The Subtle Vegetarian

One of my first posts on this blog applauded TGI Friday’s for not only adding a vegetarian entree but naming it something subtle: The Tuscan Portobello Melt was a nice grilled cheese sandwich with mushrooms and came with a vegetarian red pepper soup. It was really nice to have an option at a mainstream restaurant other than “the chicken pasta without the chicken”.

But alas, the Tuscan is no more. TGI Friday’s has removed it from the menu, and the restaurant I found myself at this week couldn’t make it anymore. There are no vegetarian items on the TGI Friday’s menu any longer.

I am so frustrated with this. I’m not picky – I just want one option. Would that kill them? Instead I had to pay $13 for a mediocre bowl of Bruschetta Pasta without the chicken. No more Friday’s for me!

Alas, TGI Friday’s no longer has any vegetarian items on the menu!

Yup, Friday’s, which has long been an on-again off-again destination for vegetarians, is back now, with a Tuscan Portobello Melt sandwich appearing on the menu. It has cheese, as does just about everything at Friday’s, so it’s still off limits to vegans.

Essentially identical to the Tuscan Chicken Melt, it’s got portobello mushrooms, grilled onions and tomato bits, and provolone and jack cheese. It’s served on toast, buttery and grilled for all that’s worth. The sandwich was bland but not bad, certainly not a destination dish, but earns extra points for its innocuous name, presentation, and menu placement. No need to violate the subtlety when ordering this one.

The sandwich comes with a fire roasted pepper soup (think tomato soup, actually) which is also (said to be) vegetarian. It was also (typically) bland, an amazing feat considering it contains roasted red peppers, but again not bad. You can order a bowl of it if you want, but it’s not listed on the menu except as an accompaniment to the Tuscan sandwiches.

All told, it’s great to have Friday’s back in the fold of restaurants not openly antagonistic to their vegetarian customers. You can also resort to appetizer ordering with the potato skins (available without bacon on request), fried mozzarella, fried mac & cheese, spinach dip, or the tasty green bean fries thankfully added to the US menu after much success in Europe. And the Long Island Iced Tea is still buzzingly strong!

Of note is the fact that their kids menu still includes a grilled cheese sandwich and mac & cheese for those little veggies among us.

Apologies for the dim photo. Dim is still part of Friday’s decor…