Vegan/Vegetarian Restaurant/Dining Help Thread

[DSNY4ever]

You want to think they are good because of the cost and how pretty they are but no.

So true...but man they make them look pretty! And I was bummed about the cobbler too (one of my usual favorites).

We found that you really need to have an understanding of what vegetarian (and or vegan) means to be able to explain it to the waiters because a lot of them would say "oh you can eat any of the desserts, there is no meat in there" and then when we would explain gelatin they would say oh I doubt they use that, but I can check...and then they would return to the table surprised with only one dessert option for us. They didn't always bring out the chef for us (which usually wasn't necessary anyway, mostly only for buffets) so we had to make sure the waiters understood our restrictions.

And counters service places really didn't know much at all and wanted you to look through the binders of ingredient info. This was hard when you have a hungry and impatient toddler in your party. My husband talked to one of the chefs at The Mara when it was empty one day and he said a lot of the counter service items are not made on site and are just delivered (especially the pre-packaged desserts and stuff), so the chefs don't know what's in those things.

 

[bumbershoot]

At the Animal Kingdom counter service was really hard. The little stand outside the Flights of Wonder show had the Pita Bread and hummus snack pack which was good, but there really wasn’t much to be found.

There's that one stand that's all vegetarian, though. I noticed that they moved it and took off the Vegetarian sign (was probably steering some people away from it) but the menu board was still the same. We were too full from Tusker and too hot and too tired (one meal and one ride and we went back to the resort) to try it, again, but they have some sort of vegetarian noodle thing and another thing or two there.



Wanted to mention the Wave for breakfast! I made reservations there for our recent trip based on one menu item, and then found out that the cheese grits were made WITH bacon. We kept the ADR anyway and our very helpful server told us that ANYTHING from the buffet that could be made vegetarian would be if we asked. So the kitchen made us a nice bowl of bacon-free cheese grits. Since I already know and trust Tillamook cheese (all but the very very aged white sharp cheddar is rennet-free) I was all over that. We all liked our breakfast buffet at the Wave, and the grits were a great addition to our normal breakfasty foods.


Also wanted to re-mention the soups at BOG. I loved the leek/potato soup SO much. DS had a bite and abandoned his pasta and red sauce, insisting we order him his own bowl. He was never a soup person and only recently expanded his horizons to ONE other soup. But this made him a convert.

DH had the french onion and said it was THE best FO soup he's ever had, and he used to eat the beef stock kind at snooty french restaurants. The server said that their chefs actually take the time, the hours, it takes to get the flavor of the onions, so they don't have to fake it with the beef stock. Yay them!

All we had there were the soups and then salads, but it was very good and we were happy.


Also wanted to mention that the topping on Le Fou's Brew is fine, in case that wasn't known. Might be called Toasted Marshmallow, but there's no gelatin (which makes sense because gelatin holds things in a shape, and there's no shape to be held in a topping). Of course, the Brew is so sickeningly sweet I don't think I'll ever have the need to have another, but at least it's safe.

 

[punkin712]

I hadn't even thought about the cobbler darnit.

Eh most Disney desserts are not good anyway. But if someone finds out that that pyramid shaped thing at Tusker has gelatin in it please keep it to yourself ok? That one is delish.

Let's just say that none of the mousse desserts at Tusker are gelatin-free.

 

[DSNY4ever]

Let's just say that none of the mousse desserts at Tusker are gelatin-free.

According to the chef there were only two desserts that were not vegetarian, one was the cobbler and I can't remember what the other one was (at least this was the case on the day we were there, I am sure they change it up sometimes). I don't remember this pyramid shaped thing- apparently I missed out. But I ate so much I don't remember

They have a new stand at the AK that will give you allergy dining info, but it was at the front of the park and we forgot to check there, by the time we got hungry we were too tired to walk back there. I wished we had checked there for info when we entered the park in the morning.

 

[marypoppins81]

There's that one stand that's all vegetarian, though. I noticed that they moved it and took off the Vegetarian sign (was probably steering some people away from it) but the menu board was still the same. We were too full from Tusker and too hot and too tired (one meal and one ride and we went back to the resort) to try it, again, but they have some sort of vegetarian noodle thing and another thing or two there.

Wanted to mention the Wave for breakfast! I made reservations there for our recent trip based on one menu item, and then found out that the cheese grits were made WITH bacon. We kept the ADR anyway and our very helpful server told us that ANYTHING from the buffet that could be made vegetarian would be if we asked. So the kitchen made us a nice bowl of bacon-free cheese grits. Since I already know and trust Tillamook cheese (all but the very very aged white sharp cheddar is rennet-free) I was all over that. We all liked our breakfast buffet at the Wave, and the grits were a great addition to our normal breakfasty foods.

Also wanted to re-mention the soups at BOG. I loved the leek/potato soup SO much. DS had a bite and abandoned his pasta and red sauce, insisting we order him his own bowl. He was never a soup person and only recently expanded his horizons to ONE other soup. But this made him a convert.

DH had the french onion and said it was THE best FO soup he's ever had, and he used to eat the beef stock kind at snooty french restaurants. The server said that their chefs actually take the time, the hours, it takes to get the flavor of the onions, so they don't have to fake it with the beef stock. Yay them!

All we had there were the soups and then salads, but it was very good and we were happy.

Also wanted to mention that the topping on Le Fou's Brew is fine, in case that wasn't known. Might be called Toasted Marshmallow, but there's no gelatin (which makes sense because gelatin holds things in a shape, and there's no shape to be held in a topping). Of course, the Brew is so sickeningly sweet I don't think I'll ever have the need to have another, but at least it's safe.

Did you check the soups weren't made with chicken stock? French peoples idea of vegetarian is to chop up ham and stir it in or serve fish. I struggled in disneyland Paris.

 

[DSNY4ever]

Did you check the soups weren't made with chicken stock? French peoples idea of vegetarian is to chop up ham and stir it in or serve fish. I struggled in disneyland Paris.

We asked about both soups when we were there and they were both fine- and I agree, they were very good! We are going to Germany this year and like you said about Paris- it will be a struggle I think we'll have to be a little go with the flow.

 

[bumbershoot]

Did you check the soups weren't made with chicken stock? French peoples idea of vegetarian is to chop up ham and stir it in or serve fish. I struggled in disneyland Paris.

At Be Our Guest they (those soups) are totally vegetarian. It has been reported that they are since BOG opened, and WDW doesn't generally mess around with calling things vegetarian when they aren't. An individual server might be confused, but Disney itself knows the differences. Our server wasn't confused, though, she knew EXACTLY what I needed and was very happy to reaffirm the info.

Remember, it's French style food in Orlando. It's not Paris.


If anyone wonders, the leek and potato soup at 3 Broomsticks at Universal's Islands of Adventure is vegetarian too.




The pyramid shaped things at Tusker are somewhere between a cookie and a brownie; they are something baked and then there's a sugar sauce drizzled on top. They are cinnamony or that sort of spice. So good.

 

[nansmama]

Wdw add gelatin to cupcakes? Noooooo! This can't be true. I was so looking forward to trying them all. Are there any that are veggie?

It's not in the parks, but Babycakes NYC in Downtown Disney has pretty good stuff and it's all vegan.

 

[marypoppins81]

It's not in the parks, but Babycakes NYC in Downtown Disney has pretty good stuff and it's all vegan.

Glad to hear since we plan a couple of visits to dtd. This thread is great.

 

[ralb81]

in about a week I visit this: veganfach de we have a small garden center and produce a herbal salt without chemnicals

 

[ralb81]

the cakes sound also well

 

[punkin712]

The pyramid shaped things at Tusker are somewhere between a cookie and a brownie; they are something baked and then there's a sugar sauce drizzled on top. They are cinnamony or that sort of spice. So good.

Oops...I think I got those confused with the zebra domes at Boma. Last time we were at Boma, the chef told me that any desserts with mousse (like the zebra domes) most likely contain gelatin. I assume that holds true anywhere in the parks, but maybe not. Sorry for any confusion!

 

[bumbershoot]

Oops...I think I got those confused with the zebra domes at Boma. Last time we were at Boma, the chef told me that any desserts with mousse (like the zebra domes) most likely contain gelatin. I assume that holds true anywhere in the parks, but maybe not. Sorry for any confusion!

I didn't even think you were referring to the pyramid things; thought it was just good info!

The adding-gelatin-to-mousse thing drives me nuts. It's only needed because they want it to look uniform and pretty, and they are taking shortcuts. It's so incredibly not needed otherwise. (this is a fairly common rant with me, LOL....gelatin and corn syrup are huge cooking shortcuts that drive me up the wall)



I'm not sure about other food courts, but the one at AOA has Babycakes cupcakes in their refrigerated section. In Feb we got a little plastic box of their mini cupcakes there. Tasty.

 

[duckcow]

I just wanted to thank everyone for his thread. My family is newly vegetarian (10 months!) and this thread has been so helpful for me when planning our disney trip for December.

 

[MellinMickey4333]

Babycakes is fabulous!!!

 

[Sehsun]

^ I love BabyCakes!

Recently I went to Sanaa for the first time. I found out they had separate vegetarian and vegan menus!! I was so excited.



I ended up getting the Sampler for Two - "Potato and Pea Samosas, Lamb Kefta Sliders, and a choice of Chana Tikki or Seasonal Soup." (Courtesy of Allears.net) My DBF ate the lamb kefta sliders, so I just have the two items in this photo:



DBF also ordered the Indian Style Bread Service, which was really good, too.

My favorite was the Chana Tikki!! Such a unique taste, great texture, very soft.

I've now been to Boma and Sanaa over at AKL, and so far I've been very impressed with the food at this resort and how they are so accommodating to veg*ns!

 

[Eclectic Goddess]

DF and I will be at WDW next February for the Princess Half Marathon Weekend. (We're running the 10k together on Saturday, then she's running the half on Sunday while I act as pit crew/cheerleader.) We're staying the week after, as well. I'm mostly vegetarian, and usually leave out the "mostly" when dining out to be on the safe side. DF is an omnivore who enjoys vegetarian food and is always concerned that I have good options.

Last time we were in Orlando together, I ended up eating a lot of salad, pasta, and veggie burgers. (I also have an aversion to onions and don't like mushrooms much, so that limits my veggie options.) This time, we're doing much more advance planning, and now I know how flexible most of the table service places can be, so I'm really looking forward to it. So far, I've picked restaurants based on online recs and looking through the menus, but I'd love some vegetarian-specific feedback.

ADRS:
Raglan Road - First night at WDW - we're getting in early in the evening after a long flight, and it looks like a fun place to get started.

Via Napoli - Saturday, late lunch to recover from 10k and pre-fueling (carbs!) for half marathon the next morning.

Flying Fish - Early dinner on Sunday, to celebrate finishing the races. I hope the dress code doesn't have anything against sparkly medals, because we'll definitely be wearing ours!

Brown Derby (Fantasmic Package) - Monday for a late lunch.


We don't have ADRs yet, but I'm also thinking we'll have at least one meal at Sanaa, Sci-Fi Drive-In, and possibly Tusker House. (DF isn't a fan of buffets, but I'm going to try and sell her on this one, because I've heard great things.) I'm also still assembling a list of counter service dishes, but since I don't need an ADR for those, I'm in no hurry.

Is there anyplace else that's not to be missed?

 

[porschegrl]

The last time we visited WDW, I was so excited to try Babycakes for the first time. It was so yummy, but unfortunately, we only got over to DTD once. Did I read somewhere that the Boardwalk Bakery also sells Babycakes items? Just one more reason to love the Epcot-area resorts!

 

[bumbershoot]

I don't know about Boardwalk, but the AOA food court had a multipack of mini Babycakes cupcakes when we went there.

Eclectic Goddess, will you be able to get the tofu noodle bowl at the Fantasmic lunch at HBD?


Tusker is amazing. LOVE it. And Sanaa is great. Doubt I'd go to Sci Fi for yet another veggie burger, again, though.

 

[Eclectic Goddess]

Eclectic Goddess, will you be able to get the tofu noodle bowl at the Fantasmic lunch at HBD?


Tusker is amazing. LOVE it. And Sanaa is great. Doubt I'd go to Sci Fi for yet another veggie burger, again, though.

Oh, I hadn't even thought that the tofu noodle bowl might not be on the lunch menu at Brown Derby. I'll have to double-check. Thanks for the heads-up!

As for Sci-Fi, I was thinking about the seared marinated tofu dish.

I'm saving any veggie burger consumption for last-minute-no-ADRs-I'm-starving-and-all-we-can-get-is-counter-service afternoons.