Vegan

Have Tempeh, Will Travel: Vegan flight tips from Philly's experts

POSTED: Wednesday, November 26, 2008, 2:30 PM

Filed Under: Vegan | Vegetarian | We're Here to Help

No seitan, either.

I, along with the rest of the world's population, have always loved complaining about crappy airport/airline eats, from micro-zapped burgers and cinnamon buns to stretchy, oversalted meats served in grim anti-melt trays better suited for tempered-plastic action figures than edible material. Then, a few months back, I read this as-told-to article by Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, about the scarcity of vegan food options in airports and on flights. "Though their choices are limited, vegetarians can find some decent food at the airport," Pacelle writes. "Vegans have it a little tougher." Though I cherish my curmudgeonly grumbles, I definitely empathize ï¿½ what about vegans, who are often left terminally hungry on planes and in airports ill-equipped to provide even the meat eaters with tasty, healthy options? I decided to tap into the local vegan cognoscenti to see what strategies they employ when stomachs start grumbling during the long haul to Point B. Hopefully this'll come in handy for those traveling this Thanksgiving, the busiest airport week of them all. After the jump, check out vegan travel advice from Rich Landau of Horizons, Dynise Balcavage of The Urban Vegan and local vegan chef Rachel Klein.

Landau and Jacoby

Photo | Michael T. Regan

Rich Landau and Kate Jacoby, the couple behind Seventh Street's famed Horizons, are no strangers to air travel, as evidenced by their globally influenced menu and cookbooks. If you're facing a super-long flight, Landau recommends hitting up a supermarket to grab easy, off-the-shelf stuff like rolls, roasted peppers, avocado, olives, tofu, pesto, tomatoes, etc. This way, it's easy to whip up a bunch of simple vegan sandwiches to tide you over until you're treated to a proper sit-down vegan/veg meal. (For the record, Landau and Jacoby adhere to a vegetarian, not vegan, diet.) While Landau feels it's best to avoid airport food whenever possible ï¿½ "Flying does strange things to your body ï¿½ don't make it worse," he says ï¿½ he stills thinks it's a wise idea to brace yourself for unavoidable standards-lowering. "If [you don't], you will feel that much worse after you have eaten somewhere you normally wouldn't." In other words, while it's probably in your best interests to ignore terminal eats altogether, you are most likely going to find yourself in a fast food queue at some point during the trip. "Burger King has a decent Veggie Whopper that I have eaten more times than I care to admit, [but] you gotta show them that they weren't crazy for putting a veggie burger on the menu in the first place," he says.

Dynise "The Urban Vegan" Balcavage with her husband, John "Omniman" Gatti

Photo | Steve Legato for New York Times

"Finding vegan food during air travel is especially challenging," says Dynise Balcavage, who lives in Philly and writes the blog The Urban Vegan. Balcavage has an intimate understanding of the inherent annoyances of vegan air travel ï¿½ she's visited more than 30 countries. That's why she has a stable of eats ï¿½ Larabars, whole pieces of fruit, nuts and PB&Js on whole-grain bread, to name a few ï¿½ that are both easy to tote and easy to get through security. Balcavage also recommends calling your airline to inquire about the availability of an "Asian vegetarian" (often foreign airline code for vegan) in-flight option, but admits she has yet to meet one that's either tasty or filling; to remedy this, she sometimes brings along items to supplement the meal, from the aforementioned snacks to home-baked cookies and muffins. In airports, Balcavage endorses the ever-vital practice of reading labels ï¿½ you may be surprised at your finds. "On a recent trip to Peru, I was shocked to find tons of cookies at the airport that were actually vegan," she says. And while fries and salads are often the only options during a tenuous layover, there are certain pitstops ï¿½ the Pret-a-Manger chain in London airports is one example ï¿½ that specialize in decent vegan meals. "Remember it's only temporary," Balcavage reassures. "Once you get to your destination, you can go all-out and order a four-course vegan meal. Look on HappyCow.net to find vegan restaurants at your final destination."

Rachel Klein

Photo | Greg Bezanis for South Philly Review

Philly's Rachel Klein, a vegan chef-for-hire who founded Miss Rachel's Traveling Fare (check out her seasonal meal offerings), does just that, researching spots to hit up once she's on the ground. She's also a proponent of indulging in a big meal before she leaves and packing non-perishables like cereal, Kashi bars and peanut butter sandwiches into her carry-on. As far as airport fast food is concerned, Klein says you can't go wrong with Taco Bell, where it's easy as seitan pie to snag burritos and tacos with beans, lettuce and tomato, sans meat, sour cream or cheese.

Cherie

Posted 2008-12-02 15:09:56

Also, as a vegan raw foodist, it's usually easy to find fresh fruit at the airports. I even found a Mexican place with a mango & jicama salad, a spinach salad (that even the conventional eateries did not have), and a fresh fruit salad. As Dynise said, sometimes you are surprised - at one place, I found a packaged salad with vegan dressings, vegan sandwiches, vegan dark chocolate (which should always be pure and animal-free! :)) - but don't be afraid to keep it simple and go for the unprocessed bananas at the Starbucks with a hot tea or soy latte.

shitake on a shingle, more holiday travel tips and pablo | Vegetarian and Vegan Life

Posted 2008-12-03 07:09:00

[...] Paper, along with 2 other Philly veg*ns, regarding vegan air travel. Check out the article for some useful tips. [Addendum: If you're vegan and request an Asian vegan meal, you should still specify "no eggs and [...]

Meal Ticket :: Blog Archive :: PETA names Horizons one of the country’s best vegetarian restaurants :: Philadelphia City Paper :: Philadelphia Arts, Restaurants, Music, Movies, Jobs, Classifieds, Blogs

Posted 2009-01-07 17:41:10

[...] a funny anecdote Landau recently shared with me. I interviewed him for a Meal Ticket piece on how long-distance travel, particularly via air, is difficult for vegans due to the lack of edible options. Here, he’s talking about searching for “hippie [...]

Bianca

Posted 2009-02-17 06:37:45

Well its time then that some airlines could reconsider how they handle meals especially on vegan lovers!

News Roundup | VegNotes

Posted 2009-02-17 11:10:22

[...] Philly food blog took up the plight of vegan travelrs through airports. The article speaks to issues we’ve all felt while traveling and discusses what other vegans are doing so [...]

Vegan cookies spotted in a Peru airport! | Veggie Vacation Spots

Posted 2009-03-26 12:52:39

[...] this article about the woes of vegan air travel, one of the vegan travelers interviewed gave a great piece of [...]

Michelle

Posted 2010-06-09 17:01:48

I'm lucky enough to be in NYC, and make it a point to fly JetBlue out of Terminal 5, which has TONS of veggie options - vegan sandwiches at CIBO, a salad bar, tofu stirfry, pasta and veggies at the pasta bar, jamba juice....tons of stuff! But when I'm stuck in other airports, I usually just go with the vegan cookies most Starbucks have now and a soy latte to hold me over to the next city.

Ivy

Posted 2010-06-09 18:36:56

I'm confused - with the scrunity at TSA checkpoints, how are these people in the article getting through security with sandwiches and jars of peanut butter?

Sue

Posted 2010-06-12 18:04:12

I'm a vegetarian and have found that even the vegetarian food offered on most long haul flights is awful. I'll pack fruit, dried fruit, nuts, and yes, a PB&J or PB&H sandwich. Because I do eat vegetarian cheese, I'll also go to my local cheese store and buy a couple of cheddars and flat breads. This, supplemented with an airline's salad, is usually enough to tide me over. TSA can be picky and I try to bring food that I have already prepared and pre-packaged (for example, sliced strawberries in a small plastic bowl). I just pack a lunch bag that I can strap on to my suitcase or rolling briefcase, and unzip it and open it up for TSA inspection as I go thru security. I don't pack jars of anything. For example, pesto for a tomato sandwich would be spread on the bread, and then the bread placed into a plastic container separated with wax paper, to prevent squishing. BTW, I did not know that Burger Kind provided a veggie burger option. Not that I'd ever eat there anyways, but it's good to know.

***The GirlieGirl Army*** » Blog Archive » Ugly Is Irrelevant

Posted 2010-06-15 12:56:55

[...] Tempeh, Will Travel: Vegan flight tips/ how to eat healthy when all you see are McDonaldï¿½s for [...]

Nicole

Posted 2010-11-22 11:41:04

Dry oatmeal envelopes and bags of trail mix. Easy.

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 2:30 PM Permalink | Post a comment

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