Panera Bread

The first time I went to Panera Bread, I thought it was just a bakery with things such as muffins and cookies and bread. I got a bagel. And it was really good. So I went back and discovered that Panera has an entire menu of food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner as well. Everything I have had at Panera I have loved. At the moment I am in a sandwich phase and every time I go I get the Mediterranean Veggie which is a sandwich with piquant peppers, feta cheese, cucumbers, lettuce, tomatoes, onions and cilantro hummus on tomato basil bread. I have also gotten various salads and tried many more of their bakery items and enjoyed it all! Panera is a good place for vegetarians because they have quite a few options to choose from. It is also just a really good place in general however, so I recommend it to everyone. Another great thing about Panera is they have free wireless there so it is an excellent place to do homework or study. And coffee is free refills so you could literally spend a whole day there without spending too much money, as I have done on more than one occasion :) Anyway I think everyone should try this place. I had never heard of Panera Bread until I came to Irvine, but just within a 50-mile radius around Irvine there are 25 Panera Breads so it is obviously a popular place! Enjoy!

http://www.panerabread.com/

Dakota's Steakhouse

So tonight I took on the ultimate vegetarian tackle... going to a steakhouse. Dakota's is not a place I had ever heard of before, but it is a chain that is growing in the northern section of southern California. Even though this specific steakhouse has yet to reach Orange County, in my opinion all steak houses are the same and so even if you go to a larger chain such as Outback or Wood Ranch, the choices will be similar. One thing I always get at a steakhouse is a salad. It seems like a guarantee that places like this always have amazing salads. At Dakota's I got the Glazed Pecan Pear Salad, which I enjoyed quite a lot. If a salad is enough for you, then you are set!
If you want more than that, or you don't like salad, you can always have fun with the sides!
Steakhouse's have fantastic sides. You can get mashed potato's, onion rings, nicely cooked vegetables,cole slaw, baked beans, etc. And of course, the ultimate side that you get for free...rolls. Most places serve rolls before the meal, and they are always really warm and good. At many places there is some vegetarian meal that you can get. At Dakota's they had a pasta option that was probably quite tasty. I have more fun making a meal out out of the sides however, so if you are vegetarian and go to a steakhouse, I recommend you do that! I hope this was somewhat helpful! Next time I will be talking about a more vegetarian related place :)


http://www.thegreatsteakhouse.com/

If you like this blog you also may like...

These are some other blogs that deal with vegetarian friendly places and things. If you are really interested in this then you should check them out!

This blog talks about not only vegetarianism, but also staying Green and the environment:
http://www.savvyvegetarian.com/cgi-bin/svblog.cgi

This blog comes from a long time vegetarian who has many useful links and places to eat that are not strictly aroundIirvine (for those who live elsewhere) :
http://demented-pixie.com/vegetarian_blog/

This blog seems to do a good job in helping us vegetarian/vegan eaters deal with the negativity we sometimes may recieve from non understanding meat eaters. It also has good food suggestions:
http://vegweb.com/veglinks/15_Blogs_and_Home_Pages.shtml

This blog keeps up to date with the latest vegetarian/vegan news and is a good source for those interested in more than just eating vegetarian but living the lifesyle as well:
http://www.vegblogs.com/


I hope these links help!