Looking for City Barbeque vegetarian options? This Ohio-born chain built its whole menu around smoked meat, so eating vegetarian here takes a little strategy. The good news is that several real sides work, and a catering-only entree exists that most walk-in customers never hear about. We’ll walk through exactly what to order, what to skip, and where this chain hides pork in sides that sound like plain vegetables. For a wider list of chains, check the What’s Vegetarian homepage to see what else vegetarians can order.
A Quick Look at City Barbeque
Rick Malir and his wife Bonnie Coley-Malir opened the first City Barbeque in 1999, in a converted doughnut shop in Upper Arlington, Ohio, a suburb of Columbus. Malir grew up on a farm in rural Kansas. He connected with a competition barbecue team called the Barbeque Boys before deciding to open his own restaurant. Dublin, Ohio has been company headquarters ever since, and the chain now runs more than 70 company-owned locations across ten states. There’s no franchising, so every location is run by the company itself.
The private equity firm Freeman Spogli & Co. invested in City Barbeque in June 2016, but ownership stayed with the company itself rather than shifting to franchisees. Malir moved into the chairman role in 2022, with Mike Muldoon now running the company as CEO. The chain has picked up national recognition along the way, including a spot on The Daily Meal’s list of the country’s best barbecue chains. Its signature items include ‘Bama sauce chicken and a smoked sandwich called the More Cowbell, both built around slow-smoked meat rather than anything vegetarian.
City Barbeque Vegetarian Options: What to Order
City Barbeque’s core menu is built around smoked meat, so there’s no vegetarian entree at the walk-in counter. Your best move is stacking two or three sides into a plate. Here’s how every relevant item breaks down, based on the chain’s official allergen sheet and its catering menu.
| Menu Item | Vegetarian | Vegan |
|---|---|---|
| Cornbread | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (milk, egg) |
| Corn Pudding | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (butter, sour cream) |
| Hush Puppies | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (egg, milk) |
| Mac & Cheese / Baked Mac & Cheese | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (dairy) |
| Potato Salad | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (egg) |
| Creamy Slaw | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (mayo-based) |
| Vinegar Slaw | ✅ Yes | ✅ Yes |
| Side Salad / Premium Salad | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check dressing |
| Fresh Cut Fries | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check (fried in a fryer that also handles gluten items) |
| Baked Beans with Brisket | ❌ No (brisket) | ❌ No |
| Collard Greens | ❌ No (pulled pork, bacon) | ❌ No |
| Green Beans with Bacon | ❌ No (bacon) | ❌ No |
| Black Bean Burger (catering menu) | ✅ Yes | ⚠️ Check bun |
| Pesto Veggie Pasta (catering menu) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (pesto) |
| Roasted Veggies with Pesto (catering menu) | ✅ Yes | ❌ No (pesto) |
Sides That Actually Work for Vegetarians
Cornbread, corn pudding, and hush puppies are all scratch-made with butter, egg, and cornmeal, and none of them contain meat. The mac and cheese and baked mac and cheese are both straightforward cheese-and-pasta sides with nothing hidden in them. Potato salad is made from scratch with redskin potatoes, eggs, onions, and celery, and creamy slaw uses a mayo-and-vinegar dressing rather than anything meat-based. These are the most reliable City Barbeque vegetarian options if you’re ordering at the counter, so lean on them. Order two or three of these together and you’ve got a real plate, even without an entree.
The Sides That Sound Vegetarian But Aren’t
This is where City Barbeque catches people off guard. The baked beans come mixed with slow-smoked brisket, so they’re a meat dish, not a vegetable side. Collard greens are cooked with pulled pork and bacon, a very traditional Southern preparation, but not a vegetarian one. And the standard green beans come with onions, smoked bacon, and cracked black pepper. All three read like vegetable sides on the menu board, but the chain’s own allergen sheet confirms the pork in each. Don’t order these expecting a meat-free side.
Catering-Only Vegetarian Entrees
Ordering catering instead of walking into a location opens up more choices. The black bean burger is a house-made patty of black beans, green onion, and jalapeño. It’s the closest thing to a full vegetarian entree on the menu. The pesto veggie pasta tosses corn, zucchini, yellow squash, and grape tomatoes with cavatappi pasta in a housemade pesto. Roasted veggies with pesto use the same vegetables without the pasta. That pesto is marked nut-free on the allergen sheet, useful if you’re also managing a tree nut allergy. None of these three dishes sit on the regular in-restaurant menu. Ask your local City Barbeque if they can build one outside of a catering order, or place a catering order directly through the chain’s site.
What’s Vegan at City Barbeque?
Not much, and City Barbeque doesn’t claim otherwise. The vinegar slaw is the clearest vegan pick, made from coarse-cut cabbage, onions, and green peppers in a vinegar dressing with no dairy involved. Fresh cut fries are also a safe bet, though they’re fried in a fryer that’s seen gluten, worth knowing if you’re avoiding both. The pesto-based catering items and the black bean burger’s bun likely bring in dairy or egg, so don’t assume they’re vegan without asking. If you want a fully vegan plate here, pair the vinegar slaw with fries and skip everything else.
Special Dietary Requirements and Allergies
A full allergen sheet is published on the chain’s site, and it’s worth reading before you order if you have a real restriction. The baked mac and cheese, corn pudding, and several desserts share a facility with milk, soy, tree nuts, and egg. Cross-contact is possible even in items without those ingredients listed directly. Bread and buns are made in an environment that has sesame. Fried items, including the fresh cut fries, come out of a fryer that’s also seen gluten. None of the bottled BBQ sauces list meat as an ingredient. The honey sauce and honey mustard dressing both contain honey, though, so they’re vegetarian but not vegan.
Tips for Vegetarians at City Barbeque
- Build a plate from cornbread, mac and cheese, potato salad, and creamy slaw instead of looking for a single vegetarian entree.
- Skip the baked beans, collard greens, and regular green beans. All three are cooked with pork despite sounding like plain vegetables.
- If you’re planning an office lunch or event, order catering instead of walking in. The black bean burger and pesto veggie pasta are catering-only.
- Ask if your location can sell the catering-only Vegetarian Green Beans a la carte. It’s a separate, bacon-free version of the regular green beans.
- Going vegan? Order the vinegar slaw and fresh cut fries, and confirm the fryer situation if you’re also avoiding gluten.
- Check the allergen sheet before ordering if you manage a nut, soy, or sesame allergy, since several sides share a facility with those ingredients.
Conclusion
Building your own plate from the right sides, while skipping the ones that hide pork, is how you eat well at this chain. Cornbread, mac and cheese, potato salad, and creamy slaw are all safe. The catering-only black bean burger and pesto veggie pasta give you a real entree if you’re planning ahead. Vegans have a much thinner path, limited mostly to the vinegar slaw and fries. Check our guide to eating vegetarian and vegan at restaurants for more, browse the full restaurant guide list, or see what’s vegetarian at other barbecue chains like Sonny’s BBQ, Mission BBQ, and Famous Dave’s.
