Trapped in a hotel - 2012 Edition

So, just like last year, I start VeganMofo and immediately start traveling. It makes it really difficult to keep a food/cooking blog up to date! Today, I am keeping my post short as I am kind of hoping to get out of the hotel and get a drink or two... or three tonight.

Peoria doesn't seem like a very good place for a vegan to hang out... however, I am now into my 6th trip here over the past year and like any new place, once you do your homework, there are enough places you can go and get a decent meal. I am pretty lucky and usually only have to deal with lunch while I'm here. For breakfast and late night snacks, I stock my room up with enough to get by. I also always have a couple things that I can eat for dinner, just in case I end up somewhere with little choice for me. I always try to get a room with a fridge and microwave. If I can't find one, I tend to ask very nicely if the hotel can stash some non-dairy milk for me. When I come to Peoria, i tend to stock my room the same every time. Here is what I find works for me for a one week trip:

• Non-Dairy milk, usually almond because I find it goes with more things
• Cereal or granola.. usually granola, but I am not going to pretend like a box of cinnamon toast crunch hasn't snuck its way in before
• Green smoothie or juice 
• Couple frozen vegan burrito's or frozen dinner (Amy's has lots of options)
• Hummus
• Pita chips or a couple bagels
• Instant Starbucks (hotel room coffee sucks.)
• Fruit (only if the hotel doesn't have complimentary)
• Couple protein bars (I actually always have a bar with me... just in case)

I find that when you travel for a while, your eating habits really suffer. I am definitely guilty of this. I figure at least having a few somewhat healthy things on hand is necessary. That way if I eat junk, I can at least say I chose to do that. Plus having a few of my normal snacks kicking around makes traveling a little easier.

Tonight I was supposed to go out for a group dinner with my class. They were going to an Italian restaurant and sadly when i checked the menu, all of the sauces had something non-dairy. If you know me at all, you'll know that eating garden salads for dinner infuriates me!! It was a long day, and this time I opted out of eating with the group and went for dinner at the strip mall across from the hotel.

Dinner tonight was at Sushi Gawa, a little Japanese restaurant at Westlake. I really like this restaurant. Fairly basic menu, but they have a few more veggie options than many Japanese places I've been to in Edmonton. I ended up having fried tofu, seaweed salad and some veggie sushi. They have about 5-6 sushi options available and a few other items like teriyaki  tofu, noodle dishes, veggie tempura and a cold tofu dish. It made for a much more delicious and filling meal than I would have had at the Italian place. Another thing I likea bout this place is the staff looked at my order and asked if I was vegetarian and then when I said I was, they noted on my order no fish product. Turns out some of the garnishes have roe or fish flakes (I don't even want to know what that means... makes me think of goldfish food). I always really appreciate it when a server goes beyond taking an order and is sensitive to possible allergies or diet choices. I wish more places were like that!

After dinner, we walked by a new self-serve frozen yogurt place called Cherry Berry. These are just starting to pop up in Edmonton and they all seriously look so delicious. I assumed that there would be no vegan options, but my co-worker wanted to try them. When I went in they tried to offer me a sample and I declined and told them I was vegan, so no dairy yogurt. To my surprise, they have dairy free sorbet! Only a couple flavours, but the ones they had were amazing!! 

I combined a blue raspberry and orange flavour together. Normally I am not into toppings.. one max, but this time I decided to go all out. I got nerds, blueberry, kiwi, pineapple, cherries, coconut and mochi. again, SO good! I rarely care when I have to pass things up because there is no option for me, but any time a restaurant accommodates for more than the typical american diet, I am so grateful. 

What started to be a crap end to the day with likely no more than a salad for dinner turned into a pretty good night. The Japanese food was great, but the best part was the FroSo (Kind of like FroYo, but vegan-style). I haven't had a good frozen dessert like that for a while. Plus they charge by weight and in the end I got a ton of sorbet with tons of toppigns for under $3.00 I doubt I could get that deal in Edmonton. Makes me happy :)

Frozen Sorbet... made my night!

Where to Eat in Peoria

When I found out I had to spend a few weeks in Peoria, IL... the first thing I did was check out what the food situation would be like there. I can't remember if I have ever mentioned it, but two very good websites that I use to look for vegan-friendly restaurants are Happycow.net and urbanspoon.com Most vegans are probably already aware, but just in case.. That is where I go when I am going somewhere I don't know anyone.

Searching for vegan restaurants in Peoria, I found zero. three listed as vegetarian-friendly. Not much, so it pretty much means I have to find the ones that aren't listed. There are always some that aren't. Here are few of the places I found and I will be looking to add them to happy cow when I get home.

1. Kellehers - Not a lot on the menu, but they do have a veggie sandwhich and it is good. Roasted vegetables and fries.. can't really be beat. They had some salads that could be altered as well. Not much else without attempting to try and create your own dish (I didn't attempt, but maybe next time). Prices are cheap and overall not a bad spot.

2. Pasand - There are a couple Indian restaurants in the city. Always a safew bet to find a full vegan meal. I was told one was better than the other, so that is what chose. Nice spot down by the university. It was a little grungy inside, but the food was pretty good! They didn't have a lot vegan, but enough that it was no trouble to eat. There is another Indian-Pakistinian restaurant that I want to try. Maybe next month

3.Sushigawa - Little sushi restaurnat right by the hotel. Good food. Actually, great food. They are happy to make maki vegan for you and have a few rolls on there that I had never seen before. Cheap too. Highly reccommended.

4. Five Guys - I wasn't sure about putting this up on the list, but in all fairness, they have a veggie snadwhich available and if that doesn't work, you can fill a greasy food craving with their fries.

The not so great, but I tried anyways

1. Alexander's - They were actually pretty good. I got a veggie skewer, fries and a salad and it was pretty tastey. The reason for the not so great is really, a lot of vegan people probably don't want to be at a restaurant full of gigantic steaks that people grill themselves. That thought definitely crossed my mind while I was there. They do ahve sunflower seeds for a salad topping. That was actually pretty sweet.

2. Joe's Crab Shak - This place was not good. The non-vegans didn't seem to like their meal and all I could find to eat was a garden salad and fries. I told them no meat, no cheese etc for the salad and my ended up with meat on it. To make it worse the service was slow so I didn't bother getting a new one.

3. Peoria Hofbrau - I wasn't going to put this one on, because I didn't end up going. Nothing vegan on the menu and when we called to see if they could accommodate they just said no. They said that was the first time anyone ever asked them that before. I considered being a trouble maker and going anyways to see if I could get them to do anything, but to be honest, I was tired of eating side dishes and bailed out. I ate in my room instead. Sometimes it's just not worth the fight.

I have been purposely just going with the group while I have been in Peoria, but I know there are a few vegan-friendly spots that I have yet to try. Next trip, I will be seeing if I can convince anyone to join me.

I am now back home in Edmonton, but got consumed by pet trouble this weekend and missed a couple days. I hope to be back on track tomorrow. Not much makes me exhausted except dealing with a sick pet and vets. It was a long day with emergency room and dealing with vets that have never treated a guinea pig. Going to attempt an early night and have a fresh start tomorrow.