dallasdunlap wrote in a comment
I feel that I have to eat meat once in a while, but I'm focusing on eating a lot less of it.
The problem is, there are no vegetarian restaurants. All fast food involves meat. If you're out in the work force, it's hard to get by without eating meat.
Fortunately, this turns out not to be the case, even at most burger joints other than Wendy's. You don't get a wide range of choices at many of these places, but there is almost always something. At the worst, say if your coworkers who don't get it decide to go to the meatiest or fishiest place in town, you can get by on side dishes for one meal.
If you include fresh prepackaged meals available at many grocery stores, or deli sandwiches, or ethnic takeout, you have many more choices. I have written here previously about some of the lesser-known vegetarian options, such as vegetarian sushi, but I have to admit that this is even more of a challenge.
Assuming that you don't have a source of prepared vegeburgers (such as the BK bean burger, not sold in the US, and the BK Veggie Burger, which is), that you don't have time for sit-down vegetarian Chinese, Thai, Indian, Mexican, or other ethnic food, and that you can't brown bag it, what can you get at the most popular fast food chains, or in local fast-food restaurants?
- McDonald's: Salads, yogurt, fruit + walnuts
- Burger King: Veggie Burger! (Very last item, at bottom right.) Also, Side salads, fruit smoothies, onion rings
- Any place with a salad bar that lets you fill a container for takeout
- Cheese pizza; most pizza chains also have something like the Pizza Hut Veggie Lover's pizza, or Domino's Vegetarian Supreme pizza; cheese/veggie calzones
- Bean and cheese burritos such as the 7-Layer Burrito from Taco Bell (Rather modest in size; you might want to order two or three. The messages on the sauce packages are fairly amusing.)
- Chinese buffet takeout always includes at least one tofu dish and an assortment of veggie, rice, and noodle dishes
- Veggie Delite and Veggie Patty sandwiches at Subway
- Quiznos Subs Veggie Sandwich, Guacamole, black olives, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, mushrooms, mozzarella, cheddar, Red Wine Vinaigrette; Served on your choice of Artisan Breads: Whole Grain Flatbread, White, Wheat, Rosemary Parmesan, or Chipotle Jack.
But, I have to admit,
Wendy's, Arby's, KFC and other chicken houses (Popeye's, El Pollo Loco), fish and chips houses (Long John Silver's, H. Salt): Nothing but side dishes. You can certainly survive on Long John Silver's cole slaw and hush puppies, with chocolate cream pie or pineapple cream cheese pie for dessert. You might not even complain.
If you are very lucky, you might be in one of the seven US cities that has a Maoz Vegetarian falafel and salad bar restaurant. If not, there is a reasonable chance in big cities and college towns of finding local falafel, perhaps from a pushcart. (The nearest falafel to where I live is unfortunately nearly an hour's drive away, in Bloomington, IN, the home of Indiana University.) While there are those who claim that you cannot get real falafel outside Israel, I have found nothing to complain about myself in the US products. Well, there was the one time I got some that were rather overdone, but you can ruin any kind of food that way.
Of course, there are many more chains than I can cover here. Please add recommendations in the comments, particularly if you know of a good option where others would not expect to find it.
I didn't list the regional chain In 'N Out above, but it offers a variety of grilled cheese sandwiches along with shakes, fries, and desserts. I mention these sandwiches particularly because they are not on the in-store menus, even though they are on the "Not-So-Secret Menu" on the company Web site.