Discovering Chipotle While on the Road in Kentucky
Tuesday, September 09, 2014 101 , detroit , dining out , gluten free , Michigan , road trip , travel , travel foods , vegan , vegetarian 0 Comments

Vegetarian / Vegan Bowl

A few years ago, my husband and I were making our way back up to Michigan after doing a road trip through select cities in the Southeastern United States. It was not always easy finding vegan food on our road trip, but we were able to do it most of the time. As our snacks started dwindling and my stomach started growling, I started to get concerned. We did not have enough time to travel out of our way because this was the last leg of our journey and we had to get home and get back to work. We crossed into Kentucky and I got a little worried because it wasn't a vegan hot spot as far as I knew. In fact, after crossing into Kentucky, the next billboard I noticed said 'Hell is Real' and I was beginning to wonder if hell was going to be real to me in the way of being super hungry and having no food to eat.

Welcome to Kentucky

Hell is Real Sign

Just as I was beginning to give up on the idea of eating out and decided to instead look for a grocery store, we found a vegan-friendly place we had never heard of - Chiphttp://www.chipotle.comotle! To say it was a welcome find would be an understatement. It was a sight for sore, hungry vegan eyes. I fell in love instantly. First of all, finding random vegan food just off the expressway in the middle of Kentucky was a-ma-zing. And, on top of that, for it to actually be good - and healthy!

After we found out that this was a chain and we had some in Michigan too, we started to go a bit overboard. We didn't live that close to a Chipotle at the time, but we found excuses to be in the neighborhood of one whenever possible. I found myself dreaming of cilantro lime rice, beans, guacamole . . . And this was before they even offered brown rice as an option. Speaking of guacamole, during those early days we thought the cashier screwed up when we ordered guac and forgot to charge us. When we realized and asked a cashier later, they told us that guacamole is free on the vegetarian food! I love that Chipotle has evolved to become ever more friendly to my diet. Now both their black beans and their pinto beans are vegan and they are unveiling tofu sofritas throughout their stores. They haven't reached Michigan yet, but I'm hoping they will soon.

Chipotle is fast, inexpensive, and healthy. There are other chains and local restaurants popping up that are similar to Chipotle and we do appreciate this because it just means that many more places where we can find something to eat. While traveling especially, it is good to be aware of chain restaurants that offer vegan food options because sometimes they are your only option. We prefer Chipotle over their competition though because they seem to be one of the more responsible companies. They have a lot of information about this on their website. Some of the ingredients they use, like their beans and cilantro, are organic when possible and they have been working on removing GMOs from their food.

Now, take a journey through the burrito line with me. . .