The Unvegan

Recent Posts

10 Years of Unvegan
A Quick Bite at Burrito Express
Serendipity at Northern Waters Smokehaus
Twerks and Burritos at Casa Amigos

‘National Chains’

A Little Italy at Maggiano’s

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Oh look, there’s a little bit of Italy.

To grab some dinner, and take advantage of one of our seemingly endless restaurant gift cards, the girlfriend and I headed to Maggiano’s Little Italy next to The Grove. When we arrived, there was a pretty long line, but their bar had a first come, first served policy that had the full menu and we quickly found ourselves a nice table there.

Although Maggiano’s is a national chain, I’d never been and dove right in to the menu head first. I found a few things that looked great and had a hard time narrowing down to an appetizer and main course. Fortunately, I found that one of the main courses I was staring down also repeated as an appetizer. Such genius. This was the four cheese ravioli, mmm four cheeses. These were in some pesto-alfredo sauce with mozzarella. After a little browning in the oven, this ravioli looked great and tasted just as good as it looked. The pesto sauce was nice and creamy and although the marinara sauce was unnecessary, it was nice to feel thought-of.

Loading up on Dough at CPK

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Bread!

A long time ago, I tried out the BBQ Chicken Pizza from California Pizza Kitchen (CPK). By this time, the restaurant was in Michigan everyone had been raving about it. I tasted it and was really disappointed. Using BBQ sauce instead of tomato sauce disturbed me, and the onions hidden in the cheese made it even worse. Later on, I tried many different pizzas from CPK and was pleased. Yet, since moving to California, I have had very little, if any contact with CPK. Recently, though, I had the chance for a revisit to their Beverly Hills location and decided to once again try out their BBQ Chicken Pizza. But this time, I was prepared.

Dying a Little Inside at Chili’s

Translucent chips!
Translucent chips!

Chili’s isn’t exactly known for being healthy, making it a perfect place to do some unvegan food reviewing, or so one would think. I went to the Manhattan Beach location with a group of six for lunch and we all decided to take advantage of their 2 for $20. In this nutso deal, two people get to share an appetizer, get their own entrees and get to share a dessert. Since we had six people, we all ordered that special and made sure to get different appetizers. Then the real fun began!

Taco Bell’s New Black Jack Taco

Black is in?
Black is in?

I started seeing ads for Taco Bell’s new Black Jack taco last week and I knew I had to test it out. There is just something so intriguing about taco shells in different colors, like when they did the red Volcano Taco. As long as they don’t release some sort of awful green-shelled taco with organic vegetables, I will continue checking out these taco color varieties.

A Grand Breakfast at IHOP

If only they could slip a little meat in there...
If only they could slip a little meat in there…

I’m not usually a “go out to breakfast” type of guy, but recently when I was in Lake Tahoe, going out to breakfast was really my only option. Rather than take my chances with a place I had never heard of, IHOP started calling my name, and I answered.

The wait was kind of long, but I knew it would be worth it to get a hearty meal before spending the day hiking. IHOP was having a special called Hawaiian Pancakes at the time, so my eyes immediately started checking them out. This wasn’t simply an order of pancakes though, the special also included bacon, hash browns and eggs. Amazingly, this special cost less than if I had just ordered eggs, hash browns and bacon (without the pancakes) so I knew it had to be mine. Of all the Hawaiian flavors, I decided to get the Strawberry Passion Fruit. The picture of it on the menu looked delicious, especially with the strange yellowish cream spilling out from between the two pancakes.

Rethinking Fast Food at Rally’s (CLOSED)

Things between buns should always have double-meat.
Things between buns should always have double-meat.

Edit: This location may be gone, but Rally’s is definitely still a thing.

Some days, typical fast food restaurants just aren’t enough. Enter: Rally’s. It’s like fast food, but with a few little twists. In fact, it isn’t always called Rally’s. Supposedly it is called Checker’s in some strange parts of the country.

What really drew me to Rally’s in Palms was the sign that said “2 for $4 Double Bacon Cheddar Burgers and Double Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches.” After seeing these options, I didn’t even need to look at the menu except to decide which fries I wanted. One thing that sets Rally’s apart from other fast food places is that they have two drive-thru windows, ensuring speedy ordering. In-N-Out could certainly learn a lot from this. They also have a window that you can just walk up to for ordering, if you want to sit in the nice outdoor dining area.

A Layover at Charley’s Grilled Subs

Fully devoid of any vegetables.
Fully devoid of any vegetables.

Stuck in the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport on a layover, I set out to find some good food to eat. This isn’t exactly an easy task, especially considering that I had a very limited amount of time to eat and had to resort to fast food. I found Charley’s Grilled Subs and decided to try it out. The had a grill where you could actually see what was being cooked, plus the prices weren’t out of control.

I quick glance at the menu revealed to me what I needed to eat, the Bacon 3 Cheese Steak, three of my favorite foods in one sandwich. They actually had a pretty efficient system set up, where the guy grilling asked you your order before you made it to the cashier, so it could be prepared ahead of time. I guess when you’re eating in an airport, you notice these things.

Attack of the Baconator

The burger that eats you...
The burger that eats you…

The Baconator.

It sounds like something from a movie. A robot powered by bacon? A statue of Arnold Schwartzenegger composed entirely of bacon? Or, perhaps, it is just the name of Wendy’s greatest hamburger creation.

Despite the beauty of Wendy’s Value Menu, the Baconator is always the unvegan choice. This heart attack between buns is made of two 1/4 pound burger patties, two slices of cheese and six strips of bacon. The best part? Not a vegetable in sight.

Darius Dugger: Unvegan Hero

Would you accept pickles from this man?
Would you accept pickles from this man?

Whenever I go to Burger King, I make sure to order without any vegetables. Today a friend of mine told me that I am not alone. A man named Darius Dugger has a lawsuit claiming that he ordered a meal without pickles, onions and tomatoes and Burger King failed to give it to him his way.

According to Hamptonroads.com, Dugger had a “severe allergic reaction” to the vegetables. Now I’m not in favor of suing a corporation over an incident like this, especially when he should have looked between the patties before biting in, however, I am proud of him for bringing the incident to national attention.

Getting in on the Free Food Battle with Domino’s

Why can't everything be in a bread bowl?
Why can’t everything be in a bread bowl?

It may not be grilled chicken, but Domino’s had their own little free food giveaway yesterday. This was done in order to promote their new Bread Bowl Pastas. It was also probably to make people feel better about going to Domino’s again after a couple disgruntled workers attempted to sabotage the company.

I was already intrigued by the Bread Bowl Pastas because they look so good on TV, but I found out they were free, they become more of a necessity than an intrigue. I went to Domino’s in El Segundo, expecting to wait in a long line like I had at El Pollo Loco, only to find one other patron at the place. Of the five pasta choices, only the Chicken Alfredo and Italian Sausage Marinara weren’t tainted by vegetables. After having free chicken for my two prior lunches, I opted for the sausage instead.

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