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| - Okay, there are a few things that are going to be brought up and I'm almost guaranteed to get a manager comment on this, but whatever, it's happening.
Went here last night to try the Gardein line here. I was very excited to see that vegan meats have been added to some of their dishes. How cool is that?? But upon doing some internet research before we ordered, I found out that due to cooking methods, ALL of the dishes wouldn't be vegan OR vegetarian. They cook everything on the same grill as the meat. What sense does this make? None. It's like having a black coat and putting bleach all over it - it doesn't resemble a black coat anymore and is tainted. If you mix vegan food with meat, what is the point?
And here comes why it is 2-star. IT IS NOT STANDARD PROCEDURE FOR THE VEG*N MENU TO BE COOKED IN A SEPARATE PAN. You have to go out of your way to ask for this, and even then a manager comes out to explain that it's not going to taste the same as if it were on the grill. Hmm - do you really think a vegan WANTS dead cow mixed in with her food? HELL NO. Granted, Yardhouse has already taken *some* action and put a little dot next to a few items that absolutely will come in contact with meat since these items are fried and have to go in the same basket as everything else. But they haven't specified that ALL the menu items will come in contact with animal products which is not okay. It would be really helpful if people who come here know this right off the bat. If I hadn't had my phone on me that night, I literally would have gotten sick since I haven't had any sort of meat in 6 years.
Here's what I would suggest: just like other companies before you (Chipotle comes to mind), please automatically make all the vegetarian/Gardein items cooked separately from the meat. You don't want a lawsuit a la McDonald's. It is ridiculous that these vegan meats come to you and then you cross-contaminate them with animal sources to make them not even vegetarian. Oh and this isn't just for this Yardhouse, it goes for all of them - trust me, I will be contacting your corporate offices today. Also, it would be nice if you could put a little V next to the items that could be made vegan or are vegan on the menu. Makes ordering easier, and the confusion of your staff minimal.
Anyways, I ordered the veggie sliders that come with fries, and we also ordered a side of sweet potato fries. Matt ordered a thai "chicken" pizza. After some back and forth, the sliders couldn't even go on the bread (only the wheat bread is vegan) so I got them protein style, wrapped in lettuce. The sweet potato fries we got as our appetizer were severely lackluster. Very bland, no taste, no toppings like sugar or anything. We couldn't have the sauce since it contained bacon, so I guess that's where all the flavor is. After the aforementioned back and forth with the wait staff, we got our food. Do they seriously only have the meat and the bun (in my case, lettuce) for the sliders? NOTHING else? No tomato or onion or even ketchup and mustard? For serious? The taste of the Gardein patty was wonderful, but for almost $11 for plain patties is ridiculous. The fries were way better than the sweet potato ones, but it just wasn't worth the price. I wish they would have suggested to make my order a veggie burger since that's essentially what they did anyways, was cut the patty into four pieces and pass them off as sliders. At least then I could have had the wheat bun and toppings.
It was very difficult throughout the night to try and signal our waitress. I know it was very busy and that I did ask a lot of questions and such, but she was an expert ninja. Not the best customer service in the world. I also unfortunately don't see this Gardein line lasting here at Yardhouse. Until cooking the items separately becomes standard procedure, I can see a lot of vexed veg*ns. Honestly, what is the point of having vegan meats if they're going to end up on the same grill as actual meats? I just don't get that logic. Yardhouse itself is a bit pricey and I understand this, but at least give the customer the most you can. Plain sliders are not okay. In fact, I don't think I've been anywhere that has completely bare sliders.
Due to the lackluster food, the outrageous price tag and the lack of good customer service, Yardhouse really deserves a 1-star review but I still love that a chain has decided to put vegan faux meats on their menu. The intent is there, but the execution is awful but can be easily improved upon. I might be back since there were other items that looked appetizing, but only when I want to deal with the headaches and the hassle. Until then, I'll stock up on Gardein at Whole Foods and make my own delights at home.
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