What to eat where?
I am writing this simple guide for my family. See if you can use it too. The Target audience is Indian Vegetarian students and families coming to the USA/Canada for tourism or work.
Basics
Vegetarian food:
This is mostly safe to consume. Bakery items which have egg in it are also considered vegetarian here. So make sure you check the ingredients or ask on the counter. To be safe, always assume any bakery food like cake, muffins, cupcakes, cookies or pastries are always going to have egg in it. When you go there and ask for “eggless cake”, you are going to get really puzzling looks. If you want to ask, then ask “Do you have anything which doesn’t have egg in it?”.
Most of the brand name ice creams also have eggs. Always check ingredients on the container.
Some Thai or Chinese places consider fish as vegetarian as well. But fish usually has strong smell and easy to identify if they put some fish sauce in the food.
Vegan food
This is safe to eat. But since Vegan food does not have any dairy, which includes milk, butter and yogurt, the food may not taste really great. But it is better than nothing. Many vegan options use mushrooms, so watch out for those if you don’t eat it. Most vegan food use Tofu or tempeh for protein, this is vegetarian (made from Soy) and tastes like Paneer. Tofu takes some time to get used to if you never tried it. Don’t be quick to reject it.
General tips
Water/Soft Drink is always served with (a lot of) ice unless you ask otherwise.
You are supposed to clean your table in many places, so observe what other people are doing and do that. If you are being served by a server/waiter, you don’t have to clean your table.
If you want to confirm the ingredients, the servers will have answers for you and if they don’t, they usually have a booklet in the kitchen which mentions every single ingredient in their food which they can go and check.
They take food allergies seriously here since a lot of people are allergic to peanuts, gluten (e.g., wheat) or milk. If you really want to play it safe, you can tell them you are allergic to egg and they will definitely accommodate you.
Make sure you leave a tip of at least 10%. I know, but that’s how it is in the USA. So just get used to that.
If you are polite and nice you will get good service and some free stuff too :)
Now few notes by cuisine:
Fast food
Burgers are by default beef burgers. So don’t ever order a cheese burger thinking it only has cheese. There are no ‘Aloo tikki’ burgers in McDonalds here. Their fries are fried in fat oil, so they are not veg either.
In general, just avoid eating burgers at fast food places even if they offer a vegan burger because they use the same cooking grill as beef burgers to fry those. And since very few people get vegan burgers, the patties remain frozen for a long period of time and don’t taste good. Vegan patties are made from soy or black beans. Sometimes they use mushrooms in the base.
If you are really craving for one, try to find a local speciality place and avoid chain restaurants. Ask if their bread/bun has egg. Brioche is the most common burger bun which has eggs.
Burgers are always served with fries or salad. You can choose what you want. Not all burgers will come with cheese inside. Ask for it if you want it. Burgers will always have mayonnaise, ask them not to put it.
And you might already know this, but burgers almost never look like they show in pictures, so don’t be surprised when you get something like this
Pizza
Pizza places are comparatively safer. But many places add egg to pizza dough, so confirm if your place does that too. Domino’s doesn’t. California Pizza Kitchen adds eggs to Cauliflower crust and not others.
You can choose the toppings. Most places charge by number of toppings. Onions, green pepper, olives, corn, basil and tomato are most common choices. You can ask for half pizza with some toppings and half with something else as well.
Pepperoni (pork) is the most common type of pizza people get in office lunches. Do not eat it by mistake. This is how it looks:
Cheese Pizza is safest choice when in doubt. Margherita pizza is great too.
Keep in mind, pizza tastes kind of bland here and chilli flakes and oregano may not be available and may not be free. And please don’t ever eat the pizza with ketchup here. You will get used to the taste slowly and start enjoying it.
Japanese
Japanese food is mostly meat and fish. Do not eat sushi as it comes with fish by default. But there are some sushi places which offer vegan options which have cucumber, pumpkin or avocado stuffing, those are good.
They give Wasabi with sushi, it tastes like strong ginger. Safe to eat.
They use Sea Weed which is also called Nori. It tastes like algae and has very strong flavor. Make sure you ask them to exclude it. It can be crushed like chili flakes or solid like a very thin leaf like shown below:
Japanese food also has noodle soups called Ramen. It is very tasty. But that too is mostly made from beef or pork base. So not every Ramen place would have veg option, but if they do, go ahead and try. Make sure you ask and understand what toppings they will add. The veg broth is mostly miso based, it is hearty and filling.
Below is picture of the Ramen bowl which has meat and two nori sheets. Veg Ramen will look similar with meat replaced with tofu.
Ask for a fork if you are not comfortable with chop sticks.
Thai
Thai food is the closest you will get to Indian food in spice level.
They have curries which are mostly coconut based. They taste good and have a lot of veg options. They are served with a bowl of rice and you can ask for extra for free.
They also use tofu to substitute meat. They will ask for spice level like mild, medium or spicy. You can choose what you like.
They also have fried rice. Spicy basil fried rice is the most common option. But make sure you ask them no egg and no fish sauce.
Pad thai and drunken noodles are other common options many people like.
This is pad thai
This is drunken noodles
They have papaya mango salad. It is good too.
In appetizers, they might have veg spring rolls, which almost always have eggs. So make sure you confirm that.
Salad rolls are tasty. They are wrapped in rice based cover. They are also called Summer rolls. They look like below:
For desserts, they offer mango with sticky rice and it is just great.
They might offer hot sauce on the table. They can have fish sauce, so make sure you ask before you eat it. Sriracha sauce is very spicy and veg. Below is a bottle of Sriracha sauce. Many people keep a bottle at home as well.
Chinese
Chinese food here is nothing like Indian Chinese we get in India. So don’t expect to get Chinese bhel or something weird there.
Almost everything is cooked with egg or meat, so not many options there. If the restaurant looks very authentic, don’t even go there. It will be difficult and unfair to ask them to cook veg food if they don’t offer it.
Vietnamese
Vietnamese food also has lot of rice based dishes. You can order some tofu curry and it will be served with rice. They don’t have fried rice like Thai food. Lemongrass tofu with Jasmine rice is our go to choice.
They have salad rolls like I mentioned in the Thai food section.
They have sandwiches called Banh Mi, which can be made vegetarian on request. I have not tried it myself.
They also have noodle soups called “Pho”. The broth is mostly beef based, but in some places you can get vegetarian broth too. It has rice noodles and some toppings. The soup looks clear but it has nice flavor. Below is a meat based Pho.
Mexican
Mexican food is great and varies a lot from place to place.
They have 3 main options.
First is rice bowl, where you can choose whatever you want and they will prepare a bowl for you. It is very filling.
Make sure you ask for black beans and not pinto beans. Ask if the rice is not cooked in chicken broth. Don’t choose a topping you don’t understand.
Cheese, guacamole and sour cream add great taste. Sauces are called Salsas. You can choose whichever you like.
Second option is burrito, which has all the things from the rice bowl and it is wrapped in a Tortilla. Tortilla is like an Indian roti.
Third option is tacos. They are smaller in size and have less stuffing. They are very popular too. But they mostly have meat options only, so make sure you are asking for a veggie taco. You can easily eat 2 or 3 for a meal.
All Mexican places offer chips and salsa as appetizer, which may or may not be complimentary. It is very tasty and very cheap.
Watch out for food cooked in lard (animal fat) and rice cooked in chicken broth.
Some basic translations:
Huevo = Egg
Pollo = Chicken
Carne = Meat (mostly pork)
Carne Asada = Rosted meat
Pescado/Pez = Fish
Queso = Cheese
Salsa = Sauce
Arroz = Rice
Again, if the place looks too authentic, they almost have no veg options, so skip it if in doubt.
Italian
Italian food is great for dinners.
They offer plain bread or garlic bread in appetizers. They also have at least one vegetarian soup available like minestrone soup.
You can order variety of pastas. But the food is kind of bland, so don’t be surprised. And don’t ask them to make it spicy.
Spaghetti aglio e olio is my favorite. It is simple spaghetti pasta with olive oil and garlic. It is also very easy to cook at home.
Cavatappi Primavera with parmesan sauce super good too.
They have many sea food options or they might use oyster sauce in some food. So confirm that before ordering.
Mediterranean
Food from the middle eastern countries and Greece is generally considered mediterranean food.
They have naan like bread called Pita. You can either get a wrap (also called Gyro) or order a platter. You get falafel, hummus, baba ganoush, rice, pita, lettuce salad and variety of sauces like Tahini, Taziki and garlic sauce. Depending on the place, it can be hit or miss. But this is also a very good choice.
This is falafel. It is made from chickpeas and spices
This image nicely displays a platter and a wrap
Indian
And the last one is our go to comfort food!
Check the reviews of the Indian place before you go. If you see a lot of Desi reviews, the place is going to be good. If you see a lot of non-Indians, that means the food is going to be not very “Indian”.
Same applies when you reach there and see the customers. More Desi customers means more authentic food.
Buffets are bang for the buck.
Honorable mentions
Burmese and Ethiopian food also has some veg options. But I have not explored much myself.
Drinks
Most restaurants will provide you with a wine menu. They have few mock-tails available too. You should ask for virgin drinks if you don’t want alcohol.
Almost all fast food places will have soda fountains which have free refills. You can, but you should not drink too much soda.
Coffee places will give you black coffee with no sugar and no milk by default. They will ask if you want sugar and cream and you can say something like 1 sugar and 2 cream. Then they will add it to coffee. Otherwise you can add it yourself. They usually have a counter with different types of sugars and creamers. Creamers are like concentrated milk, so don’t pour a lot. Just a spoon-full or two.
Or simply ask for Caffe Latte, Cappuccino or Mocha or Hot chocolate. They all come with milk.
If you want just a hot cup of milk, ask for a “steamer”.
Breakfast
Cereals go first in the bowl, milk goes second. And you are supposed to use cold milk.
Bagels don’t have eggs. Donuts do. (unless otherwise specified)
You can have bagel and cream cheese like this. Ask for toasted bagel. My favorite is “everything bagel” and plain or Jalapeño cream cheese. Orange juice or coffee tastes good with bagel.
Bacon combined with variety of things is a common breakfast here. Bacon is Pig meat, so not for us.
Pancakes and waffles have eggs unless they specifically mention otherwise.
Sandwiches
Subway is the most common chain for sandwiches. I personally don’t like their food but if it is the only option you have, you can get the veggie delight sandwich in Italian herbs bread with sauces of your choice. You can customize it a lot, so don’t hold back if you want whole lot of cucumbers and none of the tomatoes.
Don’t order the veggie patty option. It has eggs.
Other sandwich chains are Potbelly, TOGO, Jimmy Johns and Panera bread. There are many local options too. This type of sandwich is also called a “sub”.
Panini sandwiches are good and heavy. Tomato + Mozzarella + Basil Panini with pesto is just the perfect thing. Starbucks carries that sandwich, so in case of emergencies, you can find one there.
They are served with a pickle like below. It compliments the sandwich real good.
Salads
Salads are considered as a meal here and it is very different than what we have in India. Most of the salads have vegetables like lettuce and spinach as their base and then they have proteins like meat or tofu, some cheese, croutons and then salad dressings. Don’t automatically assume that since it is salad, it is going to be vegetarian.
Some salads also have fish called Anchovies in fish sauce.
Croutons are like rebaked bread and look like this
Salad dressings like ranch and mayo have eggs. Other dressings have very strong flavors and they are supposed to be used with a particular salad only. So you need to do some googling before taking a salad for lunch. This is also a very customizable food item, so you can have fun.
Grocery items
Try to buy vegan items as much as you can.
Authentic italian cheese like parmesan cheese use animal rennet enzyme to prepare it. I am not entirely sure if it comes out of dead or alive cow/calf, but does not feel like a safe vegetarian choice. You can find vegetarian parmesan (and other) cheese which uses other enzymes and provide same taste.
Even sugar is not fully vegan. They use animal bone char to so some process. Buy vegan sugar or jaggery if possible.
Bread and ice-cream have eggs too. Always check ingredients. Honey is also commonly added to breads.
Yogurt and many common candies like gummies have gelatin. Gelatin is not vegan but alternatives like pectin are.
Multi vitamin tablets almost always have fish oil for omega 3. There are many alternative vegan vitamin supplements. But they tend to be a little expensive. I will say it is worth it. Even if they don’t have fish oil, they might have gelatin. So check for that too.
Many Chinese and Italian noodles have egg as an ingredient.
Many chinese/japanese/korean sauces have fish/anchovy/oyster as ingredient. Most of the times the smell gives it away, but not all the time. So you want to be extra careful
And last note, please don’t compare any of the above options with Indian food or expect everything to be spicy. Enjoy the cuisines in their real form and you will start appreciating the variety of options you get.
Keep eating!
