Vegan/Vegetarian Restaurant/Dining Help Thread

[DisLiss]

Just FYI, looks like there are good veg and vegan options coming up in EPCOT for Flower & Garden! Always makes me happy to have more variety...

Does anyone know of a resource that specifically discusses why some items are NOT listed as vegetarian on the festival menu boards? Items that certainly could be...like certain desserts or fried cauliflower. We were wondering if it's always an ingredient (like possibly lard in the desserts for instance), or would Disney also not mark an item vegetarian if it came from a shared fryer (in the case of the cauliflower)?

 

[CarrieR]

I would ask at each location. Some are hidden ingredients (carmine) and sometimes they’re just accidentally missed (had that happen once, I can’t remember where.) Not sure about shared fryers, though. I’ve had good success inquiring at the locations if something “seems like” it should be veg but it’s not marked as such.

 

[Mome Rath]

I know that ingredients for certain things there change all the time depending on their supplier, so, for example, sometimes a bun is vegan and sometimes not, as well as the boba balls they serve at Satu'li.

 

[thekaz]

Does anyone know of a resource that specifically discusses why some items are NOT listed as vegetarian on the festival menu boards? Items that certainly could be...like certain desserts or fried cauliflower. We were wondering if it's always an ingredient (like possibly lard in the desserts for instance), or would Disney also not mark an item vegetarian if it came from a shared fryer (in the case of the cauliflower)?

Desserts could also contain gelatin.

I think, like others have said, you're best off just asking for ingredient lists.

 

[DisLiss]

We'll definitely be asking for the lists when we're there, but we were just curious now.

 

[thekaz]

Listed land by land, it details each vegetarian item available. Vegan options are marked with a leaf icon, defined as “Does Not Contain Animal Meat, Dairy, Eggs, or Honey.” (Leaving open the possibility of lab-grown meat?)

Interestingly, the brochure seems to list fried Twinkies. Brand-name Twinkies still (I believe) contain animal-based shortening.

I would find it hard to believe that for something like this, Disney is creating their own Twinkies... anyone have the scoop?

 

[punkin712]

Interestingly, the brochure seems to list fried Twinkies. Brand-name Twinkies still (I believe) contain animal-based shortening.

I would find it hard to believe that for something like this, Disney is creating their own Twinkies... anyone have the scoop?

I was thinking the same thing when I saw those listed. If they were using an off brand or something proprietary to Disney, I doubt they could call them Twinkies. I would assume they are the real thing. What makes it even more confusing is that the Twinkies ingredient list says they contain "Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable and/or Animal Shortening" - is it possible they were able to get Hostess to provide them with products that only contain the partially hydrogenated vegetable shortening?

 

[Lisann]

I'm not sure if this has been answered or not.

Are the vegetarian burgers good at WDW?

 

[Mome Rath]

I'm not sure if this has been answered or not.

Are the vegetarian burgers good at WDW?

It's my understanding that most vegan burgers at WDW are now either Beyond Burgers or Impossible Burgers, instead of actual Veggie burgers, so it would depend on what you like. If you like the Beyond/Impossible, I've read you'll really like the burgers, like at Pecos Bills and Nomad lounge. I'm not fond of them so I haven't ate them there.

 

[DisLiss]

I'm really hoping that all of the theme parks don't start switching to all Beyond/Impossible burgers, because I just don't like them at all. I understand that some vegetarians like them, but for myself, personally, I feel like it's backwards movement. I had reached a point where it was pretty easy to find vegetarian items even at casual theme park locations, with many offering veggie burgers or black bean burgers, etc. I'm afraid they'll all start switching to Beyond & Impossible burgers and I'll find myself with less choices instead of more.

 

[Lisann]

I am not a vegetarian, but frequently I do not eat meat and enjoy vegetarian offerings.

I don't even know what Beyond Burgers or Impossible Burgers are. I've never heard of these or seen them. I thought all vegetarian burgers were basically plant based or bean based?

 

[Mome Rath]

I am not a vegetarian, but frequently I do not eat meat and enjoy vegetarian offerings.

I don't even know what Beyond Burgers or Impossible Burgers are. I've never heard of these or seen them. I thought all vegetarian burgers were basically plant based or bean based?

Beyond and Impossible are both made to mimic beef as closely as possible, so it's not just what is used to make them, but they are literally made/processed to mimic the "fibrous" nature of meat, and are colored to match meat patties, as well as flavored to match. They are definitely different than black bean burgers, or portobello "burger" where you can still at least recognize it as veg.

In short with these new burger types they want to match meat burgers in a way you can't tell you are eating plants.

 

[Lisann]

Thank you for the explanation.

 

[DisLiss]

Beyond and Impossible are both made to mimic beef as closely as possible, so it's not just what is used to make them, but they are literally made/processed to mimic the "fibrous" nature of meat, and are colored to match meat patties, as well as flavored to match. They are definitely different than black bean burgers, or portobello "burger" where you can still at least recognize it as veg.

In short with these new burger types they want to match meat burgers in a way you can't tell you are eating plants.

Uncooked they even look like raw meat. I can't deal with that, so even if I did like the taste of them, I couldn't buy them to cook myself.

 

[LongLiveRafiki]

Impossible burgers were once described to me as being like Boca burgers as opposed to the more vegetable-like patties of garden burgers/black bean/portabella burgers. I was actually excited as I think Boca burgers cook better from a frozen state and don't get little hard bites throughout like the vegetable ones are sometimes prone to.

My first bite (at a restaurant), I immediately spit it out, thinking it was meat. After being assured from the chef it wasn't, I still couldn't continue eating it. The texture and flavors were way too meaty. I guess they might work for some people who are just trying to eat less meat, but having been a vegetarian for nearly 20 years who doesn't like the taste of meat, they aren't palatable to me. Plus, I've had the misfortune of being accidentally served meat burgers several times (after ordering a non-meat burger) and I like being able to know for sure what I'm eating isn't meat and thus isn't going to leave me sick later. I'm disappointed that these two neat alternatives seem to be popping in all over and replacing other vegetarian options.

 

[vacationer1954]

I do like Beyond and Impossible burgers, so I'm happy to see them offered more widely. I think we will see that trend continue because there are a lot of non-vegetarians who feel better about eating them than eating meat. While they're more expensive now, financial analysis indicates that they'll soon be less expensive than meat - they simply place a lighter load on resources so they only thing that accounts for their higher cost now is lack of volume. It would be interesting to understand whether or not they should be less expensive than bean burgers and other types of veggie burgers. I think they'll be quite competitive, and again, volume will make them less expensive/more profitable.

I have heard the term "plant-based" bandied about a lot more, recently. Some people have struggled to get people to understand the term "vegetarian". ("So that means you each chicken?") I think "plant-based" will be a much more effective term that a lot more people will be comfortable using.

Impossible burgers were once described to me as being like Boca burgers as opposed to the more vegetable-like patties of garden burgers/black bean/portabella burgers.

It think it is important to note that Impossible burgers don't even taste the same as they did a year ago. They were good (from the standpoint of those looking for a meat-burger substitute) then, but they are much better now.

 

[DisLiss]

I do like Beyond and Impossible burgers, so I'm happy to see them offered more widely. I think we will see that trend continue because there are a lot of non-vegetarians who feel better about eating them than eating meat.

This is exactly why I think parks are offering them, which is part of what I meant about it being a step backwards for some vegetarians. These particular burgers are becoming very popular with non-vegetarians, and that's great. But non-vegetarians already have the lion's share of menu choices in the parks, while the vegetarians & vegan get between 0-2 choices depending on if it is an actual restaurant or just a snack location. So I feel like if the parks are offering the burgers because non-vegetarians have boosted their popularity, then once again the non-vegetarians are being catered to over the vegetarians/vegans. And again, I'm all for more people eating plant-based, but I hope the parks will realize that some vegetarians/vegans will not want to purchase something that so closely resembles meat, and not make these burgers the only plant-based burgers offered.

 

[vacationer1954]

And again, I'm all for more people eating plant-based, but I hope the parks will realize that some vegetarians/vegans will not want to purchase something that so closely resembles meat, and not make these burgers the only plant-based burgers offered.

I think it'll come down to how many people will choose to do without rather than visit restaurants that don't have the other vegetarian choices. Restaurants generally don't cater to vegetarians out of sense of consideration but rather because offering those choices generates more profit than otherwise. If enough vegetarians eat these new burgers rather than prompting their entire dining party to go somewhere else, then unfortunately it'll probably be a while before we see a return of the bean burgers and mushroom burgers that these new burgers might replace on the menu.

 

[DisLiss]

I think it'll come down to how many people will choose to do without rather than visit restaurants that don't have the other vegetarian choices. Restaurants generally don't cater to vegetarians out of sense of consideration but rather because offering those choices generates more profit than otherwise. If enough vegetarians eat these new burgers rather than prompting their entire dining party to go somewhere else, then unfortunately it'll probably be a while before we see a return of the bean burgers and mushroom burgers that these new burgers might replace on the menu.

True. Thankfully there are plenty of other options at WDW, but occasionally I might like to actually have some sort of burger if there are any available that I like. (Speaking of plenty of options, last night my oldest son heard me discussing this with DH and misunderstood, thinking that the only thing now available for vegetarians/vegans were burgers. He thought he was going to have to eat nothing but burgers for a week. So I quickly pulled up the images of the MK pamphlet to show him that he has plenty of non-burger options. Poor kid was so relived, LOL! )

 

[SaraJR]

I don't think it's accurate to say vegan won't eat faux meats I have been vegan almost 6 years an I love the beyond burger, I like the flavour and textures I am not vegan because I don't like the taste of meat I am vegan to not hurt animals.