Want More Vegetarian/Vegan Options At Local Restaurants? Here's How To Get Them: Food: SFAppeal: it pays to be vocal.

[Guest guest]

Here's the key line, in case you skim this too quickly: " it pays to be

vocal. "

Peace, Dan

 

http://sfappeal.com/food/2009/09/want-more-vegetarianvegan-options-at-local-rest\

aurants-heres-how-to-get-them.php

 

 

Want More Vegetarian/Vegan Options At Local Restaurants? Here's How To

Get Them

 

by Eve Batey

<http://sfappeal.com/cgi-bin/mt/mt-cp.cgi?__mode=view & blog_id=20 & id=8>

 

September 14, 2009 4:06 PM

 

Some of my best friends are omnivores, and I'm cool with that. But I'm

not, and neither are a lot of my friends. So it makes me happy when I

see meaty places like Jay's Cheesesteak (which has two locations,

Mission <http://www.yelp.com/biz/jays-cheesesteak-san-francisco> and

Divis Corridor

<http://www.yelp.com/biz/jays-cheesesteak-2-san-francisco>) considering

the leap from veggie

<http://sanfrancisco.menupages.com/restaurants/jays-cheesesteak-2/>

( " could it be...seitan? " I ask, totally reminding everyone that I am old

enough to remember a funny Dana Carvey) to vegan

<http://vegansaurus.com/post/187800272/jays-cheesesteak-considering-carrying-veg\

an-cheese>.

It's nice to be able to go places with my meat-craving friends and have

an alternative to a big pile of sides.

 

It's kind of* like when the vampires went public on True Blood -- some

places were faster than others to start carrying synthetic blood. But,

like fictional bar owner Sam Merlotte noted, these places are

businesses, and once they know there's a demand they'll start carrying

alternatives to the traditional fare. But what's the best way to

communicate that demand?

 

Veganasarus <http://vegansaurus.com/>' Laura Hooper Beck

<http://mrpenguino.tumblr.com/>, who today encourages folks to call

Jay's to push them to add a vegan cheese option to their menu

<http://vegansaurus.com/post/187800272/jays-cheesesteak-considering-carrying-veg\

an-cheese>,

says " I was at Mission Burger

<http://www.yelp.com/biz/msf-mission-burger-san-francisco> today getting

the vegan burger, and the dudes from Pal's Takeaway

<http://www.palstakeaway.com/> were there. We got to talking and they

were like, 'Vegans want a sandwich? Okay, we'll make one!' They just

said they hadn't received that many requests, so I think it pays to be

vocal. "

 

But how does one do that without falling into the (sometimes

frustratingly accurate) stereotype of the strident vegan activist?

Because it's hard to get people to do what you want if you're busy

pissing them off or trying to make them feel guilty.

 

Beck suggests " just stopping by and asking nicely. In person is better

than calling, but a polite call " can work too. She also recommends that

one " bring in your favorite vegan cheese and give them some and ask them

to try it. " (Beck recommends Daiya <http://daiyafoods.com/>) She

cautions " It's key to be, like, " Hey what's up! Love this place! Want to

eat here more often! Think you might want to have some/more vegan

options in the future? If you need any help figuring out vegan cheeses

(or whatever), I'd totally bring you samples! "

 

" That's how it worked with Ike at Ike's Place

<http://www.ilikeikesplace.com/>. He is so awesome and has a million

vegan customers because he totally caters to us and makes us feel

welcome and it's win//

 

/*I get how drinking blood is a vampire imperative and being vegan is

not a human imperative. That's why I said " kind of. "

 

 

 

 

Eco-Eating at www.brook.com/veg

 

 

 

 

 

 

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