Sunday, August 26, 2007

Out of my element



I spent last week in Oklahoma City taking a training course. I don't think I generally move in rarefied circles, but OKC posed a challenge to stay vegan, let alone vegetarian.
--I could see several steakhouses from my hotel window. The best-named was the Rib Crib.
--As I walked into the training room after a break, the instructor asked me, "You ever hunt rabbit?"
--The only vegetarian meal you could get in the airport was...salad and french fries. Is that a meal? No? Well, how about a cinnamon bun, then? That's as close as you are going to get. Luckily I had packed several Larabars.
--The local Wendy's had a sign out front that said "Order the Baconator before it orders you." (Hot Slice's response: "Orders you a triple bypass!") And no, there was no vegan alternative called the BaconNOTer or the Fakin'ator.

I even checked Happycow.net for inspiration on where to eat. There are 4 listings: 3 Indian restaurants and a coffeehouse.

I ended up eating at a good Mexican restaurant, Panera, and an all-you-can-eat Chinese buffet. The last was the most vegan-friendly, though Panera makes some good vegan soups. I ended up eating cheese more than I wanted to, which always seems to happen when I'm travelling.

I'm happy to be back in my Baconator-free kitchen.

4 comments:

Kumudha said...

These days it is pretty easy being a vegetarian, as most food-joints and restaurants have vegetarian fare...

However, It is really sometimes daunting and challenging to be a vegan, especially many people are not even aware of the word "vegan"

Vegans should always have bars and nuts and fruits with them! Some airports have wonderful juice bars.

Anonymous said...

lol I almost laughed out loud while reading this! wow, it reminds me of my first attempt (last year) to eat strictly vegetarian for an entire 2-week Greyhound trip across the deep south. It was miserable! Even when I thought I'd ordered a vegetarian item (some strange tex-mex rice thing at a fast food place), I could swear there were little pieces of beef in it! But I was starving so I ate whatever-it-was anyway. Yick.

Tofu Mom (AKA Tofu-n-Sprouts) said...

Hey - great blog! Eating vegan while away from your own kitchen can be an adventure - and not always for the better!

I just get used to eating those ice-berg salads and fries some weeks. Not that's not *really* a meal but I know good things await me when I get home...

shannonb said...

I always carry Clif bars with me..

I live in South Texas and my family is NOT veggie friendly...

They never even seem to get tired of the veggie jokes..