So you’ve finally decided to go vegetarian. Good for you.
But now you’re wondering what on Earth you cat eat. I mean, everything has meat in it, right? Wrong. In fact, meat is not only easy to replace in most meals, it’s easy to leave out completely as well. And that’s not just for what you make at home, oh no, eating at restaurants isn’t as tough as you would think either.
I won’t lie, though. Being a vegetarian in Johnson City isn’t as easy as it would be in, say Los Angeles or Norfolk, Va. (home of animal rights biggie PETA), but it’s not impossible by any means. I’ve done it for three years with little trouble, and I promise you can do it too. It just takes a little research and some planning.
I’ve done a lot of that for you, because I know this town is full of lazy bums. Including myself, I won’t even try to deny it.
Now for the vegans reading this, assuming there are any, you probably already know that dining out is nearly impossible around here if you’re not willing to get into long discussions with waitresses about whey or casein or some other ingredient most people know nothing about.
I won’t pretend it’s easy, but I will say that there are a few options, even for those who dare not request ingredient substitutions in food for fear of spit or worse (and no I’m not saying all cooks will spit in stuff, but god knows some will).
So I’ve compiled a list of veggie-friendly restaurants here in Johnson City; none are 100 percent vegetarian, but most have more than an option or two. Some have many. If you know of any places I’ve left off the list, by all means let me know; I’m not a big seeker of out-of-the-way places so I may have missed something. I’ll be happy to try anywhere suggested and swing them some free advertising in a future column if I like their stuff. I’m cool like that.
So first off is a place everyone seems to know about, but I’ve never actually been. I have, however, seen their menu so I can say from that they are certainly veggie friendly. The Acoustic Coffeehouse in downtown Johnson City (next to the Campus Wash & Dry and Bettye Jane’s Fashion Exchange) has everything from simple salads to tofu and hummus sandwiches.
Personally, I’m always down for some tofu so I’d go for that, but if you’re not a fan you could check out the vegetarian lasagna or even a simple veggie burger.
Like I said, I’ve never eaten there so I can’t say what’s vegan. Tofu sandwich is a good bet, minus the cheese and mayo, but I would ask someone who works there what’s in the mustard, to be sure. I doubt with such an un-meaty menu they’ll expectorate in your food for asking, so no worries, inquire away.
On the subject of tofu, I’ve been informed by a reader that there is a tofu sandwich at the Mid City Grill. I wasn’t told if it was good or not, and I can’t try it myself until payday, but I wanted to share the love all the same. If anyone out there has tried it, let me know how it is so I can decide if it’s worth my hard-earned cash. That really goes for any veggie food in town, because I’m cheap and would rather spend my money on tasty food than nasty cardboard flavored goop.
To finish off the list of places I haven’t eaten but heard about, the Hideaway also seems to have a few meatless meals listed on their menu. Vegetarian lasagna, tofu “not” dogs, salads, a veggie melt and more. How much of this is vegan? No idea, but again, you can probably rest assured that asking for a list of ingredients won’t result in you eating something picked off the floor.
And to begin with the places I have eaten I’ll start with Cheddars. This isn’t a hidden treasure of Johnson City or anything, just a big hunk of restaurant next to Barnes and Noble. But they have really good veggie burgers that you can request in substitution of meat patties on any burger. I’ve asked in the past, and they’re Morningstar brand, but I haven’t seen whether they include any hidden animal derived bits. Morningstar is usually big on the hidden egg and dairy, though, so if you’re vegan you might want to avoid them unless you’re up to confusing your server by asking to see the box the patties came in as well as the buns.
There are salads as well, spinach dip, cheese sticks, mashed potatoes and a slew of other sides and appetizers that you may find delectable, some requiring little or no tinkering with. The only vegan food I can think of sadly is a bare, dry salad. I guess you could bring your own dressing, but I don’t see the appeal of spending money to eat lettuce when you can do it for much cheaper at home.
Olive Garden of course has its benefits. Their salad is phenomenal, but the dressing is not vegan, I know I have a bottle in my fridge. Pasta with red sauce is probably vegan, but it sounds incredibly boring. Almost all the pastas on their menu are either vegetarian or can be so with a quick subtraction of meat. Obviously three meat ravioli isn’t going to pass, but they have a really tasty cheese version as well. There are a new cheesy pasta and appetizer, the names escape me, which I find yummy sounding, but you might want to check with a server before ordering to be sure they are vegetarian. A special section on the menu for vegetarian dishes would make this much easier, but must be too much trouble for a national company to swing.
And of course, pretty much every Chinese or Mexican restaurant is going to be a mecca of vegetarian foods. I don’t have to name places, every single Mexican place has rice or bean dishes just make sure they don’t use lard in the refried beans.
Chinese (and other oriental cuisine) has fried rice or noodles, sometimes with egg, sometimes not. Johnson City is full of these restaurants, so check some out. Tell me what you find.
I was going to include fast food in this column, but I had more places to talk about than I originally thought. So instead you get a whole column of fast food places later. You know you’re excited.
Until next time, eat healthy and try some of these places out.
And let me know about the ones I missed especially vegan places, I’m dying to try some vegan dishes that don’t require my (lack of) cooking skills. Shoot me information at mohawktown@hotmail.com or etnews@etsu.edu.

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