The other day, we went out to run some errands. This is not an unusual event -- not for anyone. What was unusual about the day was how the time got away from us. We went out in the morning, expecting to be away from home for about two hours. But, once we were out in the stores, the crowds, and the traffic in between each stop… the daylight disappeared. Before anyone knew it, it was late afternoon, and we had not stopped for nourishment all day. So, we looked around the plaza where we were, and we decided to go someplace near. We ended up walking across the parking lot to go to Five Guys Burgers and Fries.
We chose Five Guys for a few reasons. First, we love the french fries there. And, since we know they are fried in peanut oil (see FiveGuys.ca), there is no challenge of animal fat in the fries, so we knew they were fine for fasting (oil allowed). Oh, and the Cajun seasoning is delightful, too… OK, back to the topic. We went into the restaurant discussing some possible menu choices. This is not the first time we had been there, so we are somewhat familiar with their offerings. As we were reading the menu board, we wondered what choices we had for our Lenten restrictions. Five Guys does offer a grilled cheese sandwich for the vegetarian, but we cannot have the cheese, so are we having a grilled sandwich (bread, basically) with a variety of toppings? This is when we started to ask the questions and find out, "Is there anything on the Five Guys menu that is appropriate for Great Lent?" Here is what we found:
Five Guys offers a Veggie Sandwich that has grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, green peppers, lettuce, and tomato for $3.19 (price in Toronto, Ontario, prices may vary). You can add cheese to that for another $0.80, but we are not eating cheese right now. But these toppings made us feel like we were eating a hamburger without the beef, and that would be very satisfying. So, we stuck to the Veggie Sandwich without cheese. We also ordered fries and a drink. A large fries for two of us to share seemed completely adequate, even at $4.99. The french fries at Five Guys are delicious. For one of us, these are her favourite french fries! (sorry McDonald's!) The fries are plentiful, crispy, just salted enough. And, the drink washes it all down.
An image from 5 Guys' corporate website showing the topic options that are available. |
The veggie sandwich |
The veggie sandwich assembled by Five Guys staff. |
The deconstructed veggie sandwich and its components. |
Now what? We totally destroyed fasting without being knowledgeable about what we were eating. We thought that we were making a safe choice, but we learned otherwise. However, by writing this and sharing our experience, we hope to save you the trouble of going to Five Guys Burgers and Fries thinking that you will be enjoying a (vegan) vegetable sandwich -- you will not. As long as the grilled onions and grilled mushrooms are cooked on the same flattop grill as the burgers, they will never be clean and free of animal product. Even if they were, the buns are out of the questions, too, so we are left with just french fries and a drink. That's okay, we really like their fries. But, this is not the place to have a meal during the periods of fasting. This has taught us, though, that as Orthodox Christians, we need to be more diligent in our practices and perhaps do a little research before eating out.
"Whoever does not fight the one who despises him, neither in word not in thought, has received true knowledge and demonstrates a firm trust in God."
(St. Mark the Ascetic, Homilies, 2.119)
Source of quote: http://orthodox.cn/patristics/300sayings_en.htm
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