While most people might think gluttony while in Las Vegas, I wanted to prove everyone wrong and show that it is possible to do vegan in Vegas. My first stop? Violette’s Vegan Organic Eatery & Juice Bar.
A small, but brightly colored restaurant, Violette’s Vegan serves the freshest organic ingredients to their customers.
TSG Tip: Did you know that the restaurant was started by Cyndy Violette, one of the first female professional poker players in the world who has also been a vegan for over 20 years?
The menu has a wide variety of offerings from soup to salads to main entrees like burritos, burgers, and even country biscuits and gravy.
Thirsty? Check out the huge organic juice menu with options like:
- “The Beet Goes On” (beets, carrot, celery, apple $7.95) or
- “The Hangover” (apple, celery, carrot, lemon, ginger, coconut water, cayenne pepper $7.95).
Maybe you’d rather select something off the Organic Smoothies menu with choices like:
- “Date Me” (banana, dates, coconut, sprinkled cinnamon, with soy milk, almond milk or coconut water $7.95) or
- “Green Lava” (bananas, kale, chard, avocado, spirulina, soy milk, almond milk or coconut water $8.95).
I’ve been on a somewhat restrictive diet lately as I’ve been trying to shed some excess weight, but who isn’t? I hadn’t eaten all day and so when we arrived at Violette’s Vegan I was ravenous and ordered the soup of the day to start. The vegetable tofu soup was good although served more on the warm to lukewarm side instead of hot.
I also ordered a small Violette’s House salad ($6.95) to accompany my soup. The salad comes with spring greens, romaine, tomatoes, chickpeas, cucumbers, sprouts, and sunflower seeds and my choice of balsamic dressing on the side.
We decided to share a starter so I opted for Brunson’s Choice ($7.95) as the menu said it was brought back by popular demand. If you love tempeh like I do, then you’ll definitely want to try this. Baked tempeh with hot buffalo sauce is served with celery and their “ranch dressing.” Crispy on the outside and hot and spicy, they were a perfect addition to my lunch.
Mr. TSG was my lunch guest on this day and he chose a sandwich to rub in my face that he was eating bread. Ok, well maybe not, but he seemed to enjoy it regardless. His sandwich of choice was The Philly ($12.95), marinated grilled seitan, peppers and onions, smothered with mozzarella and cheddar cheeze on a whole grain hero. He liked the sandwich, but felt it was a little on the dry side.
Violette’s Vegan is located off the Strip, about 8 miles from where I was staying at the Cosmopolitan Las Vegas, making it a less touristy and more community based eatery. To one side of the restaurant sat a group of young men having some sort of business meeting and on the other side were a couple of moms with young kids, as well as couples and solo diners scattered throughout.
Overall, we felt the food was good, but a little retro as was the atmosphere. Believe me, I’m not complaining because when you’re a vegan or vegetarian, the choices can be limited. But not every vegan or vegetarian wants the same exact food that meat eaters eat. I just wish there were lighter options that weren’t the typical options that end up being the equivalent meat counterpart, like sandwiches or burgers.
If you’re in Las Vegas and you’re looking for fresh and healthy food, maybe a few organic smoothies or shakes, too, then head over to Violette’s Vegan for a meal that won’t make you feel guilty like the rest of Las Vegas is bound to do.
Violette’s Vegan Organic Eatery
8560 W Desert Inn Rd., Las Vegas, NV 89117
702-685-0466
Open Daily: Monday – Thursday 11 am-9 pm; Friday – Sunday 8 am – 10 pm