Any vegetarian who finds themselves in a fast food restaurant faces the same dilemma: Pick at some French fries and eat a (mostly ice burg lettuce, eww) salad, while your friends chow down on delicious-looking hamburgers and chicken nuggets. But no more, my veggie friends! Amy’s Drive Thru is about to change the entire fast food game.
What and Where Is Amy’s Drive Thru?
Amy’s is the first of its kind—fast food that is 100 percent vegetarian, GMO-free, and organic. Say whaaat? I know, pretty crazy, but it’s basically the fast food paradise of every vegetarian’s dreams. Per their mission statement, Amy’s is “returning to the roots of American fast food,” serving traditional fare like veggie burgers, fries, and shakes.
In addition to being veg friendly, their menu has several gluten-free, vegan, and dairy-free options available. Plus, Amy’s is open 7 days a week from 6 am-10 pm, which means you can spend every day there in veggie bliss. Score!
Their slogan, “Runs on Love,” is super appropriate because I love this idea so much I might run to their solo location in Rohnert Park, California. Unfortunately, the Golden State is currently the only place Amy’s Drive Thru has graced with its presence. But don’t despair; Amy’s has plans to expand to other locations.
Business is booming, and the ultimate goal is to take their drive thru nationwide. But at the moment, six expansions throughout Northern California are in planning. Amy’s will have to expand slowly, because they want to partner with local farmers and producers in each new location to ensure fresh, sustainable food offerings.
So unfortunately, it’s not likely you’ll be seeing an Amy’s in your neighborhood anytime in the next few years. Still, the possibility of Amy’s popping up all across America is pretty exciting.
I personally think it’s cool they’re willing to take the extra time and money to actually honor their commitment to sustainability. Besides, we all know that slow and steady wins the race.
What’s On the Menu?
Amy’s isn’t just a traditional burgers-fries joint (though tbh, that’s all my stomach sees). It goes all out with adding pizza, soup, mac ‘n cheese, burritos, and salads (with no ice burg lettuce in sight—yes!) to the menu.
Recently, they started offering “Organic Breakfast” too, with breakfast sandwiches, tofu scrambles, bagels, parfaits, hash browns, oats, and breakfast burritos. Nice.
Of course, we’ve gotta talk about the stars of the show: the veggie burgers. Nothing satisfies your hunger like taking a bite of a juicy burger, and with gluten free and vegan options available, Amy’s makes that feeling accessible to everyone. Keep it simple with their single patty, or go all in with “The Amy,” a double veggie patty with double cheese and double deliciousness.
And OMG, the fries! Seriously, nothing tops French fries straight from the fryer. Except maybe Amy’s fries, which can be topped with chili or chili-cheese. The combination of thin and crispy fries with warm chili, cheddar cheese, sour cream, and green onion is enough to make your eyes bug out. So good!
Seriously, Amy’s is the best of fast food rolled into one healthy drive thru. If your sweet tooth is throbbing, there’s even a cinnamon roll or a milkshake for dessert. At this point, it’s silly for other fast food chains to even try and compete.
How Do the Menu Items Compare?
Amy’s products are good enough to rival the specialties at other traditional fast food chains (because duh). Recently, Spoon took an in-depth look at how various items stack up calorie-count and nutrition-wise, but spoiler alert: Amy’s comes out on top pretty much every time. Just know that when you’re craving a Big Mac or loaded curly fries, Amy’s has an alternative that’s not only just as delicious, but better for your overall health.
How Do We Know Amy?
You’re likely already familiar with Amy’s products. Amy’s Drive Thru comes from the same company that makes Amy’s Kitchen—you know, those innovators that sell healthy vegetarian and vegan frozen food? They’ve definitely saved my lazy butt from starvation more than once, and now they’re serving up healthy delicious fast food at Amy’s Drive Thru, too.
BRB, Buying a Plane Ticket to California
Amy’s commitment to sustainable, quality, and affordable healthy meals is literally unheard-of in the fast-food industry—it really does “run on love.” As a vegetarian, I’m stoked about their food and can’t wait for them to rival the nationwide appeal of other fast food chains. It might be a while, but hopefully we’ll all get an Amy’s in our town someday.