Not going to lie, before I went Vegan, going to different restaurants was a lot easier, and I had a lot more options to pick from – which, when you think about it, is quite sad. I used to get sushi ALL THE TIME – I still do, but now I just get vegetable rolls or asparagus rolls. I may be the annoying one at the table, asking for “no this” or “no that,” but I don’t make it into some big ordeal. Many waiters and waitresses are more than understanding about it, and sometimes it even sparks a conversation about why or how I transitioned to eating a vegan diet.

I’m not going to go through every type of Food, but I will touch upon the places I’ve been to that have been super mindful of what I get to eat.

My favorite thing to get to eat, ever, is chips and salsa with a side of bottomless margaritas. Give me Chili’s, or give me death. So if I go to Chili’s, I get chips and salsa for an appetizer, veggie fajitas (no chipotle butter, please) for dinner and a Patron Margarita to top it off. For all Mexican restaurants, that is always my go-to meal. I’ll either do that or you could always do a burrito, with no cheese or sour cream.

For Italian Food – this one is sometimes difficult, everything comes with cheese. Normally I’ll just opt for pasta with marinara, unless the marinara has cream in it; always ask, first. A lot of sauces contain cream or cheese. At Olive Garden (the most unauthentic Italian food, ever) the kid’s marinara has no cream, so I request that instead of the regular. Even though I am super Italian, I never choose to get Italian food – if anything, I’ll make my own at home

There’s a Hibachi restaurant in my town that is so good to me – it’s called Ichigo Ichie. I always get the vegetable hibachi, without the rice or vegetables being cooked in butter. Once they understand that, they always offer me the vegan soup that they have, rather than the normal one they give out. The place is great and the food is amazing – hibachi is perfect for vegans.

Have you ever heard of British Beer Company? If you live in Massachusetts, you most likely have. It’s a pub, but it offers great dishes for vegans. They also offer amazing gluten free pizza, hold the cheese and add veggies! One of my favorites is their hummus plate – a large bowl of hummus with pita bread, carrots and celery – you really can’t go wrong with that. They’re very sensitive to people who have food allergies, so that’s very helpful when I mention the fact that I’m vegan.

Another thing I love, that I mentioned above, is sushi. Sushi is really easy, just get the vegetable ones; that’s it, you’re done. It’s so good paired with a beer or a nice glass of wine.

If you have any places you like to go or any food I should try out, don’t hesitate to comment! Hope you enjoy your eating out extravaganzas!