Black Bear Diner: What’s Vegetarian Editorial Review

Black Bear Diner is a cabin-lodge chain built on comfort food, but the menu runs long enough that a meatless meal isn’t hard to find, even without a dedicated vegetarian section. It runs about 160 diners across 14 Western and Southwestern states, and the menu reads like a small newspaper, so there’s almost always something meat-free even without a dietary section.

What to order at Black Bear Diner

The Vegetarian Omelette, loaded with vegetables and cheese, is the most reliable pick, and you can build your own omelette or scramble if you want to control the mix. The Dr. Praeger’s Veggie Burger is a soy- and gluten-free patty that’s vegan as long as you skip the cheese and bun butter. Avocado toast, ordered without the egg it comes with, is another vegan option, and Bob’s Red Mill steel-cut oatmeal works if you ask for no milk.

What to watch out for

Skip anything off the griddle line if you’re strict about cross-contact, since it shares space with bacon all morning. Country Red Potatoes, hash browns, and the French fries and sweet potato fries all run through shared cooking surfaces, so treat those as a check. Onion Rings and the Grilled Cheese, Mac and Cheese, and cheese pizza all contain dairy, so none of them are vegan. The cobblers, pies, cheesecake, and milkshakes are vegetarian but off-limits if you’re vegan, since they’re built on dairy and egg.