Frist Center Cafe November 5, 2009

Portobello Sandwich

Who doesn’t love the Frist Center?  I certainly love checking out the art, especially when my student ID will get me free admittance (every Thursday and Friday from 5:00 – 9:00 PM).  What I did not know until relatively recently is that the Frist Cafe is a happening lunch spot.  The dining area is really inviting–loving the fresh flowers on the tables–and there’s a great patio if you’re in the mood for al fresco.  Also, their menu, while not a smorgasboard of vegan delights, is surprisingly veg-friendly.

The Portobello Mushroom Sandwich is supposed to be served with basil pesto and fontina cheese.  Omit these two ingredients and you have yourself a vegan sandwich, consisting of a portobello mushroom cap, sliced tomato, and red onion, served on focaccia.  I specifically had the cashier check on the vegan status of the bread and the mushroom cap.  I asked for balsamic vinaigrette on the side so the sandwich wouldn’t be too dry, and was kind of disappointed when it came in a pouch, but at least I could read the ingredients list for myself.  I really loved this sandwich, even though putting salad dressing on it made a huge mess everywhere.  The mushroom cap was really tasty and filling.  If I was having it again, I would probably add some lettuce.

I had a fruit cup as my side, and it really hit the spot.  It complemented the sandwich quite nicely.  One of my dining companions had the potato chips, for which the Frist is apparently famous, which are made fresh on-site.  I had a couple and they were quite delicious, but I’m still glad I got the fruit.

I liked the Frist Cafe.  I’ll probably be back.  They have some salads that could probably be veganized and they occasionally have vegan soups.  Plus, I love the Frist.

Frist Center Cafe

919 Broadway

Nashville, TN 37203

615.244.3340

Website

Bruegger’s Bagels August 25, 2009

Leonardo da Veggie & Fire Roasted Tomato Soup

Bagels are often a vegan-friendly treat, and bagel shops usually have great stuff for vegans.  Bruegger’s is one of my favorite quick-service lunch spots in midtown.  Almost all of Bruegger’s bagels are vegan.  They have a really informative website with full ingredient lists for all of their food, which is a lifesaver for vegans.  If you don’t have the chance to check the site before you go, the staff (at this location at least) is extremely knowledgable about product ingredients…. or so I thought.  Upon further research, it turns out that even though I was told that the tomato soup did not contain any dairy, according to the Bruegger’s website, it does.  I suppose it’s possible that this particular location’s soup did not contain dairy, but I doubt that.  This is just one of those things about being vegan that happens sometimes: you do the best you can, you ask the right questions, and you still end up with dairy in your food.  I try not to feel too horribly about these things for two reasons: (1) I requested a dairy-free meal and it’s not my fault the staff thought the soup was free of milk; and (2) veganism is not about perfection, it’s about reducing suffering.  The moral of this story is to avoid all soups at Bruegger’s.

Don’t let my experience with the soup scare you away from Bruegger’s because it’s still a great place to grab breakfast/lunch/a snack, and the sandwich in that picture was totally awesome!  It is a variation on the Leonardo da Veggie sandwich.  The Leonardo da Veggie is supposed to come on an asiago softwich (clearly not vegan) and be topped with herb garlic cream cheese (also not vegan) and Muenster (definitely not vegan).  I had them swap out the asiago softwich for an everything softwich (totally vegan) and leave off all the cheese in favor of hummus (mmmmmmm).  The final sandwich contained hummus, roasted red peppers, lettuce, tomato, and red onion.  Everyone at the table was impressed with my sandwich while they chomped away on roast beef.  I’ll definitely be going to Bruegger’s again soon.

Bruegger’s Bagels

Multiple Locations – Midtown, Harding Pike, Brentwood

I went to this one:

422 21st Avenue South

Nashville, TN 37203

615.327.0055

Website with full ingredient list for all menu items