I still think traveling and maintaining a plant based diet are not copacetic. Road side rest areas and gas stations have next to nothing. If you’re lucky they might have an apple. I fully understand the mentality of not needing to appease everyone’s dietary requirements at a gas station. Food waste in general is an issue let alone trying to cater to a special needs group.
You can of course go online and find a million recipes for grab and go that can get you to your next full meal. My go to are protein bars or perhaps a tin of hummus and crackers.
when I’m super clever, which isn’t always the case, I would try and prepare some muffins. I make two different kinds that hold up well without refrigeration. I’ll post the recipes separately in another post.
I have posted before about eating out in restaurants and my technique of saying I have an allergy to animal protein is not always successful. On my recent 4 day trip I had one of the most amazing meals a good one and two meals the restaurant should have been embarrassed to serve. We were a group of twenty people so all four evenings we were presented limited menus. Supposedly each restaurant was given a heads up about my dietary restrictions but only one reacted and presented a meal highlighting the possibilities of a vegan meal.
I wish I had an answer to this question of how to know if a restaurant wants to show off their culinary skills or if they feel bothered by having to create something special?! Stars and awards on the walls are not always an indication of the willingness of the chef to make modifications to their menu. I am sorry to say it’s simply luck. However when a chef goes out of their way to make sure you get something special it has the ability to make you forget about the bad experiences.
Good luck and enjoy the time with your friends. Bring as many of them with you on your culinary adventures and perhaps we can increase the number of restaurants willing to go above and beyond your expectations.