Omnivores sometimes think my dietary decisions make me “difficult” to feed. But I always say, I can find something to eat at any restaurant.
Sometimes, that thing is a salad.
Salad happens.
It will sound strange to non-vegans who think all I eat is ‘rabbit food,’ but: Salad is not always my first choice. I admire the raw food vegans. I am convinced they are healthier than me. I want Freelee’s abs. I aspire to the purity I perceive in a raw diet. But the truth remains: I like cooked food, especially when it’s cold outside.
But sometimes, as I said, salad happens. Especially at restaurants.
Twice on my most recent trip, I ended up with salad. I say ‘ended up,’ but they were both actually quite tasty in the end.
My last dinner in California was at a place called The Fishwife. I’m not kidding. And yes, the whole joint smelled like fish, which is not the coolest thing(for me). Very highly rated and clearly busy, we ended up having to wait quite a while. But this view was a short stroll away while we waited for our table.
Despite the name, this restaurant actually had options for me. There was even a dedicated gluten-free section, which included GF pasta with a tomato sauce and some sort of “vegetarian bowl” that involved black beans. I was honestly not in the mood for either choice, so I chose this Asian Ginger Sesame Salad instead, which — wait for it –required no modifications! It was not listed on the dedicated GF part of the menu, so I skipped the dressing because I didn’t want to get sick.(I admit, I have trust issues.)
It featured mixed greens, mandarin oranges, dried cranberries, and cashews. I used the lemon wedges instead of the dressing.
They topped it with tortilla strips instead of croutons, which I think is a pretty smart move for the bread-less folk like me. It added that bit of crunch that you’d expect on your salad.
And it was pretty.
Before we headed to the airport, we paused for a bit in the capital city of Sacramento, and landed for lunch at a place called — Burgers & Brewhouse. Really. I don’t eat meat and I don’t drink, so there’s another interesting name for a restaurant I should probably generally not enter. Apparently, it’s a chain, and this was the newer “Sacrament Brewing” location. (Get it? Wink, wink.)
To my great surprise, there are again a couple of choices. There’s a Smoked Tofu burger, but I’d have to skip the bun, so it seemed pointless. I settled on (another) salad. They call it the Fuji Salad(likely for the apple that’s sliced on it) and the waitress said it’s quite popular. They had the option to add grilled tofu(You’re so healthy! was her comment when I ordered); I did have to ask them to hold the cheese. It came with cheese anyway, and I had to send it back(I hate being that person) because it was not the kind of cheese that could be picked off. (Gorgonzola, maybe? It was crumbly. I’m not a cheese expert.) But when it came back, it was quite lovely.
I was a bit worried about the “grilled tofu” being marinated in something(it was salty), but I didn’t get sick, so I think it’s all good.
Each of these salads came in around $15 a piece. This is the part where I rant about $4 worth of ingredients costing a ridiculous amount of money because you’re eating them in a restaurant. But I suppose that’s true no matter what you order.
I had to do way more talking to people than I ever enjoy doing, but I made it through a whole week in a foreign(to me) location and didn’t get “glutened” even once. I’m pretty proud.
