since o’hare is my home airport and also the site of many, many layovers, i thought i’d take the opportunity tonight to investigate vegan options while waiting for a flight. stacey had told me previously that she found vegan food at o’hare, so i did a little research ahead of time. i went in knowing that somewhere there was a) food from soul veg, and b) a veggie dog.

while looking for the above, i came across a couple other options. at argo tea (terminal 2, concourse E), there were these bowls of grains and veggies and two of them were  marked vegan: a chickpea salad thing with veggies, and another thing i can’t remember. one that seemed vegan (brown rice with tomatoes and other veggies) seemed like it would be vegan but was not marked vegan. these options were listed, but at the time (5 pm, so things were a little picked over) they only had the rice/tomato one and two with meat.

i passed some airport standards: auntie anne’s which allegedly has vegan pretzels, jamba juice, smoothie king. i saw vosges chocolate bars in a couple different places (chicago brand, dark chocolate is vegan, but be careful not to get the dark chocolate bar that has BACON!). finally i found CIBO, which is a small grocery stand in between terminals 1 and 2. CIBO is the one that has prepackaged soul veg food! i was excited. however, the pickings were again slim–they listed 4 soul veg meals on the menu but only had a sad-looking taco salad–and they also don’t heat the food. eggplant parmesan was also on the list, but would you really want that cold?

i continued to terminal 1, then to concourse C, which is where you go through the tunnel of rainbow lights and soothing music. at concourse C i finally found exactly what i wanted: america’s dog. it’s a local hotdog chain with “city dogs” based on hot dogs in different american cities, and you can get any of them with a veggie dog instead of meat (some are chili dogs and i didn’t ask if the chili is veg or not). i got a chicago-style veggie dog and, expecting a smart dog, was pleasantly surprised to find the veggie dog was jumbo-sized and had a much better color AND texture than a smart dog. i didn’t ask if it was vegan, but a couple of vegan blogs had mentioned it, so i figured it was, but i recommend confirming.

i look forward to my next wait at o’hare!

dear blog friends and loyal readers:

tomorrow i’m leaving for a 3-week trip to the dominican republic. after much thought, i’ve decided not to blog during this time. while traveling and eating at restaurants and at the homes of my friend’s family members, i’m going to do my best to choose vegan options, but i anticipate that it will be challenging and not always under my control. i will do the best i can and report back on how it goes- hopefully with some tips for other vegan travelers- but probably will not record all the details. i also expect to have infrequent internet access so will have to catch up with my fellow bloggers’ adventures when i get back. dear blog friends and loyal readers, i hope i’m not letting you down!!

emily.

the last two days blurred into one because i did a big fridge cleanout and an overnight road trip. i ate a lot of weird stuff that i can’t totally remember. i had two notable fast food stops while driving, at what i think are the best options for vegans that can be found at almost any rest stop:

taco bell: good job

for dinner last night i had two fresco bean burritos. “fresco” means that they had lettuce and tomato instead of cheese and sour cream- in other words, i could order something completely vegan without having to make any off-the-menu special requests! good job, taco bell!

subway: frustrations

subway is always a good option on the road, but i had two frustrations: subway’s pizza, which looked delicious when my friend ordered it, comes frozen with the cheese already on the crust (even though they also add more cheese later), so there is no way to make it vegan. also, when i had subway at 8:00 this morning, the subway employee who made my sandwich would not let me pass off my veggie delight as an egg-and-cheese-breakfast-sandwich-hold-the-egg-and-cheese, but made me pay for the veggie delight, which cost almost twice as much even though it contained all the same veggies. in other words, i had to pay more to NOT have egg and cheese on my sandwich!

one other note: i found stage planks at a gas station near memphis. i’ve only ever seen these at gas stations in the south. try them if you see them!

toasted oats cereal with soy milk, ground flax, agave

leftover chili and cornbread

coffee and banana bread; watermelon

whole wheat bread out of the oven (recipe from ’1,000 vegan recipes’) with peanut butter and raspberry preserves; 1/2 session black lager

leftover cinnamon-raisin challah bread, toasted; small orange; glass of 8th continent soy milk

lasagna from freezer; red delicious apple; last sweet potato-guava muffin from freezer

carrot; small orange; free beer at i <3 video; peach-raspberry-ginger sno cone from fat cock coffee trailer; corn tortilla chips from fiesta bakery

late dinner: tempeh chili from this recipe; jalapeno cornbread from ’1,000 vegan recipes’; watermelon; 1/2 session black lager mixed with 1/2 topo sabores tamarind

brunch at marcy’s: cherries; whole wheat biscuits with jalapeno and daiya cheddar cheese (recipe adapted from ‘joy of cooking’); fruit salad with blackberries, strawberries, banana, kiwi, lemon juice, sugar

small bowl of popcorn; sip of stewart’s diet root beer

leftover stuffed zucchini, eggplant, and grape leaves; sweet corn; strawberries and blueberries; leftover chocolate hazelnut cake and peanut butter chocolate chip cookie cake

snacks on plane: lightly salted rice cake; honey wheat pretzels from trader joe’s; baby carrots; plum

cinnamon raisin challah

columbian arepas (recipe from ‘viva vegan’): one savory with soyrizo, green onion, sriracha, salsa huichol, and one sweet/spicy with blackberry chile syrup (made last week) and sriracha

coffee at bennu; carrot; red delicious apple; banana chips

tofu, shredded carrot, cucumber, sriracha, and leftover peanut sauce wrapped in red cabbage, tied with twine, and baked at 350 for a few minutes; tostones (fried green plantain chips) with mojo (olive oil, garlic, lime juice, black pepper); 1/2 tortilla with last of peanut sauce; session black lager

snow cones at sno beach: 1/2 wedding cake, 1/2 leche quemada

watermelon, cinnamon-raisin challah

cinnamon-raisin flax seed challah bread (following this recipe, except i subbed canola for olive oil, added 2 tbsp ground cinnamon and 1/2 c raisins to the dough, and drizzled agave as well as sesame seeds on top, before baking). thanks for sharing the cookies and candids blog in a previous post, katherine! the two things i’ve made–this and the rice krispie treats a couple weeks ago–both turned out great.

carrot; lasagna from freezer; small orange; gluten-free oatmeal raisin cookie from the other night

red delicious apple; samples of fruit and granola from whole foods; unidentified beer at i <3 video’s free beer tuesday; peanuts at five guys

ridiculously excessive and delicious dinner: pizza from whole foods (marinara, daiya cheese, roma tomatoes, red onion, roasted garlic, herbs, fresh basil that we added at home) and cajun fries from five guys; session black lager

toasted oat cereal with crunchy peanut butter, banana, and soy milk

carrot; lasagna from freezer; small orange; sweet potato-guava muffin

red delicious apple; artichoke hearts; 1/2 last homebrew; raspberry mamba

leftover posole in crunchy taco shells with soyrizo, sour cream, ground black pepper, widow maker hot sauce; peanut butter and raspberry preserves in a crunchy taco shell (yum); handful of chocolate chips; watermelon; sip of jim beam on the rocks

smoothie made by blending orange-strawberry-banana juice with ice, frozen blackberries, and fresh banana; toasted oats with crunchy peanut butter, banana, homemade soy milk

leftover sloppy lentils on whole wheat bun; red delicious apple; coffee at mozart’s

gingerbread pig from fiesta bakery

quick red posole from ‘viva vegan!’ topped with crumbled corn tortilla, tofutti sour cream, and green onions; oatmeal raisin cookies from ‘veganomicon’ made gluten free by a gluten-free friend; watermelon

toasted oat cereal, crunchy peanut butter, banana all mixed together

tons of simply orange juice (sore throat); coffee at mozart’s

whole wheat tortilla with last of homemade hummus and avocado; carrot; red delicious apple; target brand fig newtons and more coffee

picnic on mt bonnell: sloppy lentils (aka snobby joes, from ‘veganomicon’); homemade whole wheat buns; steamed kale; cajun-style fries from five guys (also had some peanuts while waiting); watermelon; chang thai beer; homebrewed wheat beer

handful of chocolate chips; shot of cheap tequila + lime; swigs of jim beam

late night snack: smoothie made by blending orange-strawberry-banana juice with ice; animal crackers

toasted homemade bread from freezer with soynut butter and banana

carrot and homemade hummus; small orange; target brand fig newtons

red delicious; handful of toasted oat cereal; small piece of toasted banana bread; couple of “assorted fish” (i was feeling peckish)

dinner at g’raj mahal: papri chat; channa masala; madrasi curry with veggies; paratha; rice. they have noted what can be made vegan on the menu, but you still have to mention it to the server so they can use sesame oil instead of ghee. shots of jim beam; session lager

handful of chocolate chips; watermelon

toasted 1/2 bagel with soynut butter and banana

lasagna from freezer; red delicious apple; target brand fig newtons

carrot; chocolate chip banana bread (recipe from ’1,000 vegan recipes’)

steamed kale with widow maker habanero hot sauce; sweet potato fries seasoned with paprika, cumin, salt, ground black pepper and dipped in honey mustard (equal parts honey and yellow mustard); bush’s vegetarian baked beans; 1/2 whole wheat tortilla; cocktail with jim beam, topo chico, guava and blackberry syrups, lime, and basil; session lager

banana bread with peanut butter; blueberries; almond milk

strawberries while babysitting; cantaloupe, cherries, granola, and blueberry jam samples at central market

homemade hummus in a whole wheat tortilla with spinach

kim’s magic pop; watermelon; target brand fig newtons; pomegranate green tea

whiskey manhattan with maraschino cherry; bush’s vegetarian baked beans; sweet potato fries with paprika, cumin, cayenne, salt; steamed kale; more jim beam

movie snacks: pull n peel cherry twizzlers; assorted fish (off-brand swedish fish=terrible mistake)

late-night snack: toasted 1/2 bagel; small orange