| rev:text
| - I dragged my feet on checking this place out because I was thinking it's just a sandwich; no big deal. I was SO wrong!
I checked out their website ahead of time, which has a "vegan" tab for each Ike's location, so I was already familiar with some of the vegan offerings. But when I arrived, there were so many more options jumping out a me. Luckily, the employees know their stuff when it comes to their vegan menu, and they were able to answer my questions.
I ordered the Handsome Owl (sans cheese): vegan chicken, teriyaki, Wasabi Mayo, lettuce, onions, pickles, & banana peppers, on Ike's World Famous Dutch Crunch bread. OMG! I don't know what sorcery they used to conjure up that bread's amazing and unique flavor, but it is phenomenal! The combinations of all the flavors that encompass the sandwich is ingenious. My mind is blown. It's a $10 sandwich, but it's huge, filling, and worth every single penny. I will certainly return to try all of the vegan combinations.
They sell Zapp's potato chips, which come in a variety of colorfully named flavors, like "Voodoo Heat," "Hotter'N Hot Jalapeño,"Sweet Creole Onion," etc. Looking at the ingredients on the bags (and I have since checked Zapp's website), it appears that only the Salt & Vinegar, and BBQ Ranch chips are not vegan (they contain a milk product), and all except the Mesquite BBQ are gluten-free. However, the source of the natural smoke flavor and "natural flavor" needs to be confirmed. I also spotted MSG in at least one flavor.
I tried the Hotter'N Hot Jalapeño chips. I wasn't impressed. 0 heat. Not 1 hint of spice. And the taste was a little off; almost on the stale side, but the bag showed a November expiration date. Not sure what that was about. Next time I'll try a different flavor to see if there's any change.
Management informed me of the following:
50% of the veggie sandwiches can be made vegan upon request.
They use Daiya for the vegan cheese, Tofurkey for the vegan turkey, and Gardein for the vegan chicken and meatballs.
All of their breads are vegan except for the wheat (it's honey wheat).
The wasabi mayo is automatically vegan, so no need to request a vegan version.
Their Dirty sauce is not vegan, but they offer a vegan version, (which is delicious, btw! Add it to your sandwich, or get it on the side and dip your sandwich in it. YUM!)
Fries (called "Air Fries") are vegan; they are baked, not fried.
Tater tots are vegan.
Not vegan:
pesto, & honey mustard sauces, the fried foods, like onion rings & beer battered zucchini (egg based batter), and the obvious (meats and non-vegan cheeses).
CORRECTION: Their Sun-Devil (a nod to Arizona State University/ ASU) is not vegan, & they do NOT have a vegan version. (The photo I added is actually their vegan Dirty sauce.)
Their veggie bacon is vegetarian; not vegan
Gluten-free bread available upon request.
I love the way it's decorated. It has a very warm, happy, and welcoming vibe. Friendly and vegan-knowledgable employees. Fountain drinks or bottled drinks available. Open late (until midnight) on Fri/Sat. There are few outside tables. Located in the heart of Tempe, next to the Bank of America off Mill, between 6th & 7th. Typical downtown Tempe street or paid lot parking.
SANDWICHES = MIND BLOWN!
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)
![[cxml]](/fct/images/cxml_doc.png)
![[csv]](/fct/images/csv_doc.png)
![[text]](/fct/images/ntriples_doc.png)
![[turtle]](/fct/images/n3turtle_doc.png)
![[ld+json]](/fct/images/jsonld_doc.png)
![[rdf+json]](/fct/images/json_doc.png)
![[rdf+xml]](/fct/images/xml_doc.png)
![[atom+xml]](/fct/images/atom_doc.png)
![[html]](/fct/images/html_doc.png)