From Adam Vass:

The sad simple truth is that this tour is ending. As I write this, we have 5 days left before we say our goodbyes, but I’m not ready for that, and I’ve run out of op-eds to fill this column with, so my entry this week is about food.

I am not a foodie, I kind of hate the idea of foodies, but I (like most people) love food. It is one thing that on tour, I allow myself to spend foolish amounts of money on. There are definitely those days where all I get is a cliff bar and a coffee, but I make up for it on other days where I can splurge at my favorite restaurants that I’ll only visit once or twice a year.

This tour has been exceptionally good in terms of the food I’ve eaten. I have been vegan for about a year and a half now, and the longer that goes on, the better I get at knowing the best places to go and what to order. So, here is my list of awesome places I went on this tour and what I ate. This isn’t comprehensive, just what I remember and what I managed to take pictures of before inhaling it.

The first noteworthy meal I had was in Dallas TX. We were playing one block away from this bar called Anvil. Somehow, without researching, we were lucky enough to show up during a happy hour where the food was half off. To celebrate, I got two meals at once. I got a huge plate of nachos, complete with chili, fake cheese, and guacamole, and i got a chicken quesadilla, also fake but so delicious. I ate until it hurt, and I ate a little bit more, and stumbled back to the venue, where the kind folks starting Big A Little A bakery graced us with their specialty, vegan bacon chocolate chip cookies. It was a perfect blend of salty and sweet, and even though I got some chocolate stains on my white shirt, I was ecstatic. And full.

The next awesome city I went to was Philadelphia. Obviously there was food consumed between texas and pennsylvania, but nothing I need to talk about.

The first day there, I was near chinatown, and I saw my friends Mitch & Drew at the venue who were also looking to get food, so we ventured to a place called New Harmony, where I had never been before. The menu was very simple, and we essentially just told our server that three of us would be eating, and the rest was taken care of. Then began a constant flow of dishes from the kitchen every 5-10 minutes for who knows how long. There were steam buns, dumplings, steamed vegetables, pancakes, spring rolls, and some things i’m unfamiliar with but ate anyways. We kept eating, unsure of when the train would stop, and when we told the waiter we were stuffed, he brought us one more plate of deep fried bananas for dessert. Mitch and Drew then rolled me back to the venue like the blueberry chick in Willy Wonka gets rolled off by oompa loompas.

The next morning, we had some time before having to head out, so we went to my favorite place for a vegan cheesesteak, Blackbird PIzza. They’ve got grinders and pizza and awesome fries, but I learned my lesson while there this summer to not overdo it, so I simply got a cheesesteak and a soda. With a pumpkin whoopee pie from Vegan Treats for dessert, cause you only live once. I think. As much as I enjoy govinda’s veg cheesesteak, blackbird is more of a traditional, sloppier sandwich, and I’m not afraid to walk down the street with some fake cheese on my shirt, so I had a pleasant afternoon.

And in the interest of showing you everything I ate instead of just telling you, the last city I’ll include is Denver Colorado. When we got there, and before I got into my slutty cop uniform for our halloween celebration, my friend Ciaran brought homemade vegan tiramisu. I had never had the stuff before, but I was a big fan, and the dress I wore that night fit a little tighter thanks to her. Before we had to leave town, we went with O’Brother to one my favorite restaurants in the country, Watercourse. They have great desserts, really cool artwork, and an awesome friendly staff. I usually get breakfast, but I was feeling adventurous, so I ordered the country fried steak with mashed potatoes and green beans, and I was not let down. This was hands down the best meal I’ve eaten on the whole tour. The gravy was so good, i could drink a glass. Ok maybe that would be a bad idea, but it was incredible, and the steak and potatoes were made even better. I wrapped up the meal with a cinnamon bun, because it isn’t often I see veganized ones and I had to take advantage of my situation. I love Denver, but it is probably for the better that I don’t live there, or Chad wouldn’t be able to play guitar next to me anymore as I’d need half the stage for myself.

One of the best parts of being in a touring band is getting to visit all these different places, each with their own flavors, specialties, and varied seasonal ingredients. If you visit any of these cities, I definitely recommend you check out these restaurants. And if you reblog this, tack on your favorite restaurant recommendations so I can learn where to go on our next tour.