Here's a note to all those interested in vegan options in the greater Salt Lake area. I only tried a few, and since some of these are nation-wide chains, my experience can help a greater audience.
First: The favs
Vertical Diner. IGNORE the restaurant guide highlighted on vegcooking.com (endorsed by PETA). It listed four restaurants, 2 went out of business at least a year ago. That leaves Sage's Cafe and The Vertical Diner. Both are owned by the same family, so I choose to sample the slightly less expensive one, the diner. It was good. They catered to the needs of a family member with gluten intolerance just beautifully. I loved taking a break from sending servers to the kitchen on ingredient verification and just knowing that whatever I ordered was going to be 100% guaranteed vegan. My kids inhaled their version of chicken strips, and we all loved the ranch dressing for the "chicken" and carrots sticks. They even gladly accepted my request for the order "to-go" which, upon receiving my paper plate wrapped very well in plastic-wrap, I guessed they don't get very often. My all time favorite vegan restaurant is still The Green Restaurant in Tempe, AZ; this one takes a close second.
Papa Murphy's. When a family gathering called for pizza, I put in a request for a veggie, cheese-less one. Papa Murphy's filled the request wonderfully. They don't actually have an option on the menu, but get the regular crust, marinara sauce, and veggies and it's great. I verified the ingredients on the crust, not the sauce. However, any tiny amount of animal product makes my morning sickness come back and the absence of this problem confirmed the sauce is a-ok.
Cheesecake Factory. My visits here with family mark the 5th and 6th since I've gone vegan. Everytime I visit I quiz the server, sometimes asking the exact same questions. Everytime I learn which chef is willing to have patience with the server, because the attitude is quickly translated in the server's behavior, and which ones actually know the ingredients of the items. I also do it to force the server to educate himself on the menu and let the restaurant know people with these needs come in, please accomodates us. Here's a run-down
*Bread basket. This has sourdough and a type of brown bread. While the chef's differ on whether the sourdough is actually 100% vegan, the culture usually originates in milk. I find that the fermenting process eliminates enough product that I can eat all the bread I want and not get sick. The brown bread I get differing views on. Honestly, I can't figure out who's telling the truth, so the risk is yours.
*Salads. There are about three you can veganize. You can't even depend on the vinagrette dressing to be vegan. Ordering this will require trips to the kitchen to confirm.
*Pasta. There is one. Evelyn's pasta. Beware, this dish is dripping in olive oil. I was assured the pasta is egg-free, but again, it never hurts to confirm. When we order this we eat a small amount, take it home, boil up a pot full of pasta, and toss in Evelyn's. It spreads the oil out a lot better and feeds all of us for that second meal.
*Dessert. Uh, duh it's the cheesecake factory, right? Don't even bother, right? Not so. I've only had one server with enough knowledge of the menu to point out, but not force the sell, of the bowl of strawberries - for $6.50.
And...the disappointment
Mimi's Cafe. This used to be my all-time favorite, now it's just the biggest disappointment. They have nothing for lunch and dinner. They do serve breakfast all day, and there's a glimmer of hope there. Order the bowl of oatmeal, side of fruit. They have no milk substitute, so I ordered cranberry juice instead, and asked for the sugar on the side, in case the juice was sweet enough.
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Remember what we learned from Bambi "If you can't say somethin' nice. Don't say nuttin' at all."