this weekend i wound up in my hometown, santa clarita, visiting my omnivore parents and treating them to dinner. scv is great but when eating there, it’s definitely a lot harder to find a safe restaurant than in los angeles…so out of desperation, we chose to dine at the (somewhat) vegan-friendly macaroni grill.

before heading to the restaurant, i did my research and found that peta and various vegan blogs had confirmed the veganocity of certain mac-grill menu items.

i decided to give them a try and i gotta say, pretty good. pretty, pretty, pretty, PRETTY GOOD!

spaghetti with garlic and olive oil, broccoli, mushrooms and diced tomatoes

the wonderful bread was vegan as well, and dipped in olive oil it made the perfect appetizer.

peasant bread to start with

we also enjoyed glass after glass of the house chianti, which was left on our table to refill as we wished using the “honor system”. oh, macaroni grill, don’t TEMPT me!

as a vegan, i was happy as could be in this huge chain restaurant surrounded by meat-eaters…not something i can say very often. everyone had a great time, and our whole table ordered vegan as well!

penne arrabbiata with broccoli, spinach and diced tomatoes

dad’s pasta

mom’s pasta

because it’s always pretty easy to find a nearby macaroni grill, i highly recommend this restaurant to worried vegans who need to find a place to eat with a party of omnivores. just be sure to ask your waiter for the special “create your own pasta” menu. you even get to fill it out with a crayon!

the restaurant in santa clarita is lovely. it’s located in the scenic valencia marketplace, near a marshalls and barbeques galore.

i’ll definitely be taking mom and dad there again soon!