Rutabegorz is a very vegetarian friendly cafe featuring healthier cuisine.  It used to be not so vegan friendly, but one of my friends recently told me they updated their menu to solve this.  I went in expecting boat loads of new vegan options.  True, they had more, but not as many as I had thought.  They don’t label what is vegan, so finding these new items was hard.  I kept having to ask the waitress if there was egg in this or milk in that.  Rutabegorz, if you are reading this, please add a vegan icon next to your menu items that can be made vegan!

When I used to work near a Rutabegorz, my co-workers and I would get food from here a lot (mainly so “the vegan” could have something to eat).  I used to get their smoothies all the time.  I love smoothies that are only fruit and juices and Ruta’s lets you choose apple or orange juice and some fruits (none of those annoying ice and yogurt fillers).  Back then, the smoothies were bigger and sometimes that’s all I would need for lunch.  Today, the smoothies lost some weight, but not flavor.  I always got my Smoothie ($4.75) with OJ, strawberries and bananas.  Delicious and nutritious!

Smoothie: banana, strawberries, OJ

While waiting for my meal, I noticed a sign on the table advertising their Mango Salsa with Chips for only $0.42!  Ruta’s always has some deal like this, but none have ever really interested me.  This was a nice little treat and for only 42 cents, not much to complain about.

Mango Salsa

The vegan option I chose was the Falafel Wrap (8.25): falafel patties, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions and a creamy herb dressing and served with hummus on the side.  The creamy herb dressing is not vegan, so don’t get it.  This wrap was more of the rustic style Mediterranean food.  It was a good wrap, but did taste a bit on the “healthy” side.  The hummus on the side was also nice, but (again) was more of that rustic style cuisine.

Falafel Wrap

If you are in the area of a Rutabegorz with a bunch of lunch-seeking meat-eaters, I would suggest a stop here.  I’d like to go back and see if I can find other vegan items on their menu, but I’m not in a huge rush.  It’s a lovely place, but I’d probably go to  a nearby all-veg restaurant if I was on my own.

They have three locations:  Tustin, Orange, and Fullerton.  Check out their website to see which is closest to you.