Tips From A Traveling Vegan
Links included
I’ve been eating an entirely plant based diet for 15 months. In San Diego, very close to La Jolla, this was pretty easy. When I first converted some friends were concerned I wouldn’t be able to maintain this lifestyle as a frequent traveler.
I love when “friends” project their personal inadequacies on to me.
Unsolicited advice anyone?
Well you’re already reading so I take it you’re interested.
I’ve traveled to London, Ireland, Budapest, and many cities in the US and easily kept my vegan lifestyle. That’s right, 12 months ago I went to Europe! I know that’s hard to believe, but that’s not the point.
And while we’re on the topic of things that aren’t the point, this isn’t a post to share the benefits of plant based eating for any skeptics.
This is a post about where I have found THE best places to dine plant based in the US.
I was going to save this post for a later date after traveling to a few more states - but I had no idea Austin, TX was going to make my list of one of the most vegan friendly cities.
Yes, even more than San Diego.
Let’s get to the list of delicious plant based eats you MUST try.
One of the first plant based meals I had before I went all out plant based was Native Foods in Chicago. You’ll be happy to know this is a chain restaurant - so there just might be one near you!
I don’t remember what I ordered and I stopped using Yelp so I can’t go back and look.
Why did I stop using Yelp after using for 10 years? Because the restaurants that claim to be vegan are liars and Yelp doesn’t monitor that shit.
Uh hmm… excuse me. What I meant to politely say was that I switched to Vegan Maps which is only moderately better. It doesn’t give you all of your options because it won’t mention ANY restaurants that serve meat EVEN if they have an amazing vegan option.
Ok, now that you know how to find actual vegan food every time, let’s go to the next amazing place.
While visiting Seattle I went to Vitality Bowls for lunch because I love me some Açaí bowls 😋 I know you’re thinking that you have an açaí place down the street - and that’s great too! Soooooooo many foods are naturally plant based! Like fruit. Just one thing, honey isn’t considered vegan so you might opt for agave on your bowl depending on your beliefs about bees.
Hands down my favorite place to get plant based meals ANY TIME OF DAY is VegeNation in Las Vegas. I would even venture to say that you should travel there just to try it. I’m not going to say EVERY meal knocks it out of the park - but 80-85% of the menu is phenomenal. I know because I ate there everyday on a weekend trip to Vegas and once on the way to our Airbnb adventure.
Let’s talk sushi. San Diego has a fantastic vegan sushi place on Convoy called The Yasai. If you know anything about San Diego, you know Convoy is where it’s at when it comes to great food. I’m hoping to find a comparable option to this sushi place soon.
I have a teetering view of my next recommendation. It's a chain with multiple locations in the US called Veggie Grill. In the past they had so many amazing choices that it was hard to decide what to order. But after COVID, somehow their options became so slim I was left with only one thing on the menu I enjoyed ordering. I’m hoping this will change with time or a different state.
This next one I’ve mentioned before, but our fav vegan spot we enjoyed many meals at in Denver was Watercourse foods. Complete lifesavers for our Thanksgiving spread as well.
Ok, now let’s talk Austin, and most importantly, Mexican food. Holy Guacamole! Mission Street Burrito has the tastiest breakfast burrito quite possibly in the world. This thing is 1.5 lbs of pure deliciousness.
If you’re in the mood for a burger, which I realize many restaurants offer a vegan option, BUT these places have variations that will make you feel like you're at Eureka burger.
First one is Nom Burgers which has the best breakfast sandwich you’ll ever have. Breakfast is the best meal ever by the way. Second is Next Level Burger which also serves vegan milkshakes. Shout out to Nada Moo!
I'll leave you with this note. Just about every vegan place typically copies the names of food from a traditional carnivore diet. The gap in our expectations of what it is, and what we expect it to be can easily sway how we feel about the quality of our order. So set your expectations high but also reasonably.
If you enjoyed this post please let me know. I can post more tips beyond going out to eat for any plant based eaters.
