The Yard House now offers a "SUB VEGETARIAN" menu that involves the rampant use of Gardein "chicken" and "beef" products, both of which are vegan. While most of the items on the vegetarian menu aren't inherently vegan, I heard that some can be veganized.* So I took a trip with my Inland Empire Veg*n Meetup group to sample some of the fare.I personally ordered the "Veggie Chicken Rice Bowl" off the "SUB VEGETARIAN" menu. A vegan friend of mine with good judgement ordered the same thing and proactively asked the waiter what type of sauce it was cooked in. The answer was a mixture of garlic, soy sauce, and olive oil (yay, we were safe!). The dish included many veggies such as bok choy, baby corn, snap peas, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, celery, peppers, and broccoli. All this veggie goodness was placed over brown rice. It was really tasty. I'd definitely order it again!
Another vegan friend of mine decided to try the "Veggie BBQ Chicken Pizza" sans the cheese. It looked really good as you can see from the picture and according to said friend, it tasted really good too. I'm going to have to try it next time. And, there will be a next time.
*A little caveat for vegetarians: some of the items on the vegetarian menu aren't even inherently vegetarian! You may notice that some items on the "SUB VEGETARIAN" menu contain little green bullet points. These are the items you want to look out for as they "may still contain ingredients of animal origin." I can only assume it means items such as anchovy sauce (for the ceasar salad), beef/chicken stock (for the enchilada stack), and bacon...Yes! Bacon! Do NOT order the Veggie Mac + Cheese. It explicitly states bacon as an ingredient. Ludicrous, I know. Those items shouldn't even be ON the menu! Regardless of the Yard House's flaws, we must remain thankful for their attempt at offering vegetarian/vegan items and their willingness to modify the menu items at our request.
Check out the Yard House menu to browse options and help prepare questions about ingredients in advance: http://www.yardhouse.com/files/food_menu_13.pdf
