Fiesta Cafe is my favorite restaurant in town.
 
If you find it bland, you’re not ordering the right items.  If you want it caliente, they’ll provide a variety of sauces to en fuego your order.

God forbid that you had to use words to describe what it is you’d like to eat at a restaurant.
 
And can you blame them for not outwardly offering any vegan fare? It’s not like there are vegans crawling out of corners in the middle of Illinois. After all, Fiesta Cafe is a business, and it likely has this odd little notion relating to profitablity and sustainability as a locally owned restaurant. Most people eat meat and at least, cheese. So, um. Yeah. Good to note.
 
I do hear your argument. And you are certainly entitled to it.  It’s a good one, as long as you are staying within the confines of what works for you, and not necessarily for others.
 
But you lose me with these two words: “morally unacceptable.”
 
I gotta a couple of words for you too: “Teeth.” “Incisors.”
 
Don’t challenge evolution. You’ll always lose. Even if we do have enough brain cells to separate the “need” and “want” to consume animal flesh, you’ll forgive us “morally unacceptable” folks if we beg to differ. Consumption of animal products can be a sacred and very holy thing, when treated appropriately.
 
I’ll respect your lifestyle if you respect mine. And along down the line like that. Word?
 
Kimberly — I thought this was a perfectly fine review of a restaurant that, while not stamped as VEGAN, is certainly glad to cater to the vegan diet. Cheers!
 
(P.S. — I gave the article its title. So take issue with me on that one. Fiesta Cafe. A real treat (in reference to the flavor of the food). For Vegans (in reference to those who choose a vegan diet, and are willing to ask that their food not be prepared with any animals or its byproducts.)
 
Not sure how you are gonna argue it, but I will listen.

They also don’t advertise their being the foremost homosexually oriented restaurant in the area ... apart from the fact that the building is pink.
 
But you can also get straight food there.

Pardon me.  I certainly didn’t mean to fly off any handle here, but this particular topic just irks me.
“She” just inferred that there are people out there that would call me (and a whole host of others) “morally unacceptable” for consuming animal flesh. And to be fully honest, that annoys me. It’s judgmental and rude.
 
And who is to say that ‘veganeater’ is a female?
 
I have many vegan friends, and what they say behind my back, I can’t control — but to my face, they all agree: eating meat is a personal choice that needs to be accepted, and yes, even respected.

Perhaps so… I guess I just don’t the words “morally unacceptable” coming from anyone’s keyboards unless that person is named the Mahatma or Jesus Christ or something…
 
But we both agree — the food industry, by and large, is morally bankrupt. And the meat that I eat, lest I am dining out and lazy (which is less often these days, but still disturbing), is locally raised, and slaughtered in an ethical manner, from my perspective.
 
And that’s what this is. A matter of perspective. Cheers, friend. Male or Female.
 
=)

i’d like to mention a couple of things:
 
1. yes, fiesta cafe is a great place to eat vegan precisely because i don’t have to order just a salad and a baked potato. i can have a full meal and all i have to ask is that it not be made with cheese. i don’t think that’s asking too much
2. the food mentioned in the article is  ordered off the vegetarian option parts of the menu, so i would imagine that they do not use beans with lard or chicken broth in their preparation.
3. choosing to eat vegan has been a deeply personal choice for me. it is mostly about trying my best to monitor the food i put in my body and to try my best to eat a semi-healthy diet. being vegan is by no means for everyone. and everyone has their different reasons. to single out fiesta cafe for attracting meat eaters would never be a reason i wouldn’t eat there. my entire family eats meat, that doesn’t mean i will not eat in their presence.
4. i forgot to add my general disclaimer about all food items featured in this column…if you follow the vegan diet strictly, make sure you always ask before ordering. the items i eat are vegan to the best of my knowledge.

Hmm, I’ve never seen a cockroach there. But I wouldn’t mind if I did.
 
I prefer a few bugs to an insecticide bath.

On a strange side note, this is a perfect time and place to tell a story I’ve been dying to tell someone:

I recently ordered “Vegetarian Rice Noodle Soup” off the vegetarian menu at one of my favorite Vietnamese restaurants here in Memphis and the server asked if I wanted it with the chicken broth or the water broth. Out of curiosity, and not being a vegetarian, I chose to respond to this question with another question: “What does it normally come with?” As you might have deduced by now, the server replied that it normally comes with chicken broth. “Vegetarian Rice Noodle Soup” is literally what this dish is called. 

Maybe I’m a cynic, but this all just supports a mindset I already developed after finding out—much like T. Dadd pointed out—  when I WAS a vegetarian, that the black beans at one of my favorite Mexican restaurants were made with meat products: I don’t ever assume what I’m eating is vegetarian (yet alone vegan), regardless of what the menu says. Too many people just don’t understand what “vegetarian” and “vegan” actually mean.

that’s a great point, assuming that something labeled vegetarian without asking or double checking is probably not the best choice. i will inquire next time i eat there.

Let me add that I was in no way criticizing your article—it definitely made me want to make a vegan run to Fiesta Cafe next time I’m back in C-U.  My comment was more an aside than a scolding in any way. I think, bottom line, if you care enough to be vegetarian or vegan, it’s just best to ask for yourself. :-)

Oh come on Zack, if you’re going to come 500 miles for Fiesta Cafe you might as well enjoy the succulent dead pig.

Regardless of what your own dietary preferences are, please do NOT feed the trolls.

Commenting to praise Fiesta Cafe: it might be the best restaurant in or around downtown Champaign and it’s great that the menu’s flexible enough to accomodate vegans easily.
(I also wish you would all consider the subtle difference between “healthy” and “healthful” food.)