The Chicago Diner

 If you are connected to us on Facebook or Twitter, there is no doubt that you must have seen all of my check-ins to the Chicago Diner over the past week. When in Chicago, it is where I go. I have been going for over ten years now and still LOVE it.

The original Chicago Diner is on Halstead in Boys Town, just a couple blocks north and east of the red line Belmont station. Now there is a new Chicago Diner over in Logan Square, just three blocks from the blue line California station.

The names reflects the food: diner food. Not all vegan but I am pretty sure that every dish can be made vegan.

The highlight of every visit is the vegan chocolate peanut butter milkshake. I always start out with that. Now last night Mike got, per the server's recommendation, the chocolate chip cookie dough peanut butter shake and it was crazy good. I will get that next time.

Best dish: Chicken Fried Steak. Their vegan version of this dish is amazing, and filling. Lots of gravy and mashed potatoes and just enough veggies to make it a little healthy. I definitely say you should order this your first time.

They serve breakfast till 3pm every day. The Sammy is a good option. Basically a breakfast sandwich with house fries that actually taste good.

Ask your server. They will help. With all of the times I have dined at the diner I have not encountered the attitude that can be prevalent at veg or veg friendly places. Servers have always been kind, hospitable, and helpful. My faves as of this writing are Kristie at the Halstead location and Brian at the new location (he used to be at the original location). Kristie is a total love, we really adore her. And Brian is a sweetheart, honestly recommending items he loves and making you feel so welcome.

Whether you live in Chicago or are just visiting (or have a long layover at O'Hare) I highly recommend getting to know The Chicago Diner.

Thank for reading and buen provecho!

Chicago is like vegan heaven

Mike and I love Chicago.

On our way from Denver to Michigan we decided to plan a couple of days in Chicago to eat and enjoy the city.

Boy did we enjoy it.

For our vegan readers, this post might disappoint as we only ate at one restaurant, the Chicago Diner. With only a couple of days in town we decided to go with what we know and stayed at the diner.

Vegan chocolate peanut butter milkshake. Need I say more.

Their brand is "Meatless since '83". I have been going to the diner since 1996 and although they aren't always perfect, I have always loved going there. Service can be hit or miss and we experienced totally great service all three times. I always get a shake. This time we both tried the grilled Caesar Salad with blackened tofu and it was DELISH! Christine and Brian were our serves and both are super-friendly and fun to be with.

We happened to be in Chicago during gay pride weekend and were stoked to see Mercy For Animals, one of our all-time favorite animal rights groups and one that we financially support, having a booth at pride. They were also in the parade. This might not surprise many of you, but it is great that an animal rights group brought the voice of the voiceless to gay pride.

There are a ton of vegan options in Chicago.  Happy Cow has a great list, including new ones: http://www.happycow.net/north_america/usa/illinois/chicago/

This trip we stayed at the historic Blackstone Hotel on Michigan Avenue. I can't write enough wonderful things about this hotel. Incredible rooms, great, friendly staff, perfect location, great views. The hotel is two blocks from the red line which takes you right to the Chicago Diner's neighborhood.

If you haven't been to Chicago we definitely recommend a trip there. Let me know if you have any questions that you think I might be able to help with regarding a trip there. My email is vegandude@msn.com

The gay vegan road trip!

It's that time of year again and Mike and I are packing up for our annual summer road trip!

This year will be a bit shorter than last years' trip to Florida as we travel through the Midwest to Michigan to visit my parents.

We begin in Kansas City, then to St. Louis to catch an opera, then a couple of days in Chicago (one of our favorite cities!) then to eastern Michigan where the family visits begin.

We LOVE road trips. We are both totally psyched.

Road trips give us a lot of one on one time, which is perfect. They also give a chance to check out new places to eat, to check out new places, and meet new people.

This time last year was when I started this blog. It began as an opportunity to share with people our road trip experience from last summer. Our trip last year was 5,050 miles!

One of the many beauties of our blog is that so many of our readers have given us clues as to where to eat, what to visit, and have even invited us to a meal during this road trip!

My gratitude around this blog and all of the people we have met and things we have learned continues to grow and grow. This community around The gay vegans is beyond whatever I might have dreamed of when I first started the blog. Every day we get at least one note from a reader sharing a personal experience related to a blog post, or simply just thanking us. It's unbelievable!

So we're off. We'll be on the road for two weeks and I'm sure I'll get at least one or two blogs out. We'll be back just in time for Veg fest Colorado, which we are sponsoring!

Thank you for reading! My email address is vegandude@msn.com

Gay, vegan pride

June is Gay Pride Month!

Yes, we have a whole month to celebrate our community, our diversity, our victories and organize to fight for the victories to come. (I know, we can do this every month.)

In Denver, this weekend is Gay Pride weekend, with festivities downtown all weekend and the annual parade on Sunday. Mike and I like to go on Saturday when it's less crazy, and when there seems to be less drinking.

We are also kind of excited about being in Chicago next weekend and checking out their pride. Although I definitely have to let you know that we are more excited about being able to eat at the Chicago Diner!

As gay and vegan, we realize that there are still many bridges to be built between the two communities. The great things are that there are many more openly gay vegans today than there were a few years ago, that vegan is not as much of an unknown term in the gay community, and that there seems to be less anti-gay rhetoric or comments within the vegan/animal rights community as there were just a few years ago.

Imagine the power force as more and more gay people become vegan and more and more animal rights activists embrace equality. Holy cow!

We will be celebrating our amazing communities, our marriage, and our solid commitment to making this world a better place for all living beings. It is totally true that we all have more in common than not, and when folks who believe in ending discrimination, in ending cruelty and torture towards animals, in ending bigotry, and in tackling hate in all forms combine their strengths and work together, we can accomplish SO much! We indeed can change the world!

So happy pride everyone! That's what we say at pride events.

And by the way, if you live in an area where there is a pride event, check it out. You don't have to be gay to attend and I am pretty sure you'll have fun. Oh, and wear a vegan tshirt!

Thanks so much for reading! My email address is vegandude@msn.com