One of my favorite places for fast vegan food is Noodles & Company. Until today I thought they only had one vegan item on the menu but the cheerful cashier chick handed me this handy card that outlines several vegan options. I was flattered they put it in print, even if the first sentence claims that there “…is no commonly accepted definition for vegan,….” Pshaw!
Still, I may have to actually branch out and try something other than my usual Indonesian Peanut Saute with tofu and extra broccoli. Maybe those Japanese Pan Noodles will be next and I won’t have to wear so much of this:
Yes, that is correct, the Indonesian Peanut Saute is SOOOO spicy I always put on an extra layer of Eco-Lips® Bee Free® lip balm before eating and after every other bite. Yep.
Notice how I choose a lip balm flavor that complements the meal? Yeah, lemon-lime lip balm is perfect with a peanut saute that even serves lime wedges on the site. When was the last time you got a garnish with your fast food, I ask you stud puppets?
Just look at that dish!
- Rice noodles
- VERY fresh—not wimpy—bean sprouts
- carrots
- extra broccoli, although every time I say extra it seems like they don’t really take me seriously, really folks, pile on the broccoli, I won’t mind!
- cabbage
- crispy fried tofu
- and cilantro
Perhaps the spiciness is made more so by the extra sprinkling of this secret, reddish, powdery spice blend:
Noodles & Company also sells beer and wine so I always get a Corona (vegan!) to go with my noodles. Unless I’m having them for lunch of course because you just aren’t supposed to do that in America, right?
SnarkyVegan 
November 8, 2010 at 7:39 pm
I love spice! Sounds like that dish might be worth trying next time I’m in the states :)
I’m very into the extra broccoli. There is never enough, and those florets are perfect sauce conveyances.
November 8, 2010 at 9:40 pm
MeShell,
DO try Noodles & Company next time you’re here. It’s one of the best fast food places. They came in #4 on the top 10 most healthy fast food places in the US:
http://www.health.com/health/article/0,,20411588,00.html
November 8, 2010 at 10:04 pm
Probably because silly people say they are vegan and then go around eating nonvegan stuff which confuses everyone!
Looks good. I love a good noodle dish.
November 9, 2010 at 2:40 am
Hey!!! I’ve seen one of those Noodles places in STL. I came so close to stopping by there to see if they had anything vegan, but decided not to. I assumed they wouldn’t. Whoops!
I have a question about the tofu though, I’m VERY VERY picky when it comes to tofu. I refuse to eat it if it hasn’t been properly pressed. Is theirs mushy on the inside? Maybe I’m just a tofu newb, but to me there’s nothing worse than biting into some tofu and ending up with a mouth full of water. It does look very yummy. And Coronas with lunch should be like mandatory or something. Complete with a nice lime wedge of course. :)
November 9, 2010 at 8:46 am
I just made my own homemade vegan lip balm – it’s awesome!
November 9, 2010 at 9:30 am
bitt Says: “…people say they are vegan and then go around eating nonvegan stuff which confuses everyone!”
This ^ YES!!!!
November 9, 2010 at 11:02 am
Bitt/Judith,
Yeah, those people annoy me. They just make us all look like flakes.
Lisa Marie,
The tofu they have seems very well pressed to me, very dense. And I don’t like tofu you know but this is good.
Stevie,
Do you have your lip balm recipe posted anywhere?
November 9, 2010 at 11:30 am
I bought a kit from a natural soapmaker and it does have beeswax in it, but you can sub for another hard wax (candelilla, soy, etc). I’ll post it up.
November 9, 2010 at 11:59 am
ok, it’s up – http://gardentherapy.ca/lip-balm/
November 9, 2010 at 2:45 pm
Ooh my favorite dish, IPS, as I affectionately call it!! I haven’t had this in over a year now because last time I checked their website they had some vague statement basically saying no guarantees that anything is vegan. YOU MADE MY DAY!
November 9, 2010 at 4:17 pm
I LOVE Noodles & Company. I always get the Chinese Chop Salad, soooo good. They are a local company for me and their corporate office is so stylish and cool. I interviewed there for an internship once. Very neat place.