I have food allergies that relegate me to a vegan diet with a preference for wheat-free meals. I can eat wheat occasionally, but not too often. When I learned of my allergies five years ago, I thought I’d never get to eat at a restaurant again. I mean, I live in Indy, not known for its vegan-type-people community, so there was no way I could get along. Well, luckily I was wrong, and there apparently are some vegans around. It’s taken some time, but I’ve found quite a good set of restaurants where I can eat.
- Thai One On. Great Thai food in Avon.
- Thai Cafe
- Jasmine Thai
- Pretty much any other Thai place
- Shalimar
- India Palace
- Udupi Cafe
- The Indian restaurant at 96th & Allisonville
- Three Sisters Cafe
- The Parthenon
- The little Mediterranean cafe south of Broad Ripple and the cafe next to it
- Baja Fresh
- Chipotles
- Qdoba
- Moe’s Southwestern Grill
- Viet Bistro
- WB Pizza. The owner’s wife is vegan, so they have a good selection of vegan options. Vegan garlic bread! Stromboli! Pizza!! Very tasty stuff.
- The Abbey. A large percentage of their menu is vegan – including dessert.
- PF Changs
- Olive Garden. A couple of decent pasta dishes.
- Cheesecake Factory. A few options and good drinks.
- Ruby Tuesday. Good salad bar.
- Subway. Of course.
- Chilis. The Chilis in Plainfield was one of the first places I found that would cater to me (’cause I’m so special). The servers were very considerate and careful when I told them of my allergies. For a while they would make me a veggie fajita that was really tasty. Unfortunately, their menu changed and they no longer carried the veggie mix (I don’t know if they have it back or not), but the black bean burger is also safe so I get that now.
There are probably others, but I can’t think of them now. I can usually get a some kind of salad at some places, but that’s usually no fun.
One area I avoid is hotel banquets. I’ve learned not to trust them…ever…no matter what they say. The reason for this is the Westin downtown, which nearly put me in the hospital after they served me a dish they assured me was vegan. I don’t like them. The Marriott handles it much better, but you still can’t be certain they’ll get it right. I don’t want to use my EpiPen, so I prefer not to take the risk at all.
Anyway, it just goes to show that even a non-hippy town like Indy still has good dining options for those of us who eat like hippies.
