Pei Wei and Eating on the Cheap

I have borderline forgot about chain type of restaurants due to living in the city. I can't remember the last time I ate a meal at one of these establishments but it probably wasn’t that that long ago. Its easy to forget how nice it is to be able to eat at/support local restaurants and not have to go out of your way to do so. Anyways, at work today there was a lunch planned due to a few new hires. I don't usually attend random lunches due to the amount of time/I want to eat the food I brought in, but to acquaint new people, sure... why not. The plan was to eat at Pei Wei, an "Asian" restaurant that’s a bit more casual/faster than it's parent company, P.F. Chang's.

This brought me back since Lauren and I use to eat at Pei Wei back in Texas a bunch when most of the choices were chain restaurants, or at least what could be agreed upon with others. Due to our eating habits/cheapness, we found a filling/cheap meal there. It consisted of a side of brown rice and adding vegetables to it (and sometimes a side of edamame too!). Since the restaurant supplies you with chili paste and soy sauce at the table your well on your way to an excellent meal. One thing with this meal is that you would never know exactly how much they would charge you but it would be between $1.00 to $3.50. The Pei Wei I went to today offered a side of brown rice and their steamed veggies (broccoli, snap peas, and carrots) and was more than I could eat. I also found out via Vegan Eating Out that all of the items on the menu with a leaf symbol are vegan minus the Japanese Teriyaki Style, which contains honey. Note that they do not say these items are vegan due to its "strict dietary nature." Could be from the bone char in the sugar maybe? If you want to keep it fully vegan and not worry about it, skip the sauce (which contains all the sugar), and use the soy, chili paste, or mustard they offer! Either way if your out and need a place to eat Pei Wei is an easy, cheap choice that seems to work for vegs/carnivores alike.