Hit The Road, Jack
As a result of the Northeast blizzard, and after two days of flight cancellations with no hope of getting on a return flight from Fort Myers, Florida until New Year’s Eve, we decided to road trip it up the East Coast.
Eating fresh and/or healthy food on the road is tricky, especially if you’re trying to stay veggie. Here’s a handy recap of my meals over the course of about 1,300 miles in a day and a half:
This iconic Southern country store slash restaurant was always a favorite stop on the way back from Ithaca. However, back then, I would have ordered “eggs in a basket.” Since I now avoid eggs, I had to figure out an alternative from a menu where even the vegetable soup is made with beef broth and the veggie sides are cooked with ham. Yikes!
I ended up with the Country Vegetable Plate, consisting of a garden salad, corn, breaded fried okra, and mashed potatoes. I’m sure this wasn’t entirely vegan, so I utilized the “don’t ask, don’t tell” strategy so as to avoid starvation.
The [vegan] bottom line: Cracker Barrel is pretty much the opposite of vegetarian friendly; however, the service is friendly and accommodating, the menu is forthcoming about what is vegetarian and what is not, and there are salads and veggie sides that get you as close as possible to staying vegs on the road. That said, if you’re being extremely strict, you might end up with a plate of iceberg lettuce and a few chunks of tomato.
2. Ruby Tuesday
The main menu at Ruby Tuesday had very little in the way of vegetarian, let alone vegan offerings. The only items I could find that required no doctoring were the salad bar and the guacamole. However, the lunch menu had Vegetarian Mini’s (sliders) with BBQ sauce (hold the swiss cheese) AND salad bar for just around $8.99. What a steal!
I loaded up my salad plate with lettuce, chick peas, corn and black bean salad, grape tomatoes, zucchini, red onions, jalapeno peppers, and beets from the colorful spread. When the sliders came, they had a surprise dollop of mayo not mentioned on the menu, which was disappointing. Shouldn’t this be expressed on the menu or placed on the side, especially since it is a vegetarian item? Had we not been in a rush to get back on the road, this probably would have gotten sent back. Not to worry, though – I was able to remove it pretty easily and the black bean burgers were surprisingly fresh and tasty for a chain restaurant.
The [vegan] bottom line: Ruby Tuesday’s Fresh Garden Bar makes it pretty easy to have a hearty and fresh veggie meal; that said, the menu could be clearer and more veggie friendly. Ruby Tuesday’s really should have addressed this during its recent upscale re-branding, don’t you think?
I had a hankering for Chinese food, so I consulted Yelp to help me find a place in the Alexandria, VA area. Just a couple of miles from the road and with a few mixed reviews on Yelp, we decided to give The Magic Wok a shot.
One of the reason I love Asian food is because it’s easy to find tasty veggie options. The Magic Wok was magical indeed; for besides the typical vegetable dishes at a Chinese restaurant, it offered veggie alternatives for every single one of its seafood, pork, chicken, and beef dishes. I settled on “beef” with broccoli and a vegetable soup appetizer, and was pleased with both.
The [vegan] bottom line: The Magic Wok had typical, if tasty Chinese vegetarian/vegan options and oodles of veggie meats for those of us who like a little something heartier to gnaw on than a piece of broccoli. Not sure I’ll ever have a reason to go back, but I would definitely frequent this place if I lived in the area.
At the end of the trip I was tired, but well fed and happy to be home in the Northeast. And as for my next road trip? Well, hopefully, it will be by choice, not desperation.
Happy New Year, y’all!
Filed under: Restaurants, Travel, Vegan | Leave a Comment
Tags: cracker barrel vegetarian, road trip vegan, ruby tuesday vegetarian, yelp the magic wok
No Responses Yet to “Hit The Road, Jack”