VRF Member traveling to ....

[Miso Vegan]

I started this thread because I'll be going on a work-related trip and would like input for restaurants/things to do. I figured a thread would be better than the shoutbox!, so anytime a VRFer is traveling, they can post here.

So, where am I going? I leave in 2 days for Phoenix, AZ, and surrounding area. My hotel will be a resort/spa/thingy in Carefree, AZ. I will have a rental car, and some of my work will be at the 2 Whole Foods (Phoenix and Tempe) and also at another health food store (Sage & Cedar in Carefree), and I really only have a few meals where I'll be "free" - tho I'll need to figure out breakfast, too.

Any suggestions, oh worldly VRFers?

[trichaos]

this is what I got when I asked about the area last year:

http://www.veganrepresent.com/forums...ighlight=tempe

I ended up mainly eating stuff in my hotel room that I got at Whole Foods.. I did end up meeting a group of triathletes for dinner at Buca de Beppo but their options are limited so I wouldn't recommend choosing that place.

[Miso Vegan]

Thanks for the link.

So you didn't get to try to two restaurants recommended?

I think I'll be on the Whole Foods Market Diet while I'm there, too....

[trichaos]

Originally Posted by Miso Vegan Thanks for the link. So you didn't get to try to two restaurants recommended? I think I'll be on the Whole Foods Market Diet while I'm there, too....

No, I didn't try the recommended restaurants. I did the Whole Foods diet because I was there for a race and didn't want to chance getting food poisoning from a restaurant.

[Miso Vegan]

Originally Posted by trichaos No, I didn't try the recommended restaurants. I did the Whole Foods diet because I was there for a race and didn't want to chance getting food poisoning from a restaurant.

That's a fair enough consideration. But for future reference, do you want me to tell you how many times the 2 WFM I worked at got calls about food poisoning? And how many times I suffered from it (from eating at WFM)? Anyway, I'm going a bit off topic and I do still eat there. I think the chances of getting food poisoning there are roughly the same as any decent restaurant.

[JasperKat]

Good idea for a thread, Miso. I was hunting around here yesterday for South Bend, Indiana suggestions.

-JK

[holidayatsea]

check out this website:

www.happycow.com

it's a database of vegetarian/vegan places to eat as well as health food stores all over the world!

[Miso Vegan]

I meant to do a quick update, in case anyone ever goes where I went.

I was staying at a resort in Carefree, which is 20 minutes N of Phoenix (at least, from the N edge of Phoenix; nearly 1 hr from the airport). Also, Carefree is annexed to Cave Creek, which is more of a town. Carefree has a Giant Sundial.

There's precious little for vegans, specifically. The vitamin store guy had no recommendations. However, the owners of the store I was working with took me to a restaurant in their shopping "village" that was quite accomodating, making me a pasta dish with very spicy, chipotle-flavored tomato sauce. It was quite good. I also got a very nice, leafy side salad with oil and vinegar dressing. The margueritas, made by a female bartender, were the second-best I've ever had (after my brother's). I never knew the restaurant's name, but I will say it's in the same shopping center as a small store called Sage & Cedar, it's sizeable, and there was nothing vegan on the otherwise extensive menu. This shopping center is attached by a driveway to the south side of the Giant Sundial tourist spot.

I did find a sandwich counter at a new natural food store in Cave Creek. They made me their veggie sandwich with roasted veggies, left off the cheese, and substituted hummus for whatever spread they had. The bread - don't know if it was vegan. It was sourdough, and I can tell you, vegan or not, it could not have been more bland. The folks were very nice and it was a new store (half-full shelves) so hopefully it will stay open.

From them I also bought, for my hotel room:
hummus
crackers
black olives
chips
Clif and Luna bars
Odwalla (I think? or similar) protein drinks

They also had produce, and some vegan cereal, soymilk, cookies, and various other hotel-friendly snacky things (had I been staying longer, I'd've bought more). Alas, the free chips that came with the sandwich were not vegan (salt and vinegar flavor, fer cryin' out loud!).

So, for the record:
Sonoran Sun Fine Foods
6130 E. Cave Creek Rd, Ste #1
Cave Creek, AZ 85331
480.595.1221
In the Las Tiendas Shops & Galleries

The day that I worked in Phoenix, I was working at the 2 Whole Foods Markets (Phoenix and Tempe) and had no time to spare, so I just ate there. They do not have nearly the vegan selections of either the Orlando or Seattle stores, but there was enough in the prepared foods.

By the way, it's rather hard to be vegan and correctly pronounce the town of Tempe. It's not tem'pay like the food, it's temPEE'.

And traffic in Greater Phoenix sucks.

[Miso Vegan]

And I meant to add, the airport had a burrito counter that modified their vegetarian burrito for me. Their sign said in big letters that there was no lard in the beans, and the guy said the rice was not cooked in stock.

I could probably be more helpful if I knew restaurant names....

[Miso Vegan]

OK, I'm traveling again, this time to Pennsylvania over Memorial Day weekend.
Pittsburg area, specifically around a smaller town called Beaver. The wedding I'm begrudgingly attending is in Portersville.

Anyone have insider's info?

[girlfallingdown]

Originally Posted by Miso Vegan OK, I'm traveling again, this time to Pennsylvania over Memorial Day weekend. Pittsburg area, specifically around a smaller town called Beaver. The wedding I'm begrudgingly attending is in Portersville. Anyone have insider's info?

I grew up so close to Portersville! My mom still lives in the house - it's about 5 minutes from Portersville!

I don't know how much help I'll be though...I didn't go vegetarian/vegan until after I moved away from home, and I'm not too familiar with Beaver anyway.

Sheetz, which is a local gas station/convenience store chain, has MTO sandwiches - you can get veggie subs or wraps without cheese that are vegan. It's not going to be the tastiest thing you could eat, but it's still food!

Other than that, I really don't know what to tell you. Sorry I'm not more help! I really don't think there's much to choose from - nothing that I know of, anyway.

If you end up in Pittsburgh at all, go to Hunan Kitchen on Forbes Ave. in Squirrel Hill. It used to be an all-veg, mostly vegan restaurant, but they ended up adding a meat menu. However, they still have the most amazing fake meat chinese food - and it's all vegan, except for a couple items with cheese. My omni fiance & I make all our friends try it - they all think they're going to hate it, then end up loving it. Ahh, the marvels of soy & gluten!

Sorry again for not being more help...I hope you can find something!

[bird]

I'll be arriving in Chicago on the afternoon of Saturday, September 30th, and staying until the afternoon of Thursday, October 5th. On the 5th I'll going from Chicago to NYC, and leaving NYC for Minneapolis again on Sunday, October 8th.

dandy? IW? Katelin? bluedawg?

[Dandelion]

Originally Posted by bird I'll be arriving in Chicago on the afternoon of Saturday, September 30th, and staying until the afternoon of Thursday, October 5th. On the 5th I'll going from Chicago to NYC, and leaving NYC for Minneapolis again on Sunday, October 8th. dandy? IW? Katelin? bluedawg?

sweet! let's rockit!

[mishka]

aw. I want to travel toooooooo. *stamps feet*

[bird]

Yeah, I have every aspect booked now except for where I'm going to stay the three nights in NYC. I don't think I dare try the parents. I'll have to hit up my friends when I get home today.