Though Dallas has thousands of restaurants that feature cuisine from all around the world, is Dallas catering to the vegan community right at home?

The Dallas restaurant community has a lot of work to do when it comes to catering to the vegan community.

Though Chipotle has recently faced some backlash for its E. coli scare, it’s an example of a restaurant that conscientious of where each product comes from and is very accommodating to vegans. They regularly look for humane farms for their animal products and constantly have fresh veggies and tofu as vegan options, putting effort into “food with integrity.” Almost every restaurant in Dallas has specifically gluten-free options, yet very few go out of their way to provide vegans with substitutions to their signature dishes.

However, the number of vegan-accommodating restaurants in Dallas is growing. Yes, yes it would be great to live in cities like New York, Portland or Austin with ample vegan restaurants and bakeries, but I am happy with what we have right here at home.

Between Spiral Diner, Cosmic Cafe, A Loving Hut and the numerous Indian, Thai and juice places around town, in every neighborhood there is plenty to eat for me.

Even when I am out with friends I can find numerous nutritious and filling options, and you could too. Every menu is vegan; you just have to look for it.

Never underestimate the power of sides. Each menu is full of sides void of animal product. Whether it is potatoes, grains, fruit or vegetables there is always plenty to choose from at any restaurant.

At Mexican restaurants they always have vegetarian fajitas on or off the menu. At burger places that don’t have veggie burgers, I just get fries, tomatoes and lemonade; however, most places like Gazebo Burger, Liberty Burger and Hopdoddy’s have a vegetarian option.

Taco places always have chips, guacamole, and one or two vegetarian tacos to choose from. If pizza restaurants don’t serve vegan cheese or pasta, there is no shame in asking for no cheese. Breakfast places are always easy. I can fruit, oatmeal, hash browns, toast and smoothies, substituting the dairy for water of course.

You might think being vegan means eating a salad for every meal – on the contrary, certain menu options and many styles of restaurants allow me to rarely eat salad. Although Dallas has miles to improve, with the hundreds of restaurants around town, vegans shall not starve.

– Emily Fuller – Video Editor –