Facing Tough Times Being A Vegetarian

[Guest guest]

I would like to mention that again, one of the best ways to elicit change is to

speak up- to people who can make a difference.My family and I would frequent an

almost local buffet so that we could dine with our meat eating friends, and

everyone would know that they would have something they could eat.

 

I got a huge helping of green beans, after one bite it was obvious that it was

cooked with a meat product. (Bummer)

 

I asked the server about it, she looked and told me that she didn't see any

meat. (Yeah- me neither that is why I got them) And she left it go at that..  I

asked to speak to the manager-  who eventually found his way over to our table

and explained to him my concerns.  He too, told me that he didn't see any meat

in the dish and walked away.

 

I decided to go find a line cook and ask what the beans were cooked in.  He told

me they were cooked in water with beef bullion cubes. So, I asked him if that

was how they prepared all of their vegetables and he assured me that it was just

the string beans but the greens are cooked with ham and to stay away from them.

 

I found the manager told him what I had found out and asked for the names,

numbers and addresses of the district and regional managers so that I can

address my concerns to them as well.  Not only did I call, I followed up in

writing, telling them that one of the reasons we chose this establishment was

that it had veggie friendly options, and that as a confirmed vegetarian I found

it disturbing that vegetables were being cooked with beef boullion and there was

no way of knowing until it was on my tongue.

 

As a result, they now have tags on all the vegetable dishes so that you know if

it contains, meat, eggs or dairy as well as desserts which may contain lard or

butter.The one thing that both managers said was that I was the first person to

bring it to their attention in all these years and they appreciated having the

feedback.(To their credit the changes were implemented within two weeks from our

conversation.)

 

I found this odd since the restaurant is in a town with a large population of

people who are vegetarians for religious purposes. When I asked around, I found

that other veggie families had just stopped going to the restaurant. Now, the

manager tells me that vegetarians represent a large percentage of the customer

base because they feel confident in eating there.

 

(Now if only I can convince them to charge less for vegetarians like another

buffet does.)