Eating out Veg*n

  So I'm going to cover something a bit different this time.  Ever been invited out and felt awful either saying "no" or ordering a dry salad (yuck!)?  In my case I usually feel guilty because my husband is so accommodating to it when we go out.  He always asks what I can eat at places.  Some days I love that man!  The concern is - how do you find out?  Oh you lucky veg*ns, you.  The internet has come a long way: Happy Cow (which also has an app for your phone!), VegVine, and Vegan eating out are generally my three go-tos for finding out.  If I am asked well enough in advance about a restaurant - I email them.  I have never had a company not respond to my inquiries, though I've gotten answers I haven't been happy with.  Sometimes you just want to be able to eat where everyone does.  I think my worst experience was for Bucco di Beppo's for my parent's anniversary a few years back.  I flew in from Germany to San Diego (with a 4 year old, what was I thinking?!).  I emailed the company weeks in advance and got a promt reply of I could eat nothing.  This is where my parents wanted to go for their anniversary, I flew over 6,000 miles to go to a restaurant I couldn't eat at - and I did it happily, albeit a little disappointed.  I went vegetarian instead of vegan because most of the group was concerned.  Yes, sometimes you bend your principals for the people you love.  Sometimes you don't.  This was before I was doing vegetarian once a week - which I do less and less of since the move.
  Spur of the moment eating out is the worst!  Again, my husband is great at addressing dietary concerns.  While breast feeding our new one in the car (I have no problems breastfeeding in public, but I also understand it can make people uncomfortable so I do it as privately as I can when I can) he went in and checked out a buffet to see if I could eat there.  Lin's Buffet got a thumbs up from him so I finished up, got the stroller, and headed in.  Vegan was easy, crazy easy.  Except those sugared biscuits that screamed at me.  Then I ate one - yeasted and sugared.  OMG.  I need to figure those out for at home.  I am a huge fan of breads where you can taste the yeast, and then to sugar crust it?  Win.  No eggs in it, and I'm assuming there's some milk or butter in them - though I couldn't taste that either.  I've gotten super sensitive to eggs, both taste wise and intestinal wise, so I'm sure there are none.
  While locally I won't be a help to many of you; but anyone in the El Paso, TX area will be happy with the knowledge.  So some very vegan friendly places are:
  - The Hoppy Monk
  - India Palace
  - Thai Chef Cafe (ask to substitute meats for tofu)
  - Tacoholics (Jesse is great!)
  - Lin's Buffet

  I don't really take pictures of food when I eat out - perhaps it's time to change that.  But I can tell you they won't be the best pictures because if I'm not cooking it, I'm much quicker to enjoy it and quality of photo doesn't mean a thing to me when it gets between me and my food!