh wrap at ABC Commissary and I heard somewhere that the Vegetable Stir Fry has a beef base (anyone know if that's true?). The Vegetable Sandwich at Backlot Express was okay, but not great. Has anyone had anything that they would recommend?

Thanks fellow veggies!

 

[Tigger&Belle]

San Angel

So San Angel is good now? It's been years since I've been there--last time the chef came out and wasn't too pleased that he had to cook special rice for us (the normal rice had chicken stock). The knew we were coming and were supposed to have made special rice, but they didn't get the message (or he didn't care). The food was very sub-standard. That was about 5 years ago and we haven't been back. My DD wanted to go in January, but I just couldn't bring myself to go back.

We did have a good meal at Sci Fi, which surprised me since I'd always heard that their food was bad (meat and vegie). I always enjoy Boma for both breakfast and dinner.

Maybe I'll make it to Tony's this trip (10 days and counting...).