Vegan Report on a Trip

This is my report from the road on the state of eating out and the vegan alternatives. The early March march to the South to find sunshine and sun was underway. We found 80 degree weather and sunshine starting in Virginia and everywhere else we went. That goal was accomplished! As for food, in general, everyplace I went had the usual chain restaurants. To me that is the saddest part of travel in America - every place starts to look the same. Most of the food I ate was what I brought with me just to make sure I was covered (and frankly to save money). I did find some places, however, that provided little pockets of hope that unique, healthy and vegan alternatives are out there. First place to report on - Charlottesville, VA - home of Univ of Virginia and Monticello and, of course, the former President Thomas Jefferson (TJ). We toured the University - it was designed by TJ and was quite beautiful. They had a little touristy trolley that ran from the campus to the downtown funky area with little shops, restaurants and clubs. It was here that I found a restaurant that served a plate of 4 sides as an offering for vegans. I had collard greens, a whole baked sweet potato, black beans and a fresh veggie medley (there were a few other choices, too). This came with multigrain bread. I thanked them for the delicious alternative. The next night we visited Chapel Hill, NC - home of Univ of NC - toured that campus - very nice - loved the clock tower. Found a pizza restaurant called Brixx (see photo above) that offered a veggie pizza with soy cheese. It was thin crust wood fired pizza with sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, roasted red peppers, herbs and spices. My friends, it was out of this world! (and so reasonably priced - great vibe in the restaurant) I only ate half and saved the rest for the next day. I can tell you if anyone wants to start a restaurant anywhere, they should serve this type of pizza and have offerings for everyone - vegan, vegetarian and carnivore. Personally I would go there every day. This restaurant made me feel mainstream - it was a great day! Hilton Head was our next destination. I must admit we didn't eat out very much while we were there - but from our perishables in the mini-fridge and the other food we brought. BUT, we did go to one of the plantations and its waterfront shops and eateries. There were bike paths everywhere. Again, a few places had specifically mentioned vegan alternatives. I had a delicious boca burger with lots of lettuce and pineapple salsa and homemade potato chips (not greasy). Next stop was Savannah, Georgia, home of Paula Deen!! Yikes, what was I going to eat there? Fried chicken? Pork, Ham? No, I was pleasantly surprised to find in a little Cityside area with shops and eateries (these little areas seem to be in every city). I found a place that had special sandwiches with homemade bread, roasted veggies etc. I told the owner I was a vegan and she made me up a special one and it was delicious. She also sold fruit sorbet that had no dairy - had a dish of wild blueberry. So even though Paula Dean's restaurant was right down the street, I found a kindred spirit who allowed me to eat without slaughtering a hog. Savannah was a beautiful city with wonderful old architecture and spanish moss and flowers in March. All in all, although the chains were everywhere, there were tasty pockets of vegan friendly places. I wish I wrote down all of the names of those restaurants, but they made my vacation so much better!!! Glad to be home - had Thai takeout first night home and will go to my favorite vegan restaurant tomorrow - they probably wondered where I had been since I am kind of a regular.