Vegan Hampton Roads

Sorry for the lack of updates, folks! I’ve been in a K-hole known as student teaching the last 14 weeks and if you or anyone you know has ever student taught, you know how ridiculously exhausting it is. But I’m virtually done** which means I’m back to obsessing over delicious vegan food in Hampton Roads!

With my first update as a recovering student teacher, I’ve got some good news and some bad news. The good news first:

1. San Antonio Sam’s in Norfolk is now offering Daiya vegan cheese on any of their dishes for an extra $1.50. If you haven’t heard of Daiya or gotten a chance to try it, it’s the new haute vegan cheese. You know how us vegans are - always on the search for the most realistic vegan cheese - that elusive creature. Well, I had a chance to try Daiya out at zpizza in Virginia Beach and it is pretty delicious. It even has that oh-my-god-it’s-like-Napalm-in-my-mouth-it’s-so-hot feel like real cheese! Flavor-wise it’s pretty mild. I only tried the mozzarella version, but the company makes a cheddar flavor. I generally didn’t go to San Antonio Sam’s for food because the vegetarian menu consisted of mainly cheese and sour cream-laden Tex-Mex dishes, but I’ll be stopping by soon to support the addition of Daiya to the menu.

**update: Evidently Sam’s is now using Follow Your Heart vegan cheese instead of Daiya. FYH is vegan, but in my opinion isn’t as great as Daiya. Regardless, it’s great to see a restaurant catering to vegans and those with dairy sensitivities!

2. Swirls has a cold weather special going on - buy one get one free! Someone should go with me so I don’t eat two cups of vegan frozen yogurt by myself.

3. La Bella Italia in Norfolk is advertising a four course menu that’s “vegetarian & vegan friendly.” I stopped by a while back and couldn’t get a straight answer about what was vegan since the four course menu was all meat or cheese dishes. I’m planning on calling again and hoping I get someone a little more informed about what the four course vegan menu might look like and, more importantly, whether it’s worth $30. If someone finds out before I do, please update here!

And now for the bad news: Chickette is no longer vegan! Neither are some Morningstar products!

I’m more upset about the Chickette, because quite a few local restaurants have it on their menus as a vegan option, including Red Dog Saloon and The Taphouse, both in Ghent. The Taphouse has already switched out the non-vegan Chickette with a new brand, but still lists it on their menu as Chickette. Red Dog is going to use up the rest of their Chickette, which they buy in bulk, before considering a switch. Here’s the info from the company’s Web site:

In January 2009, we communicated the following information to the Food Allergy and Anaphylasis Network (FANN).  Starting in the Summer of 2009, MorningStar Farms Griller Recipe Crumbles, MorningStar Farms Sausage Style Crumbles and Worthington Chickette Chub Roll will contain milk and egg ingredients. The ingredient statement will include this change and will also list “milk and egg ingredients” in the “contains” statement.  Because product formulations may change from time to time, consumers are strongly encouraged to read the package label prior to every purchase. For more information, contact MorningStar Farms at (800) 962-0120 or visit our website at www.morningstarfarms.com

Oh, and in case you end up at Yorgo’s wondering about their Chickette salad…it’s vegan! They used Chickette originally, I think, and just kept the name, but the salad is made with delicious Gardein faux chicken. Whew…because I just couldn’t take that sort of heartache. That vegan chicken salad might be the best thing on the planet. The same goes for the Chickette Sandwich at Charlie’s Cafe. The restaurant uses Boca chicken patties, which are vegan, but just calls it Chickette on the menu (thanks to Matthew for that info!).

** If you know of a school looking for a hardworking and optimistic new teacher, let me know!

Okay, I’m just going to come right out and say it. Red Dog Saloon on Colley Avenue in the Ghent section of Norfolk makes the best damn vegan cheese pizza in town. Seriously. Though it’s not hard to make the top of the list considering there are only two restaurants in the area serving pizza with vegan cheese.

The crust is well-cooked, but not hard as a rock. The vegetable toppings are rich and flavorful (spinach, big sun dried tomatoes, olives). The sauce is tasty. And the vegan cheese doesn’t taste like chalk/rubber/etc.

I’m pretty sure Red Dog is using Follow Your Heart vegan cheese, known for its meltiness, but there’s just something about the vegan cheese alongside everything else this great pizza has going for it that has me craving it!

And there’s even more great news…if you don’t want to order a whole pie, Red Dog will sell them by the slice. Known for its happy hour specials, Red Dog is used to catering to thirsty visitors just looking for munchies to absorb the alcohol, so they don’t force you into the entire pizza unless you want it. I really appreciate that! And not to mention the slices are gigantic - almost the size of two slices, if you ask me. A slice will run you close to four dollars, but keep in ming it is pretty much the size of two normal slices and it comes with vegan cheese.

On a recent trip with friends we tried the vegan chicken tenders as well, which are basically deep fried chunks of Chickette roll served with some sort of mango mustard dipping sauce. The sweetness of the mango serves as a great replacement to the typical honey mustard sauce served with chicken fingers.

I’ve heard the vegan chicken sandwich is great there as well. A larger piece of chickette roll, deep fried and served sandwich style with the fixin’s.

Red Dog is a saloon and there is smoking, but if it’s nice a nice day and not too crowded you can usually luck out with a seat outdoors. There’s not really a great ambiance to Red Dog. I wouldn’t bring a family there at night on the weekends and I’d be a little upset if a date ever brought me there, but we’re just talking about vegan pizza and chicken tenders here.

Full disclosure: Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” plays almost every hour at Red Dog (or at least it seems that way). You have been warned.

Red Dog Saloon
1421 Colley Ave
Norfolk, VA 23517
(757) 625-4674

Couldn’t find a listing of their hours, but I know they’re open for lunch and I’ve been there for last call on a number of occasions. So, my educated guess would be most likely 11:30/12 until 2 a.m.