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Wednesday, October 21, 2009

Eating Vegan in Las Vegas



A lot of people think it is impossible to eat vegan in Las Vegas. That's not entirely true. It's difficult, but not impossible. It's best to do a ton of research ahead of time. This is a list of places that I compiled from a zillion different websites before we left. The comments are copied from other people's reviews and notes so I cannot vouch for any of these places except for the places where I've linked to my own reviews. I'm sharing this list so that if you have to go to Vegas, you have a starting point and some suggestions of places to check out. Some of the reviews/notes are copied from VegasClick.com.

If you drive there, I suggest bringing a cooler with coffee creamer, soy milk, bread, sandwich fixings (peanut butter, jelly - we brought some tempeh "chicken" salad), and then also bring some chips, cookies, and cereal. Then at least 2 meals of the day are eaten cheaply and easily from stuff in your room.

Off Strip Restaurants

Komol Thai
1 mi off the strip. delivers to all hotels. A vegan friendly Thai restaurant, with no oyster sauce or fish oils used in the vegetarian section.

Rainbow's End Natural Foods Cafe

Veggie Delight - Spring Mountain & Wynn Road (1.5 miles W. of the Strip; get on the #203 bus at Sands/Spring Mountain next to the Fashion Show Mall or the Wynn)
A little-known, tiny Vietnamese/Chinese café, specializing in faux meats. Everything on the menu is at least vegetarian, and can be made vegan for $1.00 to $1.50 extra. The menu is extensive and the food is good, but brown rice is not an option. It's less than a block away from Ronald's Donuts.

Ronald's Donuts (my review and pics)
4600 Spring Mountain Road (1.5 miles West of the Strip)
Most of the donuts and pastries are vegan, and are on two completely separate shelves from the non-vegan stuff. Vegan donuts are usually located on the top shelf but you need to ASK your server exactly what you are getting!

Red Velvet Cafe (my review and pics)
7875 W. Sahara Ave. Las Vegas, NV 89117
Large menu and everything on it can be made vegan.

Himalayan Cuisine
Himalayan Cuisine. Wide range of vegetarian and vegan options. On their menu, I counted 21 vegan dishes and 31 vegetarian dishes.

Mantra Masala Healthy Cuisine from India
8530 West Warm Springs #101, Las Vegas, NV 89113
This is one of the best Indian restaurants in Las Vegas for vegetarian/vegan dishes that are cooked without oil or butter. The flavors created by the combination of spices and curries are truly amazing. They have a whole wheat bread, baked in a clay oven and stuffed with spiced potato called Aloo Paratha that is exceptional. The rice is aromatic basmati white rice.

Samosa Factory
4604 W. Sahara Ave #6, Las Vegas, NV 89102
The Samosa Factory has an all new menu featuring 9 Vegetarian dishes and 16 Vegan dishes. They also have a Vegan soup, two vegan Samosas, vegetable Pokora and a freshly cooked whole wheat flat bread called Roti.

Frank & Fina’s Cocina
4175 S. Grand Canyon Drive, Las Vegas, NV 89147
Sweet Potato Enchiladas, Vegetable enchiladas, tacos, burrito and taquitos. The Sweet Potato enchiladas were excellent, no oil. Order them without cheese or sour cream.

Pei Wei Asian Diner
This is quick and can be a healthy place to eat depending on how you order your dish. The menu is made of Pan Asian flavors that are wok-seared. You can choose the style dish and ingredients you prefer, like vegetables & Tofu.

Whole Foods (near the airport on Las Vegas Blvd)
Has an entire hot vegan food bar. Makes about 8 different vegan sandwiches and also makes vegan pizzas with Daiya vegan cheese.

On the Strip

India Oven - less than a block from the Stratosphere

PF Changs @ Planet Hollywood

Tamba Indian - across the street from the Monte Carlo

Mr. Lucky’s 24/7 @ Hard Rock - Veggie burger

BLT Burger @ Mirage - Veggie burger (my review and pic)

Serendipity 3 at Caesars Palace - Veggie burger

LBS at Red Rock - Veggie burger

Terra Rosa Italian Restaurant inside Red Rock Casino
Chef Renato De Pirro at Terra Rosa makes one of the best whole wheat pasta dishes in town with an excellent mix of vegies and marinara sauce that has little to no oil. The Minestrone soup is vegan also but be sure to say no cheese. Try the Mista field green salad and best to request the dressing on the side. Be sure you make reservations, it’s a popular locals’ restaurant.

Chin Chins At NY NY casino (my review and pics)
Chin Chins will make any dish on the menu with tofu in addition to their on menu veg choices. Portions are generous and satisfying.

Fusia New Chinese Cuisine @ Luxor
Red Miso Soup or Organic Oriental Salad are vegan.
Vegetarian fried rice with tofu and vegetable, an assortment of side dishes: Fusia offers six vegetarian sides: broccolini in hoisin-garlic sauce, baby bok choy, sugar snap peas, Chinese long beans, grilled asparagus spears

Red8 @ Wynn - The Wynn offers perhaps the best vegetarian and vegan options on the Strip. Fine dining Asian restaurant Red8 has several vegetarian dishes, including steamed vegetable buns, pan-fried turnip cakes, and rice.

Border Grill @ Mandalay Bay:
Portabello Mushroom Mulitas, Mexican chopped salad (without chicken - featuring grilled corn, roasted peppers, avocado, tomato, apple, pinto beans, red onion, tortilla chips and romaine lettuce tossed in coriander vinaigrette), chips, salsa (red and green) and guacamole

Benihana @ Las Vegas Hilton
Benihana at the Las Vegas Hilton offers some magnificent stir-fry veggies – along with an always-entertaining cooking show. In my experience, the chefs are highly accommodating to vegans. For example, they will make sure not to cook your food in butter, if you ask. The Hilton is just a short monorail ride from the MGM Grand. - Vegetable Tempura, edamame, japanese salad - Benihana offers a "Vegetable Delight" cooked in foil

il fornaio @ NY NY (my review and pics)
Vegetable pizza without cheese, bruscetta, minestrone, salad, fried zucchini & onion rings, capellini al pomodoro

Gonzalez Y Gonzalez @ NY NY
tableside guacamole, veggie fajitas, margaritas

China Grill @ Mandalay Bay
Overpriced at about $100 a head for dinner and a couple drinks. They have a separate vegan menu consisting of one entree and four sides.

Meskerem Restaurant
252 Convention Center Dr # 8B, Las Vegas, NV

Cafe Canyon Ranch in Venetian - Lunch menu has stir fry with tofu, vegetarian black bean chili, portobello sandwich - only open for breakfast and lunch

Zine Noodles Dim Sum at The Palazzo in Venetian
Fried Tofu, Ma Po Tofu ($18).

Chipotle
3475 Las Vegas Blvd.
Vegan-friendly Burritos on The Strip - Fast Food

The Grand Wok & Sushi Bar at MGM
The Grand Wok offers a few vegetarian selections. The staff is very knowledgeable in what can be made completely vegetarian (without fish sauce or broth). Pretty expensive.

Ichiban Sushi at Bally's - in the back downstairs section

4 comments:

  1. My staple is usually Ichiban Sushi in the back downstairs section of Bally's (near the monorail).

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oooh, I will definitely consult this before I go to Vegas next. Last time I went to Chin Chins and was delighted by their tofu subbing ways. Also, Ronald's Donuts are the best.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This is incredibly useful. Thank you!

    ReplyDelete