What's A Vegan To Do?

Saturday morning - Autumn Rose and I have a full day planned. We are going to an art exhibition, an African Dance Workshop followed by lunch then an afternoon at the African Drums and Dance Performance. Everything was going smoothly, Autumn Rose wanted to go to Applebee's for lunch. We headed over to the restaurant and much to my delight, there it was sticking out of the menu - a Lenten Menu section. All was right with the world, a Lenten Menu will surely offer me some pretty good options. I had no idea that Lenten Menus was a thing. In any case, I was thrilled. 

Lenten Menu tucked in Main Menu

 As I opened up the menu, I was in for the surprise of my life. There were no vegan selections. The waitress came over to introduce herself and took our drink orders. I checked the Lenten Menu only to find that they offered fish and shrimp - no red meat, no poultry. While this was pretty cool, it was actually surprising that the entire menu had not one vegan choice. Surely, a vegan selection could not be that difficult. The waitress came over with our drinks and asked if we were ready to order. Autumn Rose knew what she wanted, she was having a mac and cheese chicken bowl - that was easy. I braced myself as I knew that I might sound like an annoying customer. I asked the waitress "What would you recommend for a vegan?" She suggested a salad, and listed the variety of vegetables - the steamed broccoli, the string beans in garlic sauce, the potatoes, etc. However, there was one pesky thing - most of the vegetables have butter.

Lenten Menu - Seafood Selection!

 I settled for a house salad without the cheese, a vinaigrette dressing, a side of steamed broccoli and string beans without the garlic sauce. As I sat and waited for the food to come, Autumn Rose and I played some games from her Kids Menu. We played Tic Tac Toe and Word Search, the aroma from the delicious meals were unavoidable. Every now and then, I would glance and watch the plates placed before the happy, smiling customers. Our orders was placed before us in no time. A large plate overflowing with chopped lettuce, cucumbers, tomatoes, with croutons tossed on top. Just as I was about to eat, I was literally wishing that I had at least a grilled salmon, mashed potatoes and corn - two ladies who were walking by stopped to compliment me on my food selection. "What a great example you are setting for her" as they referred to Autumn Rose, I smiled, and said "Thank You." It was time to enjoy my lunch with Autumn Rose. As I ate my salad, I noticed that there was no dressing, instead of asking the waitress for it, I decided to go on and keep up the appearance of being a good example - no need for a dressing - just eat. My body would surely appreciate it.

The Beautiful Greens

 Dinner Rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐✩