Red Robin

It's really difficult to find places to eat that offer vegan choices.  When asked the dreaded question where I would like to eat, I always decide what’s beneficial for everyone instead of me.  I rarely dine out so I'm still searching non vegan establishments that carry enough options for me and my companions.  Fortunately there are apps and sites for that.  After checking Vegan Eating Out, I noticed Red Robin had a lot of tasty looking vegan options.  I wasn’t extremely hungry so I split the tortilla chips, guacamole, and salsa with my friend and ordered the steak fries for myself.   I made sure to confirm the fries were not cooked in the same oil as everything else.  I also ordered a Miller Lite which is vegan according to the research I've done regarding vegan friendly alcohol.  I don’t drink much so I’m not too familiar about vegan alcohol options.  I tried to ditch the beer for a smoothie, but unfortunately they are not made with real fruit.  The only real fruit they could offer to make a smoothie from was strawberries.  Since the smoothie I ordered included strawberries and apple juice, I asked for just those blended as an alternative.  Seemed like a good idea though my waitress seemed humorously skeptical about the blend.  My friend quickly notifies me that apple juice has arsenic in it.  She had just recently heard that information and was kind enough to kill my last hopes for a smoothie :-)  Needless to say I was very satisfied with the fries and a sweet and spicy ketchup sauce for dipping.  I don't like to make my servers work any harder than they have to so I only ask a certain amount of questions before I start to feel like a pain in the rump, even if they're cooperative.  It's an issue I really need to work on because if I don't I'll forever be consuming some food that is possibly cross contaminated or non vegan.  For that reason I can't really confirm the vegan friendly status of the fries in terms of the oil they were cooked in and if the tortilla chips contained any animal byproducts.  I tried to look it up on the website later but not all information was available and according to their downloadable allergen information page all of the available information will be invalid after January 1, 2012.  Even better they put a disclaimer that they have to substitute products at times of inventory shortage and can therefore not assure their customers that the substitution will be suitable for allergy concerns.  Regardless I can't pretend I didn't enjoy my fries, but in the future I will need to improve on planning ahead and research to decrease any inconveniences while dining out.  Overall, Red Robin is still a likely good choice for a vegan friendly dining location.