(CU Independent illustration/Sara Fossum)
Whether a student chooses to be a vegetarian as a social protest, or simply to live a healthier lifestyle, Boulder provides many food options for them.
For those students who eat on campus throughout the day, the dining halls offer numerous options in the way of meatless dining. The dining Web site posts its meal items throughout the day (breakfast though dinner) and denotes an asterisk beside all the vegan options. Farrand and Sewall often feature the tofu rancheros and a blend of steamed vegetables with rice for brunch on the weekends. All dining halls feature a deli bar for students who want to build their own meatless salads any time of the day.
According to the Housing and Dining Web site, all of the dining halls “offer at least one vegetarian and/or vegan hot main entree item at every lunch and dinner.” They also state that all grab-n-gos around campus have vegan and vegetarian food options.
There are also vegetarian options for students who dine on the Hill.
Lola Breslin, a CU graduate who has worked at Half Fast Subs for three years, describes the restaurant as being “very vegetarian-friendly.”
“We get a lot of vegans and vegetarians in here,” Breslin said. “We go out of our way to feature vegetarian sandwiches at Half Fast.”
Half Fast Sub’s shop features over 20 sandwich options for vegetarians ranging from a spicy cheese sandwich to an eggplant parmesan sub with mozzarella and marinara sauce. In true veggie-welcoming fashion, they also have an all American garden burger loaded with provolone, lettuce, tomato and basil mayo.
Le Peep, a popular breakfast joint near 29th Street Mall, also provides tasty meals for their vegetarian clientèle. The restaurant offers many variations on the old breakfast standby of oatmeal with milk—granola cranberry oatmeal and Dutch apple oatmeal, to name a few. More vegetarian options are the drifter and hobo skillets, choc-full of peasant potatoes, fresh veggies and cheese, as well as the spinach crepes Benedict with mushrooms, broccoli and tomatoes.
There are also local restaurants for those vegetarian students who enjoy a delicious Asian meal. The Golden Lotus in Boulder, also near the 29th Street Mall, is an establishment that offers an authentic taste of Chinese cuisine. Their menu displays a plethora of vegetable dishes from variations on the basic tofu dish; sesame tofu and ma po tofu are just two of those featured, as well as the Chinese eggplant in garlic sauce dinner.
Nick Romano, a 19-year-old freshman civil engineering major, said that he isn’t a vegetarian, but that from his point of view, the group is well accepted on campus and in Boulder.
“I’ve never been offended by vegetarians even though I’m not one,” Romano said. “There are definitely more dietary options here [for vegetarians] than from my home town.”
Kevin Myhre, a 19-year-old freshman civil engineering major, said he agreed with Romano in that Boulder welcomes vegetarians even though he is a born and bred meat-eater.
“Growing up I ate a lot of meat so I am not a vegetarian,” Myhre said. “Boulder is more vegetarian-friendly than Minnesota, where I’m from.”
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Jenna Fredrickson at Jenna.fredrickson@colorado.edu.
1 comment
How great to hear of the positive modeling CU is doing, providing non-dairy vegetarian meal options to its students!
If you’d like to see high-school students provided the same sort of selections, please visit the Healthy School Lunches campaign site at http://www.HealthySchoolLunches.org.
Just weeks ago, Boulder’s own Congressman Jared Polis introduced the Healthy School Meals Act of 2010–the bill that emerged from the HSL campaign. If passed into law, this bill would help improve the National School Lunch Program by providing students with meal options that are high in fiber and low in fat. This sort of food can help prevent excessive weight gain and the chronic diseases that result from overweight and obese conditions. This is a healthy choice for all students–not just vegetarians and vegans!