According to their website, East Coast Wings and Grill serves America’s best wings. This fast-food eatery has a selection of fifty-eight flavors coupled with eight heat indexes. Moreover, it is famous for serving Buffalo-style food loved by many.
But are there any vegan options at East Coast Wings and Grill? Unfortunately, the answer would be no. This “food with family concept” restaurant is only suitable for people who are not vegan. So, if you are a vegan looking for some vegan wings, this is not the right restaurant for you!
The menu only focuses on animal-delivered food, mostly Buffalo-style chicken wings. However, there are a few vegan options that you can try while visiting this joint.
So, do you want to know what vegans can eat at East Coast Wings? Make sure to read this article!
Table of Contents
East Coast Wings and Grill – The Origin Story
Initially, East Coast Wings and Grill came into existence around 1995 in Winston-Salem, NC. The restaurant opened as a small, individual-wing concept.
After six years, Sam Ballas bought this store and became the East Coast Wings and Grill CEO. Moreover, he worked on the original concept and expanded its menu to include many options.
Ballas wanted to change the stereotypical Buffalo-style food served in American restaurants. So, he set out to revolutionize the unwelcoming atmosphere in such restaurants. Hence prioritizing and building on the food and family concept!
Non-vegetarians can enjoy a wide variety of chicken wing flavors, burgers, and more. Furthermore, the restaurant also offers kid-friendly food along with fresh-to-order salads.
The restaurant has a casual dining essence with warm and welcoming hospitality service. East Coast Wings and Grill has now evolved into a full-service yet casual dining experience.
The foundation of this restaurant lies in serving a variety of non-vegetarian food marinated in their house-special Buffalo sauce.
Their Buffalo sauce has won hearts since 2002. The sixty different wing sauces have won the “Best Hot Sauce” award at the National Buffalo Wing Festival in New York.
The Only Vegan Options You Can Indulge In
As mentioned earlier, the restaurant is famous for serving chicken wings in a specialty Buffalo sauce. Therefore, the menu will be a disappointment if you are looking for a meal.
It is true that East Coast Wings and Grill only focuses on serving the meat-loving section of people.
Even so, there are some vegan options that they serve. You can take a look at the options and decide whether they are worth your time and money or not.
The Garden Salad (400 Calories)
The restaurant strives to offer fresh ingredients in its food. Therefore, the salad has an assortment of veggies that are vegan-friendly. It has Romanian lettuce along with an organic spring mix.
However, the other ingredients will require you to customize or modify them. If ordered without looking at the ingredients, you will have a plate full of mozzarella and bacon bits.
So, how can you make this salad completely vegan-friendly?
If you visit the restaurant, you can ask them to give you a salad with lettuce, seasoning, cucumber, tomato, and green pepper. Moreover, as the dressing, you can select the oil and vinegar option, which is healthy and vegan without Tortilla crunchies!
Along with this, you can add their side of green beans, housing a 150 calorific value.
And, there you have it, the most vegan salad at East Coast Wings and Grill can get.
Vegetable Medley (160 Calories)
If you do not want to customize your order, the restaurant offers another all-vegan menu item.
It comprises fresh vegetables mixed in a harmonious blend. You will get broccoli, carrots, and cauliflowers. Moreover, what makes this even more delicious is the squash and the seasoning of salt and pepper.
East Coast Wings and Grill will serve this meal after boiling it to perfection. So, you will taste the earthiness from the veggies and a crunchy softness.
The dish will be vegan-friendly, and you can enjoy it without worrying about animal-by-product contamination.
Basket of Fries (880 Calories)
You can try their house fries as an appetizer, as it has no allergens or animal products.
The dish contains potatoes and wheat flour, which is deep-fried. The basket of fries is your average French fries with a crispy coating. However, their signature seasoning might contain chicken oil, so it would be best to ask for salt.
It also comes with a dipping sauce that you can choose. If you like the basic fries and ketchup, you can select that side for dipping.
The Beverages
Along with your fries and salad, you can order some drinks. They serve lemonade, fruit punch, and iced tea.
These are all the vegan beverages offered at East Coast Wings and Grill. However, if you would like, you can even get a glass of Pepsi with your food.
As you can see, the vegan options at East Coast Wings and Grill are limited and require immense customization. On top of that, the restaurant discontinued their only vegan option – “The Veggie Burger,” back in 2015.
So, are you looking to accompany your non-vegan friends to East Coast Wings and Grill? You can do that without having to remain hungry.
It has a decent appetizer selection, vegan salads (upon customization), and various beverages. However, vegans will not get a full-course meal from this franchise.
Top Vegan Joints to Feed Your Craving for Vegan Wings
According to PETA, wings are a necessity in most American bars. So, have you been craving some wings that are vegan-friendly?
Well, it is established that East Coast Wings and Grill will not offer you vegan wings.
These are the restaurants that serve meat-free wings that have a delectable taste!
- The Chicago Diner offers wings made from breaded Seitan tenders dipped in spicy Buffalo or BBQ sauce with a side of vegan ranch dressing.
- Veggie Grill has a menu full of vegan Buffalo wings along with vegan ranch dressing and celery.
- City O’ City is a hidden gem that serves a delectable selection of healthy and vegan BBQ or Buffalo-style Seitan wings with celery and vegan ranch dressing.
- The Remedy Diner serves fresh and organic veggies and their non-chicken six soy buffalo-style wings.
- Stella’s Lounge is a vegan-friendly restaurant serving Blessed Black Vegan Wings with a spicy avocado ranch dressing and celery.
If you are craving buffalo wings that are vegan and delicious, you can head over to these restaurants referred to as vegan’s paradise!
Should East Coast Wings and Grill Offer a Vegan-Friendly Menu?
America has seen a rise of over 9.6 million vegans in the last 15 years, alluding to a 300% increase.
What started as a trend has now evolved into a lifestyle. As mentioned earlier, meat lovers are turning vegan almost daily in the US. But why is that? The main reason is the harmfulness meat can have on the human body. Moreover, people also associate meat with environmental damage. Other than that, animal cruelty is also a driving force.
There are over 24,000 restaurants in America serving vegan food. Hence, you can rest assured that the numbers are rising following the number of vegans.
Many restaurants are trying to diversify their menu to accommodate everyone. Yet, some food joints like East Coast Wings and Grill are lagging. However, given that the very essence of this restaurant relies on serving non-vegan food, it can be considered justifiable.
If the restaurant adds more options in the vegan arena, it can cater to a more extensive clientele. Providing a diverse yet balanced menu will be beneficial for their sales and their customers.
If East Coast Wings and Grill want to enhance their sales, introducing a vegan menu will help. Why? Because a study proved that restaurants could achieve a 100% increase in sales by incorporating a vegan-friendly menu.
The restaurant can attract more customers and offer a variety to existing customers. Vegans cannot try non-vegetarian food, but non-vegans can! With this upgrade, the restaurant can target all types of eaters.
Therefore, providing a diverse menu full of healthy meat alternatives can give everyone much to choose from.
Final Verdict
After reading this article, you will know about the limited vegan options at East Coast Wings and Grill. Hence, if you want to have a hearty meal, this is not the right place to visit. The restaurant focuses on serving chicken wings with their house-special buffalo sauce.
There is no doubt that this restaurant is famous amongst non-vegetarian people. However, it is not ideal for vegans.
That being said, it offers appetizers, salads, and beverages that can be vegan-friendly after a few modifications. This way, you can visit this place with your friends!
So, if a salad, some French fries, and a beverage can suffice your hunger, go ahead and visit your nearest East Coast Wings and Grill.
If not, you can visit the alternatives mentioned in this article.