[moonkissed]

Wednesday is my birthday and my husband is taking me out to dinner more then likely at applebee's. I LOVE their fruity mixed drinks lol.

I am not really worried about calories lol I'll pretend it is a cheat day lol

But looking at the menu & googling my heart out apparently Applebee's thinks meat is good in everything! They have no salad or pasta or anything I can see besides appetizers without meat!

This will be my second time eating out as a vegetarian and I am nervous as all Before where I went I just got a veggie omelet so super easy I didn't have to ask for anything removed or substituted. Not to mention we might be eating with his parents as well and so this might just be totally nervous and horrible and spotlight shined right on me type of thing sigh

So I was thinking of getting maybe the ravioli dish and asking for no chicken.

Has anyone eaten there before? Any advice?

[pinkalarmclock]

whenever i go somewhere that absolutely no vegetarian meals or none that look appetizing I'll just order something without the meat. you could get one of their salads with no chicken, or a pasta without the shrimp or chicken. i just looked at their menu and both salads and pasta would be easy without the meat, and still delicious.

[nelie]

Do you have to go to Applebees? I'm vegan so I modify a lot of things at restaurants but I try to go to restaurants where I have at least one decent option.

[tommy]

Along the lines of what Nelie said- since it is YOUR b-day can you suggest something that will please everybody? Good luck and happy Bday

[rschroed]

Yeah, being a veggiehead at Applebee's is hard; I have a group of friends who have a reunion there, in our hometown, during the December holidays, and every year I scour the menu. I used to default to the veggie quesadilla appetizer, but I have a vague memory of that being impossible for some reason, last year; and I remember they couldn't remove the chicken from the Thai-whatever-it's-called quesadilla, because it came pre-prepared with chicken. There's a lot of stuff you can't get the meat out of--even the soups are meaty, French onion with beef broth, chili with beef, too.

There are probably some things you can get them to remove chicken from; salads, probably the wraps, *maybe* the pasta. Maybe ask them if they can add back in beans so you get some satisfying protein. Don't be afraid to ask--they'll have more demanding customers than you, I'm sure.

Have a happy birthday, and good luck!

[moonkissed]

Thanks everyone. I think I am just mostly nervous since I have only been vegetarian for 1 & 1/2 months so still pretty new to me lol

It is a fairly small town. There is not alot of options that I know of. They have the Applebees, Dennys, Bob Evans and some local fishy place lol Like everything closes down there.

But I have had bad experience at the Dennys in the past. & My husband & Mother in law work for Bob Evans so they are kindof sick of it lol.

But maybe I will just go out to Bob Evans or go to Pizza hut lmao. It is a touchy subject because it was my husbands idea him trying to be all sweet and while at first he was very supportive about me being vegetarian now he is kindof being annoying.

bleh I hate birthdays

[bacilli]

Applebee's has a black bean burger also. It's not spectacular, but it could be worse. They will also sub out bella mushrooms for meat in fajitas, and on most of their sandwiches. I avoid Applebee's when I can, but work functions always seem to end up there.

[Wildflower]

As a vegetarian, I avoid Applebee's. It's honestly the one place I truly won't go as every salad and pasta dish have chicken. The times I have gone, I have gotten an appetizer - something not healthy, but meat free at least.

Some do have the black bean burger, but not all. I don't like trying to negotiate new meals as places get annoyed, but you could probably look at the side dishes and get something like a baked potato, maybe a cooked veggie if that's offered, and then ask for a side salad - those are usually a tiny bowl of lettuce with no meat or anything interesting. You could then share an appetizer with your husband and it would be an OK meal.

Oh, and if the kids menu has a grilled cheese, you might be able to order that. Honestly, anywhere should be able to make a grilled cheese, but I have gotten push back from places about ordering off the kids menu as they think I am trying to cheat them or something and I should pay more for an adult meal. I happen to love grilled cheese, and it's actually usually a lower calorie option compared to the giant oversized portions of other foods.

I've had great luck with Denny's, which sounds funny coming from a vegetarian. They allow you to substitute a Boca burger on any of their burger options, they have breakfast all the time so you can get pancakes or eggs as a meal, and they have appetizers (onion rings, cheese sticks) that are veggie friendly.

We don't have Bob Evans around here, so the only time I have eaten there was when I was a kid on vacation.

Happy Birthday!!!

[nelie]

Oh yeah, duh. I forgot about eating 'sides'. My husband and I had a great vegan meal at Outback and it cost like $3 because we ordered 3 sides.

[Wildflower]

Outback has amazing salads!

I like how they put the dressing at the bottom of the bowl so that the greens don't get soggy.

Are you vegan or vegetarian? They have a veggie pasta dish at Outback but it has a cream sauce (not healthy, but is an option).

I love their bloomin onion (bad) but I read somewhere they still fry in LARD!! So apparently it's not even vegetarian.

Gee, I sound like I eat a lot of crap! lol, not really, it's just usually the unhealthiest fried things that are veggie at these places I go to with carnivorous friends.

[nelie]

We are vegan and obviously Outback wouldn't be our first choice. We have vegan restaurants around us though and nice ethnic restaurants.

[bacilli]

Denny's now has Amy's vegan burgers, I read.

DH manages a Bob Evans, and the only "safe" vegan option there is a salad that's just lettuce and carrots, unless you do special requests. There's only a few things you can order on a special request though, because almost every bit of their food is prepackaged and shipped in. They have a new pasta dish that can be easily veganized, but it's an olive oil dressing, and their olive oil is horrible, so I wouldn't suggest it unless you absolutely have to.