Urbane Cafe is a chain of restaurants that serve top-notch that serve delicious gourmet sandwiches and healthy, fresh salads.
However, the highlight of the restaurant is their wide range of mouth-watering sandwiches. From Pesto & Sundried Tomato sandwiches to Santa Maria BBQ sandwiches, they have something for everyone.
But are there any vegan options at Urbane Cafe? The simple answer is no. They may have various sandwiches, salads, soups, and more, but they are not the best place for vegans. This is mainly because of the limited options here.
This article will help give you the complete list of vegan food available at this elite restaurant.
Table of Contents
What Is Urbane Cafe?
As mentioned earlier, Urbane Cafe is a chain of restaurants specializing in gourmet sandwiches.
It was started by Tom Holt in 2003 when he noticed the lack of variety in sandwiches. Holt knew that every delicious sandwich starts with fine, fresh bread. That is why he built the Urbane Cafe around a hearth oven.
Later, Holt teamed up with his friend Pete to create soft, crispy, and crunchy bread. But they did not stop there. They went on to develop a variety of food that focused on fresh, local ingredients. Additionally, the unique sauces also helped to give each food a different taste.
Today, they have set up various branches across the country and have even expanded their menu by including salads, soups, and a special kid’s menu.
What Are the Vegan Options at Urbane Cafe?
Even though there are not a lot of vegan options at Urbane Cafe, there are still a few foods available that are vegan-friendly. Let’sLet’s explore these options, so you can make a well-informed decision the next time you visit this restaurant.
Vegan-Friendly Sandwiches
As mentioned before, the highlight dish of this restaurant is its wide range of sandwiches. A lot of these contain animal-based ingredients.
However, there is one utterly vegan option available at Urbane Cafe.
Let’s take a look at it.
Tofu Banh Mi
The delicious tofu banh mi is the hero choice for anyone looking for a vegan-friendly option at Urbane Cafe. The ingredients are roasted tofu, cucumbers, pickled carrots, cilantro, jalapenos, pickled onions, red radishes, sweet chili aioli.
After reading this, you might be wondering about the aioli. That is because aioli is a type of mayonnaise, and mayonnaise itself is not a vegan-friendly ingredient.
However, the restaurant has used a delicious egg-free mayo aioli which is specially made for this sandwich.
So, if you ever find yourself at Urbane Cafe, be sure to try their tasty tofu banh mi sandwich.
Are There Any Other Vegan-Friendly Sandwiches at Urbane Cafe?
Unfortunately, no. There are not many vegan options at Urbane Cafe, and most of the foods listed on their menu contain one or more ingredients derived from animals.
However, if you still want to try other varieties of sandwiches here, you can.
Almost all sandwich varieties consist of ingredients like cheese and aioli. However, if you would like a vegan version of a sandwich, you can ask for it without the cheese and aioli. This way, your sandwich is veganized and ready to be eaten.
Vegan-Friendly Salads
Similar to the sandwiches, their salad range also has a lot of meat-based ingredients. However, you can easily make specific options like the protein salad vegan-friendly by omitting the cheese and mozzarella.
Additionally, you will also have to omit the feta cheese if you want your salad completely veganized.
The best vegan-friendly option for sides would be the sub tomatillo salsa. It has a very explosive taste and instantly boosts any sandwich or salad.
Vegan-Friendly Soups
Yes, they do have vegan-friendly soups here, and they are incredibly delicious.
Some of these soups include organic kale and sweet potato soup, organic vegetarian chili soup, and organic lentil and chickpea soup.
Are There Any Health Benefits of Consuming Vegan Food at Restaurants?
Yes, absolutely! Vegan foods are gaining more and more popularity every day, which is because many people have benefitted from them. Not sure what these benefits are? Don’t worry.
Listed below are seven benefits you can get from switching to vegan food.
It Provides Good Nutrients
A well-balanced, healthy vegan diet consists of a variety of different vitamins and nutrients. These foods include fruits, vegetables, grains, pulses, seeds, and nuts.
Studies have also backed up this benefit by saying that people who consume vegan food have reasonable amounts of potassium, magnesium, fiber, folate, and other vitamins like A, C, and E.
It Reduces the Risk of Certain Diseases
Regular consumption of a plant-based diet also has been proven to protect against harmful diseases like cancer.
That is because plant-based foods consist of phytochemicals and other antioxidants that help to reduce the risk. Moreover, vegan-friendly food also has low levels of saturated fatty acids that reduce the risk of causing obesity.
It Can Uplift Your Spirit
Consuming a diet that does not have any meat might put you in a better mood and give you a clear conscience!
Scientific studies even claim that people on a vegan diet scored way better on mood profile tests and depression tests than regular meat-eaters.
It Helps You Stay Fit
Plant-based foods do not contain high amounts of calories or saturated fat like meat-based food.
Therefore, when you regularly consume a vegan diet, you can get in shape much faster than those who are not on a vegan diet.
It Protects You From Type 2 Diabetes
Research and scientific studies have claimed that many people who are on vegan diets have low blood sugar levels.
Moreover, a vegan diet also helps you avoid obesity which can be a potential cause for type 2 diabetes.
It Gives You Healthier Skin
Diary and other meat-based products are known to cause skin issues like pimples, acne, etc. It is a common issue found in both men and women.
However, vegans do not consume several dairy products. Instead, they consume many fruits and vegetables and gain antioxidants and vitamins needed for maintaining clear, healthy skin.
It Helps Fight Arthritis
Eating a healthy vegan-friendly diet can also help you fight against arthritis. Research says that consuming plant-based foods that are probiotic can help in boosting the production of good bacteria in the large intestine.
It further helps to decrease the inflammation in the joints of the hands, knees, etc.
However, consuming a lot of meat further increases the pain and inflammation in the joints.
Why Should Restaurants Focus On Including More Vegan Food?
Research says that veganism is a trend that has increased by almost 600% in recent times. That is because a lot of people have started to see the benefits of the vegan culture.
With this growing popularity, it is only normal that restaurants and fast-food chains will face a lot of pressure to include vegan options. However, it also has a lot of benefits.
Helps You Cater to a Wider Clientele
By adding vegan-friendly food to your menu, you can easily attract a bigger audience to your restaurant. To do this, you will not need to eliminate meat-based foods.
You can easily diversify your menu by adding a few vegan-friendly options. Not only will this help you gain more popularity with the vegans, but it will also give the already existing clientele different options to try out.
Means More Profit
A bigger audience only means more profit for you. Therefore, when a restaurant introduces various foods, you can guarantee that the place will gain popularity and profits.
Attracts Bigger Groups
Usually, people go out to restaurants for a quick meal with their friends. When you introduce vegan options at the restaurant, you will more likely bring in larger groups.
That is because people love to be included. Chances are, if one of the friends in the group is vegan, they will most likely go to a restaurant with vegan options.
This way, you can easily win over larger groups and bookings.
Entertains Existing Customers
When you include vegan-friendly food at the restaurant, you will not just be calling out to vegans, but you will also entertain existing customers.
People love to try new varieties of food and explore different tastes. Therefore, by diversifying your menu with a splash of vegan food, you can easily appeal to both vegans and regular meat-eaters.
Final Thoughts
In conclusion, we’ve learned that Urbane Cafe is probably not the best place for vegans. Among the plenty of food seen on their menu, only a handful of them is suitable for vegans.
If you are looking to grab a quick sandwich, maybe Urbane Cafe can help. However, it is not a good place to go if you want to try a full meal. H
Here’s to hoping that Urbane Cafe will soon expand its menu and include more vegan-friendly options.