Friday, April 16, 2010

What's vegan at the Olive Garden?

HEY VEGANS: If you can avoid the Olive Garden, do. If you can't, order the gluten-free pasta and salad without the dressing.

Like I said previously, I'm going to dinner with my coworkers tonight at Olive Garden in Falls Church. I've scoured the internet and it seems that there is a lot of confusion as to what is vegan and what isn't, so I just called the one I'm going to tonight to clear up what it is that I'll be ordering. This is how the conversation went (in so many words):

Me: I'm vegan and eating there tonight, are your pastas made with egg?
OG Lady: All the pastas are made with egg.
Me: Even the pasta in your minestrone?
OGL: Yes.
Me: What do you recommend I order?
OGL: Salad without the dressing (made with egg & cheese) and minestrone without the pasta.
Me: I read on the website that there is a gluten-free pasta, is it made with egg?
OGL: I don't know.
Me: Could you check?
OGL: I don't know how I could know that.
Me: Do you have an ingredient list?
OGL: Not right here in front of me.
Me: How about in the restaurant?
OGL, sighing: Let me get my manager.

OG Manager: What's the deal?
Me: VEGAN
OGM: I don't know why she told you the pastas were made with egg. None of the pastas are made with egg.
Me: What? Are you sure? (why would she say that?)
OGM: I'm not completely positive but this has happened before and we always say there isn't any egg in them.
Me: Could you check?
...
OGM: I stand corrected. All the pastas are made with egg.
Me: OK. Does that include your gluten-free pasta?
OGM: Do eggs contain gluten?
Me: They are two different things, I'm just wondering if the pasta you serve that is gluten-free is also egg-free?
OGM: I don't know.
Me: Could you check?
OGM: I don't think we have an ingredient list for that.
Me: Really? Would you mind double checking?
...
OGM comes back, reads off the label of the GF pasta as well as the sauce that comes with it. No animal products! The pasta is made with quinoa, score! : "I guess that's what you'll be having, huh?"

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