Wings, burgers, tacos… Ah, life is good.
One of the greatest pleasures in life is to be able to eat your food cravings, vegans or non-vegans. But for us vegans, we need those wings, burgers, tacos, and more in a plant-based version. Fortunately, there have been a lot of restaurants that have joined the vegan army, including Hurricane Grill & Wings.
Hurricane Grill & Wings is known for its jumbo fresh chicken wings and signature sauces and dips. But no, we can’t have the wings because they’re chicken. However, the restaurant has some vegan options that we’re actually living for.
If you’re here checking out Hurricane Grill & Wings to see if you can have vegan options, you’re in luck. Let me help you. Let’s dig in!
Hurricane Grill & Wings – Cheers, Taste, Celebrate
Entrepreneur Chris Russo opened Hurricane Grill & Wings in April 1995 in Ft. Pierce, Florida. It was making huge waves in the restaurant industry until Hoffman’s Chocolate Shoppes CEO Fred Meltzer purchased it in 2008.
Later in December 2008, Hurricane AMT purchased the restaurant’s franchisor. The following year, Hurricane Grill & Wings was named one of the Future 50 Fastest-Growing Chains by Restaurant Business Magazine.
In 2016, the company opened its very first Fast Casual Restaurant in Ft Lauderdale, which is named Hurricane Burgers-Tacos-Wings or Hurricane BTW.
USA Today and Franchise Times also named Hurricane Grill & Wings as one of the Ten Great Places To Wing It, as well as Top 40 Fast and Serious, respectively.
Hurricane Grill & Wings has over 30 signature dips and sauces, with more than 70 locations across the U.S that are mostly franchised. It is known for its laid-back beach vibe tropical vibe that one will never get tired of spending time at.
Hurricane Grill & Wings Vegan Options
Fortunately, Hurricane Grill & Wings has some vegan-friendly options to cater to hungry vegans. Obviously, its famous chicken wings are out of this equation unless they’d make a vegan version of it.
Anyway, here are the vegan options at Hurricane Grill & Wings that don’t disappoint. A good rule of thumb is to ask the staff about the ingredients used in these vegan-friendly options. Cross-contamination might be possible too, so eat at your own risk.
It’s worth noting that these dishes vary by location. So, you may have to check with the crew for availability.
Starters
- Fried Pickles
- Chips, Salsa & Guac
- Grill Avocado
Salads
All salads that Hurricane Grill & Wings offers involve meat and cheese, but you can skip them and go for all veggies instead with vegan dressings.
Dressings
- Balsamic Vinaigrette
- Low-Cal Oil Vinaigrette
- Mandarin Ginger. If you can ask the crew to make one for you without honey, it would be great, especially since all the ingredients in this kind of dressing are vegan-friendly.
Burgers
You may have to verify again with the crew if their bun is already vegan-friendly. Because I knew they had buns with dairy involved. I hope this time, they already serve a vegan bun because it kinda defeats the purpose that they have Impossible Burger patty but have no vegan bun.
You can also build your own burger by having the toppings of your choice.
- Impossible Burger
Toppings
- Lettuce
- Tomato
- Red Onion
- Pickles
- Sautéed Onions
- Sautéed Mushrooms
- Sautéed Peppers
- Fresh Guacamole
Signature Flavors
- Roasted Garlic Inferno
- Coco Loco
- Secret Weapon
Asian-Inspired
- Garlic Ginger
Sweet Side
- Sweet Red Chili
- Mango Habanero
Spice Rubs
- Habanero Lime
- Trifecta
- Blackened Cajun
- Smoky Mesquite
- Lemon Pepper
Sides
- Crispy Sweet Potato Fries
- Jumbo Onion Rings
- Tater Tots
- Regular Fries
- Housemade Kettle Chips
Beverages
Hurricane Grill & Wings has beers, wines, hard seltzer, and soft drinks. Their beers are served either in the draft, in a can, by the bottle, or by the glass.
You can ask the crew about their wine offerings, and check if any of their brands are vegan-friendly. The most common non-vegan ingredients of some beers, wines, and other beverages are isinglass, chitin, casein, gelatin, egg white, and animal blood.
These ingredients are detailed in this article that I wrote about Grupo Modelo beers.
Where To Find Restaurants That Serve Vegan Wings
Sure it’s disappointing to get stuck in a restaurant that serves delicious non-vegan wings. That’s really not fair, right? But here’s good news. There are a few restaurants nowadays that are vegans’ answered prayers.
If you wanna get a taste of wings that are as delicious as the real ones, here’s what I found. These are the top spots in the U.S. where you can find vegan wings.
- The Chicago Diner in Chicago, IL
- Merge in Buffalo, New York
- Smoke and Barrel in Washington, D.C.
- Green in Tempe and Phoenix, AZ
- Veggie Grill on the West Coast
- City O’ City in Denver, CO
- Vertical Diner in Salt Lake City, UT
- Blackbird Pizzeria in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- The Remedy Diner in Raleigh, North Carolina
- Stella’s Lounge in Grand Rapids, Michigan
So the next time you visit one of these cities, make sure to take a short side trip to these restaurants that serve vegan wings. You won’t be disappointed!
Homemade Vegan Wings
But of course, many vegans prefer cooking at home to eating out just because of the sole reason that they get to control and choose the ingredients. This, I agree, especially since I like homecooked.
If you’re into cooking and are looking at making your own vegan meat dish at home, particularly wings, check this guide. There are many plant-based ingredients that are used in making vegan meat, which can be found at your local grocer or supermarket.
- Lentils
- Chickpeas
- Mushrooms
- Soybeans
- Seitan
- Beet Juice
- Mung Beans
- Tofu
- Flaxseed
- Dark Red Kidney Beans
- Coconut Flour
- Cauliflowers
Those are the key ingredients that most vegan food manufacturers use in making a vegan substitute for meat. But for vegan wings, seitan, tofu, or cauliflower are commonly used.
Get some seitan, nutritional yeast, onion powder, salt, poultry seasoning, vegetable broth, tahini, egg replacer, Buffalo hot sauce, cayenne pepper, all-purpose unbleached flour, and black pepper. As soon as you have these ingredients, you’re ready to make your own vegan wings!
Vegan Wings Vs Real Buffalo Wings
The very first thing that comes to mind when eating something are calories, carbs, sodium, and fat. Most vegans keep track of their calorie intake to make sure that they don’t go beyond USDA’s 2,000 daily intake recommendation.
But if you were to compare the calories that you get from both vegan and non-vegan wings, you will notice that vegan wings have lower calories and higher sodium content. But the brand also varies, especially since they’re prepared differently.
However, the standard numbers are the figures below. These are raw, and not yet breaded, marinated, or cooked.
| Vegan Wings (1 piece or 21 g) | Real Chicken Wings (1 piece or 21 g) |
| Calories: 39 | Calories: 43 |
| Total Fat: 0.8 g | Total Fat: 1.5 g |
| Sodium: 230 mg | Sodium: 120 mg |
| Carbs: 6 g | Carbs: 0 g |
| Protein: 4.3 g | Protein: 6 g |
Vegan wings or any other vegan meat are typically packed with sodium. This is because of its goal to achieve the flavor of real meat, which is a little challenging for vegan meat to achieve.
With that being said, more seasonings are used, which are obviously packed with sodium that goes to the vegan meat substitute. But here’s one thing, health warriors and experts are still recommending vegan meat due to the fact that they’re typically low in saturated or trans fat, calories. They’re also high in fiber and flavonoids.
So the best thing to do is still moderation. If you’re chowing down your favorite vegan wings at a restaurant, make sure to pile up on more veggies and fruits too. This would balance your sodium content with fiber and flavonoids.
Take note that excessive sodium intake can cause high blood pressure, which leads to strokes and heart diseases. These are the most common diseases that every person suffers when there’s too much sodium in the body.
On the plus side, sodium helps mobilize your nerves and muscles and helps balance water and minerals that your body ingests. Health experts recommend taking at least 500 mg of sodium a day for your body to work properly.
If your body lacks sodium, you might suffer from salt loss or also known as hyponatremia. Severe cases of hyponatremia can cause muscle cramps, vomiting, nausea, and dizziness. This can also lead to coma, shock, and even death.
The Bottom Line
Hurricane Grill & Wings may not be a vegan restaurant, but it serves a few vegan options such as Impossible Burger patty, veggie toppings, and some sides. However, the delicious wings that make the restaurant well-known are from real chicken, which is not ethical for us vegans.
Fortunately, there are many restaurants in different states that serve vegan wings that are even PETA-approved. But if you love cooking, having some plant-based wings to chow down during your umami cravings is definitely helpful.
You only have to choose quality vegan meat brands that are not only delicious but way healthier than their non-vegan counterparts.