Humus makes a perfect base for a dressing or sauce
Yep, its a big area and I am only going to scratch the surface with this post. First let’s talk about my dining style. I have been vegan for a bit over a year. That means I don’t eat meat or dairy, but I love to eat and I love good food and it isn’t that hard to make happen. My first 6 months or so I was a shy vegan, best handled by not going out or taking my special menu with me when I had to travel. I am far more confident now in my ability to find something on any menu with a few notes:
If you are vegan or vegetarian, do NOT choose Friday nights for your going out night. This night is typically Fish Fry nights and places where you have already found a favorite menu item or two could well not have anything but the special menu, which you can’t eat any thing from. Wait until any other day of the week
Anywhere that sells pizza can give you a great meal, order the vegetable pizza without cheese. We have trained quite a few pizza places in this style, you will not likely be the first.
Wisconsin leans heavily towards the meat & potato style of meals. As a special menu person, we like some nontraditional choices. Look at Tapas. Our favorite place is The Vine in Minocqua. They not only have a good wine list, but have several vegetarian, vegan and easily converted choices. It also has a great ambiance. You can find them at: thevineminocqua.com.
I would be remiss not to mention some of our successes in St. Germain:
The Bear’s Den at Black Bear Lodge. They make a fantastic vegan pizza and are very skilled when asked ahead of time to prepare special menu items.
The Wolf’s Den in downtown St. Germain where much as I would have loved bacon and eggs, I stuck with the vegan choices. They did a wonderful pancakes, oatmeal and a fresh fruit that had lots of great fruit, not just melon.
Riverstone Restaurant in Eagle River has a bunch of good vegetarian/vegan or easily adapted choices, some well hidden in the menu text. Look at the mexican dishes, pizza and risotto. They can be found at: riverstonerestaurant.com
Norwood Pines is another fine restaurant with a few well prepared menu items specifically for vegetarian/vegan diners. norwoodpines.com
Pitlik’s Resort has a really good vegetarian wrap.
Not being mentioned here doesn’t mean anything much and could be just fine with their offerings for vegan/vegetarian. These few noted here are the rare highlights of my first vegan year dining around.
I will note that not enough restaurants realize that what is today an irritating special request is going to be a growing and important aspect of their business. The restaurant that can please the vegan will win in the long run because we are the folks that decide where our meat eating group dines. It is always the special menu diners that choose the restaurant and there are more of us every day.
Oh, and if you are a restaurant owner, chef, cook, server…. salad is not a main course. Even for us it tends to be a starter, just like meat menu folks. Except maybe for lunch. Think outside the box! It’s really not that hard and we will be ever so grateful!
Cedaroma Lodge 
Thank you for sharing! Out of curiosity, what made you decide to become vegan? I have always wondered what makes people our age (40’s) decide to make the jump.
Lori, Long story long, I was a 36 year smoker and had to quit. Having tried a few times I knew one of the roadblocks was going to be the weight gain and figured if I had a plan ahead of time, that might curb it. I went vegan to not gain weight while I quit smoking. I also knew I needed a healthier diet, but this wasn’t my focus at the time. My only goal was to not gain weight, but I lost 30 LBS in my first year. Well, I lost more than that, put some back on this winter with a more idle lifestyle, but another 6 weeks or so and I will be outside hustling again. Now at almost 14 moths I am still smoke free, still vegan and still glad I did it. I am 10x more active than I have been the last 10 years. And well, I think it all ties together, but I am also fairly happy and satisfied with life, though a little less cold would be good.
BTW, thank you for thinking me 40’s! LOL
Wonderful post Lynn, Just like you to open up Wisconsin to great food ideas…… ;o)
I’m not vegan but I always look for healthy options on a menu. I try to avoid sugar and added salt. Simple, tasty fare. Fresh trumps fancy. (Too saucy ? hmmm, whatcha hiding under there?) You are right my friend. We have to change our evil ways or risk crushing medical bills and diseased kids.