Guest guest Posted November 9, 2002 Report Share Posted November 9, 2002 <rant> GRRRRRRRRR…….I didn’t realize how difficult it is to eat out these days. In the past when I’ve stopped eating meat I haven’t been particularily anal about it, but this time I simply don’t want it, ya know? Some restaurants are great, and have lots of vegetarian choices, particularly Indian and Thai places. I’m close enough to NYC that we have a lot of good restaurants around, but they tend to be pricey and rather “up scale” for the most part. The good old “standby” places though, don’t’ seem to be particularly responsive to the trend away from meat products. A few weeks ago I went out for lunch with some friends. We went to Chili’s, because they like it and its close to where they live on Long Island. I’ve never eaten there. Now I know why I won’t be going back. They have one vegetarian entrée on the menu, and it has mushrooms that they can’t take out (I’m allergic to mushrooms). You can have a black bean burger instead of beef, but again, they have mushrooms. Every single salad on the menu has meat in it even! There was nothing on their menu that I could eat, so I ended up with a “crispy chicken salad” – hold the chicken! Ugh. And to make matters worse, the serving personnel didn’t know what was in half the things on the menu. Today I went out to meet some friends in New Haven, for a monthly lunch we have. The restaurant is one of those typical “family” places. Every soup they had today had some form of meat in it, including the lentil soup and the clam chowder. Even the vegetable soup was made with a chicken broth. I ended up ordering one of the pasta specials – penne with garlic, cherry peppers and black olives in marinara sauce. It sounded wonderful (minus the olives, cuz I don’t like them). When it arrived there were chunks of something in it. I had a friend taste one, and sure enough, it was sausage. The waitress said “of course it has sausage in it; it always does”. Well it didn’t say it had sausage in it on the menu, and we had just spent 10 minutes with her running back and forth to the kitchen about the soups. Fortunately, they were able to make me another one without the meat, but I’m not sure that they didn’t just pick it out, leaving goddess knows what floating around. I organize a monthly dinner get together for a bunch of friends at a local restaurant. Its an irish pub, and they have a couple of really good vegetarian sandwiches on the menu. Unfortunately, they’re only available at lunch. The only things I can eat there are the salad bar (which fortunately is a wonderful one), steamed veggies, or onion rings. *sigh* I’m becoming more than a little frustrated with things. Thank the goddess you guys are here with all these wonderful recipes or I’d probably have given up by now. It feels right for me not to be eating meat at this point in my life, but it sure isn’t easy to accomplish </rant> -- Sherri " You don't appreciate a lot of stuff in school until you get older. Little things like being spanked every day by a middle aged woman: stuff you pay good money for in later life. " - Emo Phillips Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 10, 2002 Report Share Posted November 10, 2002 I just loved your rant, Sherri, and I can so relate. Luckily I can eat shro= oms and love them, so perhaps I would like Chili's. I wonder though why a place= with that name wouldn't make a delicious vegan chili? Seems odd since it would be so easy to do, and vegetarianism isn't in the Dark Ages anymore...or so I am told. I have this " dark ages " experience often enough when I go out to eat around= here. My husband and son are die hard meat lovers, and always choose to go to this one restaurant called 'HOG WILD'. It is supposedly an authentic = southern-style BBQ place, though being a yank and not knowing what that is, we all must take their word for it. All I gather is the only veggies a = southern BBQer enjoys is cole slaw! *lol* Maybe a pickle now and then. However, they= did have a gardenburger on the menu (yeah the kind with shrooms in the ingredient list). I ordered that, much to the surprise of the waitress. She= cocked her brow and said, " You aren't much of a BBQ gal are ya? " . I just smiled and told her, " Um, no. I'm a vegetarian. " Then she replied, " We got a catfish sandwich on our menu if you care to try= that? " Dang. Didn't anyone ever tell this lady that catfish are living critters th= at one must KILL to enjoy crunching on their flesh? *lol* Sheesh. I wanted to say = that, but instead I just politely told her that I didn't eat fish either as= a rule. She was again aghast with shock and wonder. You could almost hear the hubbaloo in the kitchen when the order was placed infront of the cook. " Hey= Boss Hog (yes, he cooks name, no kidding), we got us a bonafide veggietarryen out thar at table six! " . *lol* ~ P_T ~ , Sherri <sherria@o...> wrote: > <rant> > > GRRRRRRRRR…….I didn't realize how difficult it is to eat out these days. > In the past when I've stopped eating meat I haven't been particularily > anal about it, but this time I simply don't want it, ya know? Some > restaurants are great, and have lots of vegetarian choices, particularly > Indian and Thai places. I'm close enough to NYC that we have a lot of > good restaurants around, but they tend to be pricey and rather " up > scale " for the most part. The good old " standby " places though, don't' > seem to be particularly responsive to the trend away from meat products. > > > A few weeks ago I went out for lunch with some friends. We went to > Chili's, because they like it and its close to where they live on Long > Island. I've never eaten there. Now I know why I won't be going back. > They have one vegetarian entrée on the menu, and it has mushrooms that > they can't take out (I'm allergic to mushrooms). You can have a black > bean burger instead of beef, but again, they have mushrooms. Every > single salad on the menu has meat in it even! There was nothing on > their menu that I could eat, so I ended up with a " crispy chicken salad " > – hold the chicken! Ugh. And to make matters worse, the serving > personnel didn't know what was in half the things on the menu. > > Today I went out to meet some friends in New Haven, for a monthly lunch > we have. The restaurant is one of those typical " family " places. Every > soup they had today had some form of meat in it, including the lentil > soup and the clam chowder. Even the vegetable soup was made with a > chicken broth. I ended up ordering one of the pasta specials – penne > with garlic, cherry peppers and black olives in marinara sauce. It > sounded wonderful (minus the olives, cuz I don't like them). When it > arrived there were chunks of something in it. I had a friend taste one, > and sure enough, it was sausage. The waitress said " of course it has > sausage in it; it always does " . Well it didn't say it had sausage in it > on the menu, and we had just spent 10 minutes with her running back and > forth to the kitchen about the soups. Fortunately, they were able to > make me another one without the meat, but I'm not sure that they didn't > just pick it out, leaving goddess knows what floating around. > > I organize a monthly dinner get together for a bunch of friends at a > local restaurant. Its an irish pub, and they have a couple of really > good vegetarian sandwiches on the menu. Unfortunately, they're only > available at lunch. The only things I can eat there are the salad bar > (which fortunately is a wonderful one), steamed veggies, or onion rings. > > > *sigh* I'm becoming more than a little frustrated with things. Thank > the goddess you guys are here with all these wonderful recipes or I'd > probably have given up by now. It feels right for me not to be eating > meat at this point in my life, but it sure isn't easy to accomplish > > </rant> > > -- > Sherri > > " You don't appreciate a lot of stuff in school until you get older. > Little things like being spanked every day by a middle aged woman: > stuff you pay good money for in later life. " - Emo Phillips > > > > > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 10, 2002 Report Share Posted November 10, 2002 I completely understand. I live in the middle of the southern half of Indiana in a very small town. About as close as I can get to something vegetarian in a restaurant is going to Burger King and getting a Whopper w/everything, hold the meat. Some restaurants do have that dinky side salad with one tomato and an onion. That's why I usually eat at home. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 10, 2002 Report Share Posted November 10, 2002 On Sun, 10 Nov 2002 09:42:39 -0800 (PST), you wrote: >I completely understand. I live in the middle of the >southern half of Indiana in a very small town. About >as close as I can get to something vegetarian in a >restaurant is going to Burger King and getting a >Whopper w/everything, hold the meat. Some restaurants >do have that dinky side salad with one tomato and an >onion. That's why I usually eat at home. > We live in a small town in north-central Pennsylvania, in the Appalachian Mountains. I'm not vegetarian, but even so - there really isn't any place to eat out here that's worth it, except on a very, very occasional basis! We have an old hotel in town - very occasionally we'll go to their Sunday brunch which is pretty nice. This wouldn't be a problem for a vegetarian, there are lots of things vegetarians can enjoy at the Sunday brunch. It would be much more difficult for a vegan, maybe impossible. Another alternative here would be the vegetarian sandwich at Subway's - not bad as sandwiches go. There's also a sandwich shop (locally owned) that makes nice club sandwiches, and several of their options are vegetarian. Pat -- Pat Meadows Books, books! Low prices. Music CDs too! http://www.wellsborocomputing.com/sales.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 10, 2002 Report Share Posted November 10, 2002 i guess it would be considered southwestern pa, but in the laurel highlands, there is a *vegan* deli. they have a billboard on the turnpike. imagine my shock in being able to eat vegan while on my way to ohiopyle. kate : : Pat Meadows [pat] : Sunday, November 10, 2002 12:58 PM : : Re: Restaurant Rant : : : On Sun, 10 Nov 2002 09:42:39 -0800 (PST), you wrote: : : >I completely understand. I live in the middle of the : >southern half of Indiana in a very small town. About : >as close as I can get to something vegetarian in a : >restaurant is going to Burger King and getting a : >Whopper w/everything, hold the meat. Some restaurants : >do have that dinky side salad with one tomato and an : >onion. That's why I usually eat at home. : > : : We live in a small town in north-central Pennsylvania, in : the Appalachian Mountains. I'm not vegetarian, but even so : - there really isn't any place to eat out here that's worth : it, except on a very, very occasional basis! : : We have an old hotel in town - very occasionally we'll go to : their Sunday brunch which is pretty nice. This wouldn't be a : problem for a vegetarian, there are lots of things : vegetarians can enjoy at the Sunday brunch. It would be much : more difficult for a vegan, maybe impossible. : : Another alternative here would be the vegetarian sandwich at : Subway's - not bad as sandwiches go. There's also a sandwich : shop (locally owned) that makes nice club sandwiches, and : several of their options are vegetarian. : : Pat : -- : Pat Meadows : Books, books! Low prices. : Music CDs too! : http://www.wellsborocomputing.com/sales.html : : Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 10, 2002 Report Share Posted November 10, 2002 On Sun, 10 Nov 2002 14:29:16 -0500, you wrote: >i guess it would be considered southwestern pa, but in the laurel >highlands, there is a *vegan* deli. they have a billboard on the >turnpike. imagine my shock in being able to eat vegan while on my way >to ohiopyle. > We don't have ANY kind of deli here, much less vegan! Small town, rural area. I love it here, but it's NOT a great eating-out or shopping area, to say the least. Pat -- Pat Meadows Books, books! Low prices. Music CDs too! http://www.wellsborocomputing.com/sales.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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