Simply Eating Out Vegan

I don't know about you, but everytime I eat out with my friends on Guam, there is a feeling of dread. In fact, many a time, I eat before I go out to a restaurant and treat the event like a social affair while sipping a sugar-laden 10% fruit drink or tap water with ice.

When restaurants here offer vegetarian options, I find that I spend five minutes with the waiter stressing that there should be NO meat, dairy (ususally listing cheese, milk, etc), or eggs on my $7.00 iceberg lettuce salad. Then the dressing is another story. Usually, vinegar and olive oil is the safest. And usually, the get the order right, so I'm thrilled. Other times, they have to take it back and dust off the feta cheese from my iceberg, hopefully without pissing off the waiter too badly. Needless to say, after all of this effort, I have turned my ordering into an affair and taken the attention away from being with my friends. That is the reason I avoid eating out a lot.

However, there are vegan-friendly places such as Simply Foods in Agana Heights. They serve food for lunch only with friendly staff who can tell you if any of their vegetarian dishes have dairy or egg in them. There is also a small, but well-stocked grocery store in the back for all your vegan needs. They have a small but really fresh salad bar, and the smoothie bar has non-yogurt options and fresh wheatgrass juice squeezed to order. When they do not have a grocery item you want, it helps to talk to the staff to see if they can order it for you.

Although, the feeling of the restaurant has the warmth of a church mess hall, the staff is extremely friendly, the food is delicious and fresh, and they have fresh baked items. They take phone and carry-out orders and have recently switched some of their disposable ware to corn based biodegradable plates and bowls. But of course, the best will be to bring your own reusable tuppaware or plates.

Here are links to Simply info and reviews:
Guamdiner
HappyCow

Simply Foods
290 Chalan Palasyo, Agana Heights, Guam
Tel: 671-472-2382
Lunch: Mon-Fri 11am-2pm
Grocery Store: Mon-Thu 8am-5:30pm; Fri 8am-3pm