Are Fast Food Vegan Options Worth a Try?
Chipotle’s vegan sofritas bowl was disappointing. Photo: Chipotle
By CYNTHIA SPRINGER and SANTA SPRINGER
Mayday! Mayday! People are turning vegan!
This dietary trend is spreading across the globe, and in response, fast food chains have been adding vegan options to their menus to get more customers. But are they actually worth a try?
Burger King’s Impossible Whopper
Let's start off with the worst one: Burger King. Coming into this, we were excited to try the Impossible Whopper. We’d never seen a vegan burger option in fast food restaurants, but now we know why.
The first bite was great! It tasted like an actual burger! The freshness of the lettuce, the sweetness of the pickles, the crispiness of the onions... But after taking a few more bites, we started to taste something funky, like there was something spoiled. We realized that it was the patty.
It tasted like it was in the trash for a week and then an employee took it, cooked it, and put it in the burger. It didn’t taste edible. We couldn’t even finish it.
The worst part was that this burger cost twice as much as the original Whopper. At BK’s, we definitely didn’t have it our way. (Rating: ZERO STARS)
Chipotle’s Customized Vegan Bowl
This bowl already didn’t look appetizing when we were ordering it. Sadly, it didn’t taste appetizing either.
The whole thing was extremely boring. There was nothing about it that would make us crave it. The rice was bland, the sofritas (Chipotle’s tofu-based offering) were disgusting and had a weird texture, and we couldn’t even taste the avocado. The only thing that made the bowl two percent less uninteresting was the green salsa, due to its spice.
We could’ve easily made a better vegan bowl at home instead of wasting $10 on this unimaginative offering. (★☆☆☆☆)
You can make Taco Bell’s Black Bean Chalupa Supreme Vegan by asking for no cheese or sour cream. Photo: Taco Bell
Taco Bell’s Black Bean Chalupa and Supreme Crunchwrap
The Black Bean Chalupa Supreme was surprisingly good. The shell was soft, chewy, and thick, which made it easier for the taco to stay intact. And the black beans were actually some of the best we’d ever tasted, with a good amount of spice.
However, the shell and the beans were carrying the taco. Without the cheese and sour cream, the remainder was too bland. (★★★☆☆)
Next, we tried the Black Bean CrunchWrap Supreme. But after eating the chalupa, it was a let down.
As soon as we took our first bite, we were immediately disappointed. There was no crunch! The hard shell had turned soggy in the wrap. How can it be a CrunchWrap when there’s no crunch? Plus, the tortilla had no flavor. All we could taste was the lettuce and the beans. (★☆☆☆☆)
The highlight of our quest. Photo: Cold Stone Creamery
Cold Stone Creamery’s Countrytime Pink Lemonade and Don’t Cry Over Spilled Silk Creation
Calling ice cream fast food may be a bit of a stretch, but we wanted to end on a win. Cold Stone Creamery has multiple sorbet options for vegans, and one of them is their Countrytime Pink Lemonade Sorbet.
While the sorbet did taste like we were drinking fresh lemonade straight from a glass, like lemonade, it also left our throats tingly and sore. A bit of a warning: Don’t add any fruit to the sorbet because it will freeze and become impossible to eat. (★★★☆☆)
Time for the grand finale! Recently, Cold Stone has added a new flavor, and luckily for us, it’s vegan. This creation, Don’t Cry Over Spilled Silk, has bananas, almonds, and peanut butter in a chocolate “ice cream” made with Silk Almond Milk.
This was by far one of the best vegan “ice creams” we’ve ever tasted. The toppings paired well with the chocolate and we were able to taste all of them in every bite.
What made the experience even better is that they made it right in front of us. We were able to see them cut the fresh fruit, add almonds, and scoop peanut butter straight from a jar onto the center of the dessert before they mixed it all together on the counter.
This creamy dessert still stays in our minds and leaves us craving for seconds. (★★★★★)
Although there are now several fast food restaurants that offer vegan options, there are still others that don’t want to join in on the trend. All McDonalds has to offer are side salads, hash browns, and apple slices. These aren’t even real meals! Popeyes doesn’t have any options; every item contains either milk or meat. Some fries in fast food restaurants aren’t even considered vegan because they are either made with milk or are cooked with beef flavoring.
Clearly, these companies are letting vegans down, as most of the options we tried were mediocre at best. Hopefully some effort and creativity hits fast food chains soon so the rising population of vegans can find a decent cheap lunch that doesn’t taste like something fished out of the gutter.