One of the main reasons that we decided to start traveling full-time in an RV was to experience the delicious vegan food that this country has to offer. There are SO many amazing restaurants that are worth road-tripping for, but we’ve narrowed it down to six of our favorites. Let us know what we missed!
1. Las Vegas: Terrace Point Cafe
All the restaurants in the Wynn and Encore hotels have a full vegan menu. Each has their own flair and some amazing dishes. Our favorite meal can be found at the Terrace Point Cafe for brunch- chick’n and waffles. They use Gardein chick’n breasts and fry it up with a coating of corn flakes to make it super crispy. It comes on top of a giant waffle with scallions baked right into the waffle batter. The best part about the entire dish is the “spicy” syrup that it comes with. A mix of maple syrup and Frank’s Red Hot makes this the best syrup we’ve ever had. The meal is a little expensive (Vegas prices), but you can pair it with bottomless mimosas and have a grand ole time.
2. Los Angeles & Toronto: Doomies Home Cookin’
Doomies actually has two locations, one in Los Angeles and one in Toronto, Canada so you’re covered on both sides of the country. It’s really difficult to pull out a single dish worth visiting Doomies for, because they’re all SO good. If we had to pick just one, the Big Mac is where it’s at. The Big Mac is a secret menu item, so you won’t find it actually listed on the menu. It comes piled high with two juicy patties, three pieces of bread, topped with all the fixin’s and amazing thousand island dressing. It tastes just how we remember a Big Mac would taste- but BETTER (and VEGAN)! You can upgrade to “fun fries” and choose from a bunch of different toppings for your french fries, like cheese sauce or buffalo dip. For dessert, don’t miss the deep-fried Oreos!
3. Austin: BBQ Revolution food truck
You can’t go to Texas and not eat BBQ! Luckily, Austin has an array of vegan restaurants and even boasts its own all-vegan BBQ food truck called BBQ Revolution. We recommend the BBQ Combo Platter so you can sample their brisket, tempeh ribs, and soy curls. Definitely pair the BBQ with the bacon ranch pasta salad. This is in no way a ‘healthy’ meal and it’s super heavy, but it is delicious and totally worth a stop in Austin.
4. Chicago: Chicago Diner
You should just order one of everything from Chicago Diner! Just kidding (kind of). They have some of our favorite buffalo wings from anywhere in the U.S. That’s saying a lot, because we order buffalo wings whenever they’re on the menu. The wings are thick slabs of seitan slathered with buffalo sauce and paired with some truly amazing ranch dressing. We would be happy just ordering those, but definitely also pick up a Radical Reuben sandwich. Much like how we order buffalo wings whenever we get the chance, we also do the same for the Reuben. This one is the best we’ve ever had. Packed with flavor and topped with grilled onions, sauerkraut, cheese, the homemade corned beef seitan is divine. It is then smothered in thousand island dressing and served on marble rye bread. PERFECTION! If you have room for dessert, get one of their famous milkshakes.
5. Boston: Veggie Galaxy
There’s just something comforting about diner food and Veggie Galaxy offers you that at home comfort food, plus it’s open late! They have an extensive menu for whatever mood you’re in. We recommend their brunch menu, and the stuffed french toast in particular. It’s stuffed with vanilla cream cheese and topped with caramelized banana butter, strawberry sauce and maple syrup. It is literally one of the best breakfast meals that we have ever had on our travels! The cream sauce reminds us of a combination of ice cream and cream cheese in both flavor and consistency and when paired with french toast, butter, and syrup, it’s just heaven on a plate! Plus, they also have delicious buffalo wings, so this place wins all around in our book.
6. New York: Cienfuegos
Much like the other cities on this list, New York City does not have a shortage of vegan restaurants to indulge in and we tried quite a few. The one that blew us away the most and still has us talking about it is Cienfuegos, a Cuban restaurant on the lower east side. It’s a small place, but has some truly amazing food. And if you go on a Monday night, they have live music playing which adds to the ambiance. Our favorite dish were the Spicy Albondigas (meatballs) which came in a bowl covered in chipotle tomato sauce and cheese. It’s truly an incredible combination of flavors that will leave you scraping the sides of the dish wanting more. We also loved the Mushroom and Coconut Rice Croquetas, which are like fried hush puppies, and come with some amazing dipping sauces. Definitely don’t forget to order dessert and indulge in the churros that are stuffed with dulce de leche and a chocolate dipping sauce.
Now that you’ve worked up your appetite, go rent an RV today and eat some delicious food!
