Pick Up Stix - Various Locations : Orange Peel Tofu

Let's face it. Chinese food isn't exactly healthy. Most everything is either stir-fried or fried. I mean sure you can make stir-fried healthy when you cook at home and control the amount of oil you use, but most restaurants and fast food places use a lot of oil to make their food taste greasily yummy. In any case, when I want to eat "bad" and "fast" Chinese food, I sometimes go to Pick Up Stix. I say sometimes because quality varies depending on location and the intangibles.

Orange Tofu with Fried Rice

Pick Up Stix is a good place to go for vegetarians because you can substitute any of their entrees with tofu. I have only gotten Orange Tofu because it's my favorite sauce and I don't know any other place that makes this tangy good sauce with tofu. Lazy Dog Cafe used to have decent tofu stir-fries...but they stopped putting the flour coating on the tofu before frying it and now it's just not as good. The Pick Up Stix Orange Tofu also has a lot more flavor compared to the one at Lazy Dog. This dish is not hot even though there are chili peppers in the dish. The peppers are whole and not cut, so the sauce is not blazing hot and spicy. There are also a ton of orange pieces in the sauce too (good orange flavor)...so be careful when eating. I usually pick the peppers and oranges out...then it's just tofu and water chestnuts. The picture above already has the oranges and chili peppers removed. You have either a choice of brown or white rice too, but I upgraded to their fried rice. Sometimes their fried rice is good and other times it's just okay. Recently their food has been greasily good. So if you are a vegetarian and have limited options, you can always go to Pick Up Stix and substitute tofu in any of their entrees.

Pick Up Stix
http://www.pickupstix.com/

Daphne's California Greek - Classic Greek Salad w/ Gardenburger

Is Daphne's considered fast food? It does say it's a fast food chain...but I think it's better than the typical fast food. It's kind of like a Chipotle where they use fresh ingredients...but it's just a bit slower (because they don't make it in front of you)...especially if there's a long line.

Classic Greek Salad w/ Gardenburger

I usually order the Classic Greek Salad with a Gardenburger instead of meat. This used to be a choice on their menu, but after the logo/menu change earlier this year...it's no longer there. But I still ask for it and they can still make it. It is served with pita and Tzatziki sauce. You can ask for whole wheat pita here. I don't usually eat the pita so it didn't matter to me. =p

The salad comes with romaine lettuce, tomatoes, olives, onions, cucumbers, feta cheese, and topped off with their Classic Greek dressing and the Gardenburger. Their website says a bed of mixed greens...but it's just romaine lettuce if you look closely at the picture. Maybe there's some other kind of green, but it's mostly romaine. The dressing makes the salad a bit sour...kind of like an Italian dressing, and the feta makes the dressing less sour. It all goes well together and I like these kind of flavors. The ingredients are all really fresh as you can see in the close-up...no wilted greens (that's a plus)! I've eaten here several times and I haven't gotten wilted greens. There was one time I got less green and more...white parts of the green...but that's it. So if you want something better quality than "regular" fast food, but quicker and less expensive than a sit down restaurant, try a Daphne's...and it's pretty healthy too!

Daphne's California Greek
http://www.daphnesgreekcafe.com/
Location this was devoured:
13250 Jamboree Rd. Suite 113
Irvine, CA 92620
(714) 832-5855

Fast Food Eats : Chipotle Mexican Grill - Vegetarian Salad

I like Chipotle! I get their veggie salad every time. I mean you can make a veggie burrito, burrito bowl, or tortilla...but I like the salad the best. Their menu is pretty simple with few ingredients, but they are all seemingly fresh. They try to source their food locally and they believe in food integrity. It does show in the food. Although simple, it tastes good. I haven't found many (if any that I can remember) wilted lettuce leaves like I have at other restaurants let alone other fast food places. Is this really considered fast food? If fast food can be like this, I'll eat fast food more often...no problems. =)

Vegetarian Salad

This salad consists of black beans (you don't want to get pinto beans if you're vegetarian), romaine lettuce, mild salsa (because I don't like spicy foods), sour cream, cheese, and guacamole. I don't usually opt for the rice or the peppers and onions. Depending on how you order your food you can make it healthy or not so healthy. I heart guacamole. =)

Chipotle

http://www.chipotle.com/en-US/fwi/fwi.aspx

Fast Food Eats : In-N-Out Burger - Grilled Cheese

There are times when your meat eating friend would like to just grab a burger. What can a vegetarian eat at a burger joint? Fear not. In-N-Out has an option for non-meat eaters......just order their Grilled Cheese!

Grilled Cheese on the left:

The Grilled Cheese pictured above includes cheese, lettuce, tomato, their spread, and grilled onions. You can ask for it any way you like. It's not the healthiest food...no fast food is really healthy...but it does taste pretty good. Now you can go to a burger joint with your meat eating friends and hang out without starving to death.

In-N-Out is only on the west coast. Similar to how White Castle is only on the east coast.

http://www.in-n-out.com/