Good Restaurant chains for vegetarians?

[thestatusquo]

Anyone have some good ideas? All of the chains I got to have almost no vegetarian dishes, even thier salads have meat in them! There is a great vegetarian place in my town, but it's not a chain, so I'm looking for any suggestions.

[m-jean03]

1. Hmm -- Subway has the veggie sub

I'm not completely vegan/veggie,
but I try to eat that way a lot.
Feels good.

[thestatusquo]

9. thanks m-jean

i do eat at subway, their veggies are great!

[Radical Activist]

2. Macaroni Grill

isn't so bad. I'm not sure how common that chain is. Most places with good veggie options are local. Chains suck.

[thestatusquo]

10. yeah, they mostly do

it's hard to eat well when traveling. I don't know how people eat at mcdonalds all the time! YUCK!

[Guy Fawkes]

3. list::

Chipotle, Perkins, Noodles & Company, Uno's, that-place-that-isn't-chapotle-but-I-can't-remember-the-name...

you get the idea. There are plenty.

[Radical Activist]

4. If you're looking or traveling

I've found this website to be very helpful for finding veggie eating options.
http://www.vegetarian-restaurants.net/usa/

[curse10]

5. I usually find a subway if all else fails

lots of pasta places (heck, even olive garden will do in a pinch)

but for creative, tasty veggie food? good luck. I do love the Chipotle veggie burrito. But they don't have them here in Boston.

[DebJ]

6. Hi! I work in a chain, My parents are vegetarians and I eat

minimal amounts of meat myself...always looking for veggies and fruits.
I work at Panera Bread, which has 400 locations nationwide.

They have:
- a hot panini sandwich: portabello and mozzarella. Made on rosemary and onion foccacia (made with a potato studded starter and asiago cheese), with portabello mushrooms, mozz cheese, red onions cooked in a no-sugar added balsalmic vinagrette dressing.
- a cold veggie sandwich: served standard on ciabatta bread, but you can order it on anything you like (I prefer the rosemary foccacia), it includes lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, gorgonzola cheese (crumbles), red peppers (Hungarian goat peppers), cucumbers, and a cucumber sauce made from a yogurt base with garlic (would be a great dipping sauce but man it's expensive). all veggies on sandwich are fresh cut daily at the location.
-two summer salads are just great- I ate them every day last summer:
Strawberry poppyseed salad: romaine lettuce, fresh chopped at the location, fresh sliced strawberries, blueberries (frozen and thawed), pineapple tidbits (canned), mandarin oranges (canned), pecan bits (fresh chopped at the location), and a sugar-free lemon poppyseed dressing made with Splenda-no aftertaste it's fantastic! Lots of fiber, vitamins, no sugar, and no fat either! Perfect food that tastes wonderful!
Tomato mozzarella salad: fresh cut tomato chunks, fresh mozza ball wedges (mozza ball not cut until you order the salad), red onions, rosemary and onion foccaccia wedges, balsamic vinagrette dressing (no sugar added dressing). High fat because of the cheese but boy is it yummy!

Also, they have a fresh fruit cup with pineapple bits (we core, peel, and cut the pineapples in our locations every day...whew! Glad that isn't MY job!), fresh melon pieces (again cut at the location)-honeydew and canteloupe, and red grapes.
You can get the fruit cup and any of the salads as one of the items in a You Pick Two meal - soup/salad, sandwich/salad, soup/sandwich. Comes with a chunk of french baguette (served warm from the oven as is possible) or your choice of another bread. The fruit cup that comes with the U Pick 2 is the large size....that's a VERY good deal, pricewise.
At least one vegetarian soup is on the menu every day, of the six soup choices of the day; sometimes more than one veggie soup. Veggie as in yes, no meat base of any type. Some of our veggie soups include Veggie Italian Vegetable, Veggie Garden Vegetable (my favorite-good spices-mild, flavorful), Veggie Black Bean (with cilantro).
Happy eating!
(I'm not a manager there but I used to be...decided I'd rather have a real life than manage a restaurant!)

[NJCher]

7. wow, debj

I'm saving that post for inspiration for my own veggie meals!


Cher

[afraid_of_the_dark]

11. Mmmmm... Panera...

*doing her best Homer Simpson impression*

Their portabella and mozzarella sandwich is divine! :)

[thestatusquo]

12. Thanks deb!

I have eaten at panera before, but only for breakfast with coffee and such, I didn't realise they had such a wide selection of foods. I'll have to check it out.

[RebelOne]

17. Sounds like a great menu for vegetarians.

But do they have a franchise in North Georgia? But I'll go to Google and see what is available here in my area.

[theoceansnerves]

8. souplantation

[sbj405]

13. I ate at an On the Border once

My waiter went to great lengths to let me know what had meat and what didn't. I think they refried beans had lard and he let me substitute things that didn't.

Usually Italian and Mexican chains are your best bet. Chili's has a black bean burger. The rest seem to work meat into everything thing.

[devilgrrl]

14. Wasn't there a chain in Northern California called "McDharma"?

Then they were sued by McDonald's... anyone recall?

[RebelOne]

15. I live in Georgia, which is a heavy meat-eating state.

And there are some restaurants which have vegetarian dishes, but they are few and far between.

[Gothic Sponge]

16. I've been a vegetarian for over 15 years

I still haven't found a chain i would eat at. Bennigan's for a while was serving garden burgers.(not sure if they still do) However, they were cooking them on the same grill with meat burgers. Call me anal, but i don't like animal grease on my food!

[RebelOne]

18. I know. You are pretty much stuck with salad or pasta dishes.

Why do all restaurants assume that everyone eats meat?

[fujiyama]

19. Some restaurants

offer a garden/veggie burger substitute.

I would check local Thai, Indian, Arabic, Mexica, and Italian restaurants. Most ethnic restaraunts in general have decent vegetarian alternatives.

Quiznos' subs are also pretty good, if you're vegetarian, in that their subs are toasted...lots of vegetables, melted cheese, and guacamole. I've also had the Panera bread veggie items, and they're pretty good.

I myself am what you'd calla pseudo vegetarian. I can't help but eating some chicken and seafood once in awhile....though I was raised vegetarian and would be fine without meat.