Papa John's Now Offers Vegan Pizza Delivery

In these days and times, it is better to order food than to go pick it up. So why not order a pizza today?! Papa John's now offers vegan pizza delivered!

There was a time, in the not too distant past, when certain things were hard to come by. One important example: vegan pizza. Now it's yours for the asking, and you can even get it delivered to you. It's all part of the pizza revolution: pizza the way you want it, with nutritional ingredients, fresh onions, peppers, roma tomatoes, and mushrooms. To get a custom pizza without any animal products, you just have to build the pizza the way you like.

• Start with original hand-tossed dough that contains no animal products
• Add the original or BBQ sauce
• Layer on an assortment of veggies such as peppers, spinach, pineapple, and onions
• Throw on some seasonings or sauces to add flavor

There, as quick as that, you have veganized your pizza. For a complete meal, add a side such as original breadsticks and drinks and you are all set. In a few minutes, the pizza will be delivered to your door.

The Importance of Quality Ingredients

It is important and understandable that you want to know what goes into the food you are eating. Fortunately, now it's easier than ever to find out all of the nutritional info on your orders by looking online or asking a customer service representative. It can be comforting to know that the best gluten free pizza crust is yours for the asking. Made from ancient grains, including sorghum, teff, amaranth, and quinoa, the crust is thin and crispy and has a uniquely delicious flavor. This is all part of the "better ingredients, better pizza movement," with a simple goal: provide quality foods for customers. In 2016, this resulted in the removal of artificial flavors and synthetic colors from the food menu. Other enhancements include not using certain preservatives or flavor enhancers, partially hydrogenated oils and high fructose corn syrup in any of the menu items. It's all about menu transparency and giving customers the needed tools to make informed choices.

The Importance of Affordability

It is always nice when the food you eat and love is good for you, and it's certainly helpful when you get a good deal. When it comes to the affordability scale, nearly everyone will agree that free pizza is about as good as it gets. With a robust rewards program, you can rack up points every time you order. Soon you will be rewarded with a pizza on the house. You can also look for exclusive offers, deals, promo codes, and discounts that make this already affordable choice of pizzas or Papadias even less expensive. This includes a vegan pizza or one with a gluten-free crust, as well as everything else on the menu. It's an affordable choice for treating the family to a night out, or bringing the meal to you with delivery. Eat well today and get your favorite pizza.

Full Disclosure: This is a sponsored post by Papa John's. Besides that, I love Papa John's pizza. :-)

St. Regis, Atlanta

I recently had the pleasure of staying at the St. Regis in Atlanta, a 5-star hotel. I'll start by saying that this hotel is amazing. It is definitely one of the nicest places I have ever stayed and the service was beyond belief.

I was there for an event that my company was putting on so all of my food experience was from in-room dining and special catering by the hotel. On my first morning there, I ordered the McCann's Irish Oatmeal. These steel cut oats were topped with banana brulee and served with raisins and brown sugar. I paired this with a freshly squeezed orange juice. For $33, it was the most expensive oatmeal and orange juice of my life, but also the best. It was like they torched the bananas with that sweet topping and there were oh so good.

For my lunches there, the good new is they had a vegan meal on the menu. The bad news is that there was just one vegan meal and little did I know, they planned to serve me the same meal every day for four days. On day one, I thought the Quinoa and Kale Power Bowl was great--chickpeas, black eyed peas, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, edamame, sweet potato, and miso vinaigrette with alfalfa sprouts and avocado. It's so much goodness in one bowl. But, by day four, I had to walk across the street to Whole Foods to get something different.

One morning, they served me potatoes sauteed with greens and mushrooms and it was fantastic!

Bowls of fresh fruit were served as my dessert.

And at our reception, there were lots of vegan options including hummus, olives, grilled asparagus and carrots, tabbouleh, and artichoke hearts.

But, back to the service--it really couldn't have been better. This is a five-star hotel with five-star employees. They were attentive to my every need during our reception, event, and in my room. I really have nothing but great things to say about the St. Regis. And for the television in my mirror in the bathroom--I never knew I needed this until now. ;)

St. Regis
88 West Paces Ferry Road
Atlanta, GA 30305
(404) 563-7900

R. Thomas' Deluxe Grill

My good friend in Atlanta has been raving about this diner that is open 24 hours and is vegan friendly for a long time. Since I had a whole week in Atlanta, I finally got to check out the R. Thomas Deluxe Grill!

Now this place is a funky place. It was quite dark on this weekday night, but what I could see was eclecticism! Holiday lights, pinwheels, plastic flamingos, and plants all graced the outside of this restaurant. On the way in there were caged birds like Toucans that were apparently all rescued birds. They were sleeping so we didn't mess with them, but I was curious as to the story behind the birds as an animal activist myself.

Inside, the funkiness continued with brightly colored tablecloths and a green floor within the tent that shielded us from the outside. The menu was extensive and hard to navigate as nothing was labeled vegan. As soon as I asked though, the server said that many things are vegan and began to list them as he was apologizing for a menu that he said hadn't been updated in decades. Wow!

I started with a fresh juice, the Champ, made with organic carrot, apple, and ginger. Yummy.

For our started, we chose the Raw Walnut Sunflower Pate and Raw Guacamole. Our server said the cashew cheese was better than the sunflower pate so we subbed that out. It showed up with Flackers flax chips and carrots and other veggies. Both spreads were fantastic. We were very pleased.

I asked what the server recommended as a vegan entree and he said The Southern Vegetarian was vegan, so I went with that. This hearty meal had layers of millet corn casserole, collard greens, smashed potatoes, and shiitake mushroom gravy surrounded by butternut squash and a salad with chili flax dressing. It was simple and delicious.

For dessert, we got a massive slice of caramel cake. The cake tasted like it had been frozen and was a bit too cold, hard, and perhaps stale. It had good flavor, but wasn't as fresh as it could have been.

Prices here were pretty reasonable at $15 for the entree and $10 for the raw appetizer. The service was great, the decor and environment fun, and the food was good. I give this old school 24/7 diner two thumbs up!

R. Thomas Deluxe Grill
1812 Peachtree Street NW
Atlanta, GA 30309
(404) 881-0246

True Food, Atlanta

Interestingly enough, when I asked the locals where I could go for good vegan food, they all said that True Food Kitchen was great. True Food is a chain that also exists in Maryland, which is somewhat close to where I live, so I wasn't sure if I wanted to waste one of my dinners on a restaurant that is close to me. But, seeing that I hardly ever go to Maryland and this seemed like the restaurant of choice, why not?!

True Food is located in Lenox Square in Buckhead, which is a very fancy mall. Amidst the Lamborghinis and Porsches, I was finally able to find a parking spot after circling for 15 minutes. How all the parking spots were taken on a Tuesday night, I will never understand, but there is also the option for valet parking.

Inside True Food, it was just as busy! My friend was meeting me in 20 minutes or so, so I added my name to the list and took a seat at the communal high top tables, sipped a Prosecco, and waited. I was seated with other lone tourists who struck up a conversation that kept me interested until my friend arrived.

The decor was inviting with its bright green booths and large lighting fixtures. Wine bottles lined the walls and the open kitchen was interesting to watch as well.

When my friend arrived, our table was ready. What I love about the menu is that there are tons of vegan options and they are labeled as such. For appetizers, I could choose from Shiitake Lettuce Cups, Kale Guacamole, Charred Cauliflower, and Winter Squash Toast. The Charred Cauliflower appeared to be the crowd favorite, so we went with that and I'm so glad we did!

The cauliflower was covered in harissa tahini and mixed with fresh dill and mint along with pistachios and medjool dates. It was fantastic!

For my entree, there was so much to choose from including vegan pizza. I ultimately went with the Ancient Grains Bowl. Miso glazed sweet potatoes, charred onions, snow peas, grilled portobello, and tofu were topped with turmeric, avocado, and hemp seeds. There was also pesto in my bowl, which wasn't on the menu and seemed like an odd pairing. Other than the pesto, I thought it was great!

My friend ordered the Teriyaki Quinoa bowl with broccoli, carrots, bok choy, mushrooms, brown rice, avocado, and sesame seeds. It had a great charred flavor to it and was very tasty.

For dessert, we ordered the chia seed pudding with bananas and coconut chips. Again, another delicious dish.

The bowls were $17 and the appetizer was $9 so a bit on the pricey side, but it was all so worth it. The service was pretty good. The only bad experience we had was that we were both brought the wrong dishes initially and my friend's had fish sauce in it, which neither of us realized until it was too late. Both our meals were replaced, but that wasn't cool. Besides that though, the food was really exceptional. I'd eat here again in a heartbeat and may even check out the one in Maryland too!

True Food Kitchen
3393 Peachtree Road NE
Suite 3058B
Atlanta, GA 30326
(404) 481-2980

Green Sprout, Atlanta

In search of a vegan restaurant in Atlanta that I'd never been before, I came across Green Sprout. This vegan Chinese restaurant has been in business in Atlanta since 2003 and was one of the only veg restaurants open on a Monday, so I headed over.

On this early Monday evening, there was no one in the dining room. I took a seat at a booth and perused the menu. The decor was typical for a Chinese restaurant--simple with shiny tables and chairs.

I started with steamed dumplings filled with bok choy, carrot, and soy protein. They were okay, but the sauce was nothing special and, therefore, the appetizer wasn't anything special.

For my entree, I went with one of their most popular entrees--the Empire Soy "Chicken." Crispy soy "chicken," broccoli, cauliflower, bell pepper, and mushrooms were cooked in a ginger brown sauce and served with brown rice. I asked for spicy, but it wasn't spicy at all. It was pretty plain in general.

The entree was $15, which, for what it was, seemed a bit pricey. The service was fine--as I was the only patron, they were attentive to my needs. But, all in all, I left underwhelmed. As the whole menu is vegan, perhaps there are other items that are tastier than what I ordered.

Green Sprout
1529 Piedmont Avenue, Suite D
Atlanta, GA 30324
(404) 874-7373

Tupelo Honey, Arlington

I wanted to go out and celebrate with my colleagues, so I searched for a nice, business lunch appropriate restaurant in the Courthouse area of Arlington. Tupelo Honey was recommended by others at work, but I figured that a Southern restaurant wouldn't have much for me. Searches on the internet confirmed it was not very vegan friendly, but mentioned that the burger there was vegan. And, honestly, I'll try a place that has just one vegan item just to see if it is good.

So, off to Tupelo Honey we went! In my research, I discovered that this restaurant originated in Asheville, North Carolina. Tupelo Honey now has restaurants in Colorado, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.

Inside the atmosphere is bright and pleasant. Colorful, Southern-inspired paintings hang on the walls along with an American flag made of wooden posts. It's pretty cool.

I started with a Sparkling Blueberry Punch that was very tasty.

I inquired about the vegan options and was given a few dishes that could be modified, but not many. I'm sure the salads could be modified to be vegan, but I was in the mood for an entree. To start, I ordered the "Fried Okra with Carolina White Sauce," which when veganized was grilled okra with no sauce. I love that the chef was willing to accommodate because it turned out great! Slightly blackened and cooked perfectly, this okra was delicious.

For my entree, I ordered the Grateful Veg Burger. Honestly, I wouldn't even have believed it was vegan had I not done so much research ahead of time. In fact, they have their own cookbook and the recipe is available online. They use tofu as a binder instead of egg. When I asked about the bun, I was told it was not vegan, but there were a variety of breads that were and I chose pumpernickel instead. And without the aioli.

The housemade veggie burger was fantastic. Loaded with carrots, poblano chili, black beans, corn, bell pepper, celery, and spices, it was packed full of flavor. They put a huge slice of onion on top that was a bit overpowering and the bread was good, but probably not the best choice for this burger. Overall all though, it was great.

I chose the side salad as my side and they said they didn't have any vegan dressings so I was brought oil and vinegar. Eh, I'll take what I can get.

So, even though there's only one entree I can eat here, it was good and I'd come back again. The service was a bit slow, but the server was so nice and helpful that I really can't criticize. The prices were a bit high, but it's a nice restaurant so I expected that. Thanks for accommodating, Tupelo Honey, us vegans would love it if you'd add more vegan options too!

Tupelo Honey
1616 N. Troy Street
Arlington, VA 22201
(703) 253-8140

The Little Beet, DC

The Little Beet--how have I missed you all this time? Apparently, The Little Beet, a fast casual restaurant originating in New York City, came to DC in 2015, but I guess I missed it. I was recently contacted by them to check out their new Rosslyn location, when I stumbled across their DC restaurant on my own. And this place is super vegan friendly! Better late, than never, I suppose!

Inside, it's your typical small, fast casual setup with a typical style menu. Nice wood paneling and simple wood tables with beet colored chairs make up the dining room. My favorite part about their menu is that their online menu allows you to select "vegan" and when you do, it crosses out all menu items that aren't vegan. It's brilliant!

You can choose from two vegan chef-made bowls or you can make your own. I chose to make my own. I started with a mix of half of the little beet salad mix and half of ancient grain blend. Then you have your choice of tons of delicious cold and warm veggies and beans. I went with the white beans marinated in herb salsa verde and lemon and the sweet potatoes with smoked sea salt and olive oil. Other veggie choices are beets and lentils, roasted kale, cucumber and sea veggies, butternut squash, broccoli, and green beans.

Vegans have three proteins to choose from: grilled avocado, tofu, or beet falafel. I just had to try the beet falafel, which they brought out fresh and grilled in front of us. Then, you can have as many sauces as you like, which is dangerous. I chose the turmeric tahini, piquillo garlic, and avocado white bean spread. And then I topped it with pickled red onions and super seeds.

Goodness, that is a lot of food! And it was really, really good! The beet falafel was really fresh as it was cooked right there in front of us and very hearty. The white beans and sweet potato were seasoned so well and all the sauces just made it all taste delicious. I was really impressed.

My friend got a vegan bowl as well and raved about the broccoli.

I can't believe it took me three years to find you, Little Beet, but I'll be back. The price ended up being a little over $11 so a little pricey for fast casual, but the food was so good and fresh and the ease of ordering with the dynamic menu made for such a great experience. Please come support this awesome restaurant either in DC or Virginia!

The Little Beet
1212 18th Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 796-5100

Le Pain Quotidien, Arlington, VA #4

Oh, Le Pain, you are still one of my favorite international chains. Meaning "the daily bread," Le Pain Quotidien originates out of Belgium and always has delicious food. They change their menu often, but I'm always able to find good hearty food. I recently discovered the Clarendon location in Virginia and visited twice.

This location is quite large. You are surrounded by the warming scent of fresh baked bread upon entering and quickly directed to find a seat of your choosing. The dining room itself feels a bit barren with its light wood floors, tables, and chairs. The only accent is the white exposed ductwork in the ceiling--otherwise it has a very monocolor feel.

I started with a Raspberry Lemonade. Freshly made, it had a natural flavor to it--not too sweet and well balanced.

For my lunch, I went with a seasonal special--the Sweet Potato and Black Bean Toast. This beautiful, fresh toast was layered with sweet potato cubes, black beans, and arugula and topped with avocado slices and vegan chipotle aioli. Oh my my--it is so good. All those flavors meshed perfectly together. The bread was crispy, the sweet potato soft and the aioli creamy. And it was very filling.

For my second visit, I ordered the Baker's Lunch, which consists of the soup of the day, a salad, and a tartine. The soup was split pea and was excellent. The salad was the quinoa taboule served with arugula--pretty good. The real star of this show though was the avocado toast topped with extra virgin olive oil, citrus cumin salt, and chia seeds. Do not go here without ordering one of their tartines!

My friend got the same thing, but with vegan chili. It looked scrumptious!

And I couldn't leave without my favorite vegan carrot cake cupcake. You must try one of these cupcakes--they are to die for!

All in all, the service on our first visit was pretty good, but the second visit wasn't so great. The prices are definitely high for lunch at $12.95 for the toast and $14.95 for the baker's lunch, but well worth it as the food is fantastic. The atmosphere is pretty laid back there--no reservations needed. So, I'd say it's one of my favorite places to eat in Arlington...and really all of DC. Recommended.

Previous reviews
November 18, 2014
February 17, 2014
January 6, 2014

Le Pain Quotidien
2900 Clarendon Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22201
(703) 465-0970

Padaek, Falls Church, VA

I was searching for a new place to go and stumbled upon Padaek, a Lao and Thai restaurant in Falls Church, Virginia. I discovered that Padaek is the old Bangkok Golden, which was very vegan friendly. So, off we went!

Padaek is a small restaurant with Thai artwork on the walls and simple furniture. It was a busy Sunday when we arrived, but we were seated immediately.

I ordered a glass of white wine as I perused the menu. The server didn't seem to know what was vegan, so she asked some people at the front, then came back to us. She basically said that very little on the Lao menu could be made vegan because it all had fish sauce in it. When she walked away, I noticed that some of the items she said that about were labeled vegetarian. That made me worry that they didn't understand the definition of vegetarian or vegan.

So, we thought it safest to stick with the Thai menu rather than the Lao. We started with an order of spring rolls. We didn't realize they'd be as deep fried as they were. You know when something is so deep fried that all you taste is oil and nothing else?! Yeah--it was like that. There was mung bean noodles, cabbage, and carrot inside, but you could barely taste it.

For our entrees, we ordered the Spicy Eggplant. I got mine vegan, no fish sauce, and extra spicy. This dish was really good. Japanese eggplant were sliced thickly and stir fried with onions and bell pepper with a chili-garlic sauce. It was served with white rice (brown rice was not an option).

We ended up hanging out there for a while to catch up and luckily the place was clearing out so we weren't nudged to leave.

I'd say this place is just okay. The fact that the vegetarian items are not vegetarian is not a good thing. The appetizer wasn't good, but the entree was, but nothing about the experience made me want to go back there in an area with tons of vegan options. And we both had upset stomachs afterwards. I'd say there are better places to dine than Padaek.

Padaek
6395 Seven Corners Center
Falls Church, VA 22044
(703) 533-9480