Are Chain Restaurants Vegetarian Friendly?

Day 9 -- I will Survive by Cake

So for the past week, I've been pretty busy/extremely lazy to cook meals at home. So I took this as initiative to try my new vegetarian lifestyle dining out. Unfortunately, my Italian neighborhood is not the progressive dining capitol of the U.S. a.k.a you'll find a sub shop on every block.

Anywho, I decided to try out good ole Bertucci's. Typically, I go to this restaurant for pizza, but having had it a few days in a row, I wanted to try a pasta dish... Of course, there wasn't a whole lot of vegetarian options on the menu. But if you're brave enough to be that bold diner who asks tons of questions and substitutes meats, then this restaurant is fine for you. Unfortunately, I am not that kind of person, but I still tried the part out. I ordered a new dish called the Penne Pugila, which includes Fresh Grilled chicken, broccoli and sun-dried tomatoes in a cream sauce with goat cheese, parsley, roasted garlic, grated cheese and a hint of hot pepper (ingredient list from Bertucci Site). Relax, I asked for it without chicken, and replaced it with Portbella mushrooms.

The dish came out and was surprisingly flavorful, but still had a piece of chicken on the plate. So I grabbed it and threw it before I gave into temptation. The chicken made me wonder how they prepare the food in the back. Did the cooks pick the chicken out piece by piece? Also, as expected, the Portbella mushrooms were pretty depressing.

Moral of the story. Don't be lazy like me. Avoid chain restaurants if you want fresh and healthy ingredients. They are sometimes no better than fast food joints and often skimp out on fresh produce and replace it with frozen foods, rather than having a seasonal menu that uses local items. If nothing else is around, don't freak if you have to go to one of these establishments. You can always find something on the menu. Just remember this, you still pay the same price for most likely a meatless pasta dish as you would if it had meat. Meaning, you're wasting money on something that you can make home for 50 cents.