taco bell?

[mum2sarah]

I should probably know this by now, but does anyone know if taco bell's bean burritos are vegan if you don't get cheese on them?

[Casey]

Apparently they are. Check out this web site for more information:

http://www.sword2skyvegan.net/selections.html

[Erin Pavlina]

Yes. You're good. You can ask them to add lettuce and tomato too.

[annie7]

Double decker no beef, substitute beans, no cheese, and add tomatoes! $0. 79. Yum Yum!!

[xmysticprincessx]

I think Taco Bell's new rice burrito (whatever it is called) is vegan if you don't get the cheese. They also have a new "green" sauce (which comes in a clear package) that is vegan and really good (from what my boyfriend says).

[PikkuMyy]

My husband and I never eat at fast food restaurants - we always do our research so we know where we can eat.

However, his best friend and wife eat at places like Olive Garden, Taco Bell, and Subway. He likes to get the 7-layer burrito with obviously some of the layers missing.

Emily

[mum2sarah]

thanx everyone, and thank you casey for that great link. I never really eat out except at veg restaurants, but with two kids now, it's sometimes hard finding time to prepare meals. I'm seeing my stockpile of frozen dishes I made while pregnant diminish and it's good to know what drive-thru I can send my husband through on his way home from work if need be... and I've had a hankering for mexican food...

[Marta]

It doesn't say so on the menu, but you can also get a side order of tortilla chips with salsa (instead of the usual bright orange cheese sauce). Very yummy...

[capersmama]

Olive Garden??
I emailed the a few months back to see if they offer anything that a vegan can choose from. They emailed back saying they didnt offer anything at this time that could be considered vegan...EVEN THEIR HOUSE SALAD that is so delicious!! I was heart broken!

[annie7]

Must be different between corporate ones and franchise ones, because we got vegan salads and minestrone (verified by the chef who actually knew what the word meant) at an Olive Garden just a few weeks ago.

[Erin Pavlina]

Sometimes a company will say they do not offer vegan items because they know the vegan foods come in contact with the non-vegan ones. They are covering their asses.

If you are not a vegan purist, you could eat entrees where all the ingredients are vegan if you don't mind that they shared the same grill or oil as non-vegan items.

[tricia]

that makes me wonder...

who here is a vegan purist???? I dont really mind... so much buying items that are made on the same line as non vegan ones but i dont think i could handle a veggie burger with meat chunks attached to it... luckily i have been lucky it hasnt happened yet...

[Jenica]

I'm pretty grossed out by the idea of eating a "burger" grilled on the same spot that meat was grilled on without it being cleaned first. But when it comes to processing it doesn't bug me much to eat food that's been processed on the same machinery as dairy. I guess meat is just more revolting to me on a physical level than dairy is. *shrug*

[Casey]

I know that some restaurants won't say that they have vegan dishes if those dishes contain sugar (personally I'm impressed that these restaurants are even aware of the sugar/vegan debate). I think it's worthwhile supporting restaurants that offer meat/dairy/egg-free dishes even if they do use refined sugar - the more vegans request dishes without the obvious animal ingredients the more choices we'll eventually end up with. So, while I do the best I can at home, I guess I'm not a vegan purist when it comes to eating out - I obviously wouldn't eat anything with meat, eggs or dairy, but I can accept a restaurant meal without any of those ingredients even if the restaurant won't certify that the meal is vegan.

Capersmama, just out of curiosity, did Olive Garden say what ingredient was in the house salad that made it non-vegan?

Jenica, I know what you mean about meat being so much more physically revolting than dairy - I just don't have the same visceral reaction to dairy as I do to the thought/sight of meat. I guess that's why it took me so long to become vegan when I'd been vegetarian for years and years - eliminating dairy was much more of an intellectual process.

[capersmama]

Olive Garden wouldnt say what ingredients they used. I asked..lol they said it was propriotory information. (I think that was the word used.)

I wouldnt think the house salad (the one they serve when you walk in)would go against vegan lifestyle. Do you?

[jewels]

though i know this thread has gotten off the subject of taco bell, just wanted to add that I am thinking the soft tacos have dairy in them, the burritos use to but that changed them to vegan but I dont think (even though it would seem logical) they changed the soft tacos, though the hard are vegan.- The guac is vegan though, last time I checked, I find that I good addition to a burrito.

[Jenica]

Hmm, I was told by a Taco Bell employee (my sister in law) that the guacamole uses their sour cream, which apparently has gelatin in it, making it non-vegetarian as well as non-vegan.

[Erin Pavlina]

I was told by corporate Taco Bell that the guacamole does not have sour cream. When I mentioned the local TBs thought it did, she seemed really shocked and said, "No way. They all use the same one. We ship it to them so we know."

Shrug

[duckie1978]

Maybe the Olive Garden is refering to the croutons and their House salad dressing. The salad dressing is made with cheese and the croutons are made with butter. You can ask for it without croutons and dressing but they often don't have anything else to top it with, not even oil and vinegar.

At the Olive Garden I used to eat at in Concord, NH, their minestrone soup was vegan. The broth and noodles were vegan: I asked every time I went, just to make sure. They also had a few sauces that were vegan, a marinara or plain red sauce, a garlic and oil sauce, and veggies to top over their 100% semolina pasta. Each Olive Garden is able to modify their menu to accomidate what is available at each place. Olive Garden the big company can't confirm what is at each individual place, just like the prices aren't the same at each McDonalds or Burger King. Prices vary in each state; in this case, ingredients vary at each place. Try calling at an off-time or stop in and ask the servers about the ingredients and vegan options. They were always willing to leave off the croutons and dressing and make dry breadsticks (but I think they have those ambiguous dough conditioners in them) for me and my sister whenever we went.

[jewels]

Thats really weird that your sister in law would tell you that. But like Erin said they all use the same guacamole, its seperate from that sour cream, the sourcream does have gelatin, I use to work at a taco bell as a teen and I call them like eery 6 months or so to check for changes, I called the last time about a month ago and asked about the guacamole and she read the list of ingredients. 1800 taco bell is really good about that stuff.

[Christa]

I checked on the Olive Garden stuff in the past year b/c my dh's boss gave us a gift certificate to eat there. I believe that there were one or 2 pasta dishes that I could eat & they said that the minestrone was vegan - I had them check on cheese, animal broth, etc.

Re the salad, the dressing contains parmesean cheese. They actually sell the dressing at the local Olive Garden & said that it is the same standard dressing used in all Olive Garden restaurants. The bottle says cheese on the ingredients.

I am not a totaly purist when it comes to eating out - obviously I don't eat anything containing dairy, eggs, meat, etc., but I will eat food with white sugar, etc. I did eat at PF Chang's near Denver a week or 2 back &, I agree, it is very reassuring when you have a server who is aware of the sugar thing & honey. Although I am not too strict on either of those 2, I know that the server actually knows what a vegan is when s/he brings up that an item contains sugar - as our server there did.

[xmysticprincessx]

The local Olive Gardens are good about making substitutions for us. My boyfriend really likes the mushroom ravioli, but the menu says it comes with an alfredo sauce. So he justs asks for plain marinara sauce and never has a problem.