I don’t know about you but 7-11 seems like a place I would assume vegan options would be limited to salted peanuts and sour patch kids. Until now, that is.

Yesterday, 7-11 made headlines for announcing an expansion to their prepared food lineup that included four (count ‘em – four!) vegan options. What’s more, this isn’t just a few salads and a pbj here. We’re talking real, inventive, flavorful food!

The new vegan lineup includes:

• Vegan Pad Thai Noodles
• Vegan Spinach Noodles with Vegetables
• Vegan Asian Linguine
• Vegan Linguine Tikka Massala.

7-11 has actually been offering a similar selection of vegan foods in the New York area for quite some time. Yesterday’s announcement however, marks the first time they’re making these kind of vegan meals more widely available.

Unfortunately, for the time-being, the new vegan options are only available at select locations in the Northeast. If you live up that way, check out the complete list to find a store near you.

As for the rest of us, I’d say I’m going to be making a conscious effort to patronize 7-11 more often to show my appreciation and support for their vegan-friendly outlook. Of course, when I’m there, I’ll also be sure to politely mention how much I’d like to see these new offerings in my area as well!

Bobo Noodle House is another one of those places that has been on my list to visit for way too long. We live really close to this place, so I had high hopes going in that it could become a new go-to.

I checked out the menu at Bobo online long ago and was thrilled to find several possibly vegan options including vegetarian pad thai with tofu, vegetable dumpling pho with shiitakes and crispy vegetable spring rolls. Just a few months ago, Bryan Peters reviewed Bobo in his Veggielante column for the RFT and seemed to confirm that the pad thai and vegetable dumpling pho were indeed, vegan (no mention of the spring rolls, but I can’t imagine they wouldn’t be) – which renewed my desire to stop in for a meal, and soon! Seasoned veggie’s know that a good vegan pad thai isn’t all that hard to come by, but veggie dumpling pho? Not so much.

This is exactly what I planned to order last Friday when Andy and I stopped in Bobo for dinner. It seems they do a pretty solid take-out business in addition to their dine-in customers because we stepped into a moderately sized group gathered right inside the door that was waiting to place and/or pickup orders. With no signs about seating or directions of any kind posted, we were a little lost about whether we should have a seat or place our order at the counter, but quickly figured out that we were supposed to order at the counter and then sit to be served.

One thing I’ve learned (the hard way) about eating out as a vegan: never make assumptions. Even though I was fairly certain from the RFT review that both the items I was interested in were vegan, I asked the guy taking orders to confirm that the pad thai was, in fact, vegan, to which he replied that it was the only vegan item on the menu. Whaa? When I asked specifically about the vegetable dumplings, he wavered a bit but eventually settled on this “I’m not sure and I don’t have time to check.” Noticing my obvious dissatisfaction with that answer, he then told me that I didn’t need to order anything else because the pad thai was big enough.

Now look, I understand they were busy, but that’s a totally unacceptable thing to say to a customer. I guess if I’d have lied and said I had an allergy, maybe I’d have gotten to order what I primarily came there to try. That’s not really my style though and I don’t think I should have to resort to lying to make sure that a meal I’m paying for is suitable for my dietary needs. Also, if I was a more sensitive gal, he might’ve caught some serious hell for that “what you ordered is enough food for you” comment.

Anyway, the pad thai was good – though in dire need of some Sriracha, which they provide, if requested. I especially like the extra-wide noodles.

My husband very much enjoyed his meal and is interested in going back to check out a few other things on the menu, so I’m sure we’ll be back now and then. Hopefully next time someone there will have time to look into the ingredients for the pho and spring rolls so I can try something new too.

I’d say if you find yourself with a crowd in the mood for general pan-asian fare, keep Bobo in mind. If it’s just vegan pad thai you’re jonesing for though, go right up the street to Thai Cafe and ask them to hold the egg.

I’m headed out to the ballpark today to see the Cardinals beat the tar out of the Cubs (Go Cards!). Typically, I eat before or after going to the stadium and/or bring my own snacks both for lack of options and to avoid the outrageous prices, but today I got to wondering just what might be available to a vegan fan at Busch Stadium?

Every year, PETA releases a top 10 list of veg-friendly Major League ballparks in the U.S. In 2008, Busch Stadium came in at number six on the list for offering a wide variety of veggie fare including a veggie burger, vegetable stir-fry, fire-roasted veggie burrito, Mediterranean tapas and whole roasted corn. Unfortunately, since then the pickin’s seem to have slimmed considerably – which explains our absence from subsequent lists.

On the bright side, there are still a few options for a hungry vegan at Busch. First, there’s my favorite game-day snack, roasted peanuts. Grab these from nearly any concession stand in the park, or save a few bucks and bring your own. Another good snack option that is widely available throughout the park are soft pretzels (sans cheese, of course).

As far as more substantial vegan food options inside the stadium, it looks like the last man standing is the veggie chicken sandwich at Dizzy’s Diner – not that I’m complaining! It would be nice to have more than one meal option, but if there is only one thing available, I kind of love that it isn’t a standard veggie burger.

And then, of course, there’s always fries (my BFF/arch-nemesis).

Just out of curiosity, I think I’m going to give the chicken sandwich at Dizzy’s a shot this afternoon. I’ll let you know how it goes down.

Finally, no trip to the ballpark would be complete without a $10 beer, right? Thankfully, you can toss ‘em back with a clear conscience when you’re at Busch Stadium because Bud Light and Budweiser are both vegan friendly brews.

Go Cards!

Yes, yes, I know Chipotle and Qdoba have significant differences. However, their menus are strikingly similar and I order the exact same thing no matter which one I’m at, so it seemed silly to do two separate posts for each.

The great thing about these kind of places is the “have-it-your-way” set-up. You stand within view of your food as it is prepared and decide what does and doesn’t make it into your order – which means virtually anything on the menu at Chipotle or Qdoba (except maybe quesadillas) can be veganized with ease.

My go-to order at each establishment is a vegetarian burrito. The options are many and varied, but I go with rice, black beans, pico, lettuce and guacamole. The tortilla itself is vegan at either place, as are the taco shells. That may sound a little sparse, but considering the sheer size of these things, it’s a more than satisfying meal.

Massive burritos are easily the fast/easy/cheap dinner of choice for my husband and I. Always a good option for a casual meal out with a vegan in tow.

Ok, first things first: I apologize for this photo. I completely forgot to take it until after I’d already dug in and messed everything up. I tried to make it pretty again, but obviously I had some difficulty. You still get the idea though, right?

Anyway, what you see here is one of Pei Wei’s signature dishes, the Spicy Korean. The basic version of this meal consists of stir-fried garlic, white mushrooms, onions, carrots, long beans and toasted sesame seeds in a Korean hot pepper sauce. When served with tofu and vegetables, it’s a vegan delight. As with all of their main dishes, you have your choice of white or brown rice (I’m told you can get any dish with noodles as well). I obviously went for brown rice with vegetables and tofu – which brings me to my next point…

The tofu at Pei Wei is firm, baked and dipped in soy sauce – and it is killer. When I was still a veggie newbie, I couldn’t figure out what was so special about this stuff and why my homemade tofu never had that kind of texture or flavor.  Who’d have guessed that baked beats fried?!

The Spicy Korean is just one of several vegan options at Pei Wei, though I should mention that “vegan” does not account for sugar in this case. Though there are more calories in their dishes than you might expect, I really love this place because the food is yummy and generally good for you.  Best of all, any dish marked with a “leaf” symbol on their menu is free of meat and animal byproducts when ordered with tofu and vegetables, making it super easy to spot the vegan options. As I said, this designation does not account for sugar (anything that includes Teriyaki sauce is also excluded, as honey is an ingredient) but I’m willing to overlook that while dining out if it’s the only thing keeping the meal from being “officially” vegan.

So there you have it! The next time you’re out and about and looking for a veg-friendly dining option, stop in at Pei Wei and look for the leaves! Oh, and if you plan to photograph your meal (that’s normal, right?), try to remember to snap the pic before you’ve eaten half of what’s on the plate.

First off, it’s so weird calling Bread Co., Panera. If you’re from St. Louis, I know ya feel me. Back to the matter at hand though, Panera is a pretty go-to place for me. There are actually several vegan options here, you just have to get used to customizing your order to find most of them. The great thing about Panera is how easy they make that process. It all starts with the nutrition calculator on their website.

The beauty of the nutrition calculator is that not only does it provide a breakdown of all the basic stuff about calories and fat, etc., it also lists allergen information front and center. The allergen statement is your friend. With just a glance, you can see the presence of eggs and/or dairy in any item on their menu. What’s more, with one click you can see the entire ingredients list for any given item – which makes it really easy to see exactly where the non-vegan stuff is hiding. All you have to do to veganize your grub is 86 the offending ingredients (where possible) and you’re in business!

What you see here is my favorite “You Pick Two:” Garden Vegetable Soup with Pesto and the new Thai Chopped Chicken Salad (which I’m totally obsessed with). To make this meal vegan appropriate, order the soup sans pesto (cheese) and the salad without chicken (obviously) and wonton strips (eggs). I’m a fool for bread, so I go with the french baguette as my side – naturally vegan. Sadly, the same can’t be said for the whole wheat baguette, which is a true bummer. Equally tear-inducing, there are currently no vegan pastries available at Panera for you to finish your meal with a lil somethin’ sweet. I’m told there are no plans in the works currently to rectify that situation – to which my obvious response is: BOO.

Bagel-wise, the plain bagel at Panera is vegan (without cream cheese), which makes choices like “Sesame” and “Everything” vegan as well. I’m pretty sure these aren’t the only vegan bagels, but don’t take my word for it. Have a gander at the nutrition calculator and see for yourself!

As I said, there are several vegan options here if you’re willing to do a little hunting and not afraid to be one of “those people” when you place your order at the counter. If I can do it, you can do it!

Cheese-ology is a fairly new macaroni and cheese-centric restaurant in the Delmar Loop. They offer up over a dozen different varieties of mac and cheese including everything from inventive concoctions like “Mediterranean” (Mozzarella and Goat cheese with artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes and Kalamata olives) to the classic macaroni & cheese with Cheddar and American.

You might assume that macaroni and cheese is a food that is totally off-limits for vegans, but not so! Mac ‘n cheese remains one of my all-time favorite foods (I have a killer recipe that I’ll eventually share here). I figured that I was probably out of luck at Cheese-ology though, so you can imagine my delight to find “Vegan Mac ‘n ‘Cheese’” listed on the menu! This joint immediately went on my list of “places to try.” Last weekend, I finally got my chance!

Andy wasn’t going to make it home for dinner this past Friday, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to give Cheese-ology a go (he’s generally less enthused about mac and cheese). As you can see from my super-awesome photography skills, I went for takeout.

Full disclosure: this was not so great. They run all their dishes through an oven right before they’re served – which appears to have quite a yummy effect on their non-vegan concoctions. But either their vegan cheese sauce is too thin or they just aren’t using enough of it because the oven-baked process dries it out, big time. Taste-wise, definitely not bad – but nothing to write home about. They could probably greatly improve things by getting a little more creative. Spices, veggies, etc.

Even though I was underwhelmed by my option here, I’m still totally thrilled and grateful to have had one at all! I definitely appreciate the consideration they’ve shown in creating a menu item for vegans (and one that actually says the word “vegan” at that!). So, if you’re the lone vegan in a group with a hankering for some serious comfort food, remember that there’s something for you at Cheese-ology!