Restaurants

I posted part of this in another thread, but I thought this would be a fun thread to post your experiences with being a veg*n at restaurants.  Sometimes you just run into people/servers who just don't get what being a veg*n means.  Such as the waiter who offers you the catch of the day after letting him know you're a veg*n and asking what they have.   Here's some of mine:

It annoys me when servers in restaurants treat you like you're a weirdo when you order a pasta dish or chef salad with no meat, etc. Sometimes they don't understand when I say no meat, they're like "so do you want chicken then?  or shrimp?"  I'm like - no, no animals, at all, please! Once we went to a restaurant and ordered a Greek salad, and we asked if it had any meat in it.  The server said no.  Then he brings it out and it's LOADED with shrimp.  I was like - you told us there was no meat in this!  The server replied - there isn't, that's shrimp!  OMG....  He wasn't being rude, though, just stupid.   Apparently around here they don't run into vegetarians very often. 

What annoys you the most about going out to eat as a veg*n?  Vent!  :)

I am fortunate enough to live in the San Francisco Bay Area where being veg*n is relatively well accepted/understood.  Even so, we have to be really careful about making sure there's no fish sauce in the Thai food, no chicken stock in the soup, etc.  If we're going out to a new restaurant, I typically just throw myself on the mercy of the waitperson and explain everything - no meat, no fish, etc etc, and make sure they understand, of course with a smile and asking for help because most of the time they do want you to enjoy your meal!  And this goes double for when we're traveling.

I have even been known to preempt the weirdo look by admitting that I already know - "I'm the weirdo veggie from California, can you help me?  Bring me all your vegetables!"

Edited for spelling

i don't trust waiters to cater to my every need, because i'm friends with some and i know that they'd rather just say that their soup is made with veggie stock than actually go check. so i try to find out where i'm eating beforehand, and check out their menu online. i usually end up having to modify my order somehow but i try to stick to easy stuff. if worst comes to worst i end up having a salad with italian dressing and no cheese.

It kind of bothers me that I could order a dish that comes with meat, say steak fajitas for example. I could order that without the steak and they don't take any $$ off of the price! (I've asked) They should! It certainly costs less for them... :/

I totally agree Jenny!  Restaurants should love us - they still get to charge us $14 for a pile of iceberg lettuce even though the price is based on the salad containing steak or chicken, which is much more expensive.

Side note: I can't believe restaurants still use iceberg lettuce. So pointless...

I learned a lesson about restaurants this past weekend.

Being a vegetarian and eating out is HARD. I don't eat out that often, but I was on vacation this past week - which meant mostly eating out. I can't believe the pattern I found - MOST dishes have meat in them (especially chicken!).

Let me tell you, I was getting pretty sick of ordering veggie burgers and french fries.

In one particular instance, I ate at Hard Rock cafe and my waiter happened to be especially irritating. I ordered mashed potatoes as a side item. I wasn't sure if there would be any meat in it, so I asked just to double-check. Then he brought out the ("garden") salad I ordered and found a huge helping of bacon all over it. I asked for another salad and when he got back he started asking me all these personal questions about whether I'm vegan or vegetarian, why I'm a vegetarian, etc. And that it's cool that I'm a veg, but he couldn't live without his meat.

I couldn't help thinking, is it really necessary for me to explain why I choose not to eat meat? And is it really necessary for you to be declaring your love for meat to me? Congratulations. Do you want a cookie?

Ugh.

Yes, traveling as a veg*n presents a unique challenge.  Eating out used to be a fun treat and now it's a challenging, and often draining, exercise.  We have to go down this exhausting list of restaurants... what do they offer that we can eat?  We do get really tired of the same old side salads, and veggie burgers...

Last month I was traveling in the Boston area and I guess I expected that area to be a little more progressive... however, it was just as difficult up there to find anything I could eat as it is at home in Texas.  At home everything is beef and chicken, whereas in Boston there is more seafood, but still, there's meat in everything.  However it is really exciting when you find a veg friendly restaurant, esp. in unexpected places!!

I have to say that it does bother me when people say "Wow that's great that you're vegan but I just couldn't give up my meat". Why is it necessary for people to mention that to me? What you eat is up to you.

Furthermore, I had a waiter over the phone say "whatever, is that what you want?" when I asked if something could be made vegan. When I then asked if it could be gluten free he goes "Lady, I don't even know what gluten is. Is that what you want?". I was so annoyed by the way he talked to me that I just cancelled the order and handed the phone to someone else. I know what it's like to answer the phone and be peppered with questions at my job! Learn to deal!

I have really only had a couple of annoying experience at restaurants.

However, on a positive note, I went to Sullivan's Steakhouse in Chicago with some coworkers and settled on onion rings and asparagus for dinner.  While I was ordering, the waitress interupted and asked if I was a vegetarian and told me they had two veg options - a portabella mushroom dish and a flatbread pizza.  After I asked for the pizza with no cheese, she went through each of the family style sides ordered for the table to tell me which were vegan.  It was such a nice experience.

Fuzzys- I agree that Boston doesn't have too many great options, but if you go back, Bukowski's Tavern (Back Bay and Central Square) has a vegan meatball sandwich if you get it without cheese, awesome sweet potato fries and every kind of beer you could ever want.

 

Cool, we had a nice experience at Flemings Steakhouse, too.  Someone gave us a gift card to there for Christmas  - great choice, huh? :)  I figured we would have to "re-gift" it or something, but for giggles I called them and asked if they had any vegetarian options.  Surprise, surprise, they did - not only the family style sides, they even had a vegetarian entree (mixed grill)!  Who would have thought?  So we made a reservation and they put on our reservation that we were veg, and everyone was great!  The entree was absolutely delish, and it was a really nice experience.  That, and the veg entree was very inexpensive compared to all the meaty entrees!

Last month I was traveling in the Boston area and I guess I expected that area to be a little more progressive...

There's actually a lot of vegan restaurants around Harvard University in Harvard Square. There's a great one down this little side street next to the bookstore that's outside the subway station. I can't remember what it's called though.

We took a driving vacation a few years ago.  My kids are not vegetarians and we usually eat at regular restaurants.  I was so sick of salads by the end of that trip.  I couldn't even get a baked potato at most places.  If it was an Italian restaurant sometimes I could order a baked potato with a side of Marinara.  But that was pretty rare. 

alibuch - I think I know which one you're talking about. Do you have to go down a set of stairs so it looks like you're going into a cellar? It's called Veggie Planet. Veg*n pizza ftw.

I was about to say, though, I've never had much trouble eating in Boston. Plenty of the restaurants I frequent, maybe because they're in Cambridge which I suppose is more 'progressive' have a list of what's vegetarian on the menu. And there are plenty of Indian restaurants too, which is usually code-name veggie. If you go back to Boston and want some good places to eat, I could tell you a few I like. Of course, they aren't fancy restaurants or bars - I'm just became a college student who now spends most of the year in upstate NY last year, so expensive restaurants and bars don't exactly interest me :P I think there are quite a few great options, provided you know were to look and are ok with "ethnic" food.

Yes! Veggie Planet! haha
It took my roommate and I two hours to find the place because we didn't see the stairs. I got this brown rice dish with pureed black beans, bell peppers, mango, red onions and salsa. Yum. I even made it at home once I came home. haha

Wow, great information about Boston! I live there and never knew about some of these places. I'll definitely have to check them out now. Thanks guys!

There are two other great restaurants in Boston that are Vegan. One is called Scallywaggle's and it's amazing! They have the BEST vegan calzone i've ever had. There is another one right next to it called Grasshopper which is asian inspired food. i remember it being a bit hard to get to, but totally worth it!!!

Original Post by wuder_girl:

Fuzzys- I agree that Boston doesn't have too many great options,

WHAT? There are a bunch of vegan restaurants. We even have a vegan pizza and sub shop right next to a place that does an all vegan buffet! As of about two weeks ago we have a vegan ice cream shop! What more do you want? :)

I guess they're just hard to find for a visitor?  Or maybe it was the location I was in... I even asked around.  The restaurants that I did go to, when I asked for substitutions they treated me as weirdly as they do here.

Yes, 2nd Grasshopper : http://grasshoppervegan.com/ 3rd sunday of the month there is a buffet...let me say it's life-changing.

And the place next door makes a killer veg*n meatball sub, as I recall.

I'm in DC now, and the vegan options are a bit harder to come by, but pretty good. I have learned the number one travel rule, though: look up veg restaurants before you get there. Rarely do I just stumble across something. It takes a bit of planning.

DC isn't so bad for vegans. Go to Sticky Fingers, Asylum, Vegetable Garden, Nirvana, Great Sage, Vegetate, Java Green...just to name a few.