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I've done a little experimenting. I've gone to the local diner, the nearest Ruby Tuesday's, McDonald's, and a neighborhood italian restaurant. In each of these places, I've ordered non-meat dishes; eat-in, not take-out. I wanted to see the reactions of people eating at the next table near mine, when they saw me eating foods that contained no meat (I include in the "meat" category beef, poultry, fish, and eggs. I do -not- include dairy, and partook freely of cheese and similar).
My results:
1. None of the waiters or cashiers (in the case of McD's) hesitated, commented, or rolled their eyes at me for not asking for something made with meat, upon ordering.
2. The menus all included things that were either meatless by definition, or could have easily been made meatless.
3. I was not questioned about my choices by anyone working for any of these establishments. (except in the case of salad dressings, to which I usually responded: bleu cheese or gorgonzola crumbles with olive oil and vinegar)
4. None of the patrons seated next to me (or next to me or within earshot behind me in line) made any comments upon the foods' arrival.
5. No one questioned my preferences, asked me why I wasn't ordering meat, or seemed to care one way or another. Most people were too busy minding their own business and enjoying their own meals, most of which included meat.
So my "adventures" in vegetarian dining in the past two weeks has been - remarkably unremarkable. End result: no one cared.
I visited Applebees again (not my choice, once again, traveling with coworkers) and I ordered an entree salad, requesting that the chicken be left off.
The server helpfully said she would get the allergy menu but added that she didn't think it would help. She wanted to know about my allergy and I told her that I am vegetarian.
Then she was very nice and said she would be happy to have the kitchen leave the chicken out of the salad. When she brought the food out she asked if the salad looked all right, and said that they had put extra veggies in to make up for the chicken.
The salad was excellent, and when the server brought the check she pointed out that they had taken $2 off the price of the salad for me.
This was the best Applebees experience I have ever had!
Last edited by missik999; 07-04-2012 at 06:10 PM..
Stopped by a place the other day that had a portabella "burger" on the menu.
Funny you mentioned this....I was in Ohio last week and went to a Big Boy restaurant in Dayton. There was a special section of the menu with their new items. One was a "portabello burger" and I happily ordered it. When I gave my order to the server she asked me if I realized that it wasn't actually a burger, just the portabello mushroom, and said that many people expect it to be a burger with a mushroom on top.
It was an excellent sandwich, the portabello mushroom was huge, and perfectly grilled.
I visited Applebees again (not my choice, once again, traveling with coworkers) and I ordered an entree salad, requesting that the chicken be left off.
The server helpfully said she would get the allergy menu but added that she didn't think it would help. She wanted to know about my allergy and I told her that I am vegetarian.
Then she was very nice and said she would be happy to have the kitchen leave the chicken out of the salad. When she brought the food out she asked if the salad looked all right, and said that they had put extra veggies in to make up for the chicken.
The salad was excellent, and when the server brought the check she pointed out that they had taken $2 off the price of the salad for me.
This was the best Applebees experience I have ever had!
I've done a little experimenting. I've gone to the local diner, the nearest Ruby Tuesday's, McDonald's, and a neighborhood italian restaurant. In each of these places, I've ordered non-meat dishes; eat-in, not take-out. I wanted to see the reactions of people eating at the next table near mine, when they saw me eating foods that contained no meat (I include in the "meat" category beef, poultry, fish, and eggs. I do -not- include dairy, and partook freely of cheese and similar).
My results:
1. None of the waiters or cashiers (in the case of McD's) hesitated, commented, or rolled their eyes at me for not asking for something made with meat, upon ordering.
2. The menus all included things that were either meatless by definition, or could have easily been made meatless.
3. I was not questioned about my choices by anyone working for any of these establishments. (except in the case of salad dressings, to which I usually responded: bleu cheese or gorgonzola crumbles with olive oil and vinegar)
4. None of the patrons seated next to me (or next to me or within earshot behind me in line) made any comments upon the foods' arrival.
5. No one questioned my preferences, asked me why I wasn't ordering meat, or seemed to care one way or another. Most people were too busy minding their own business and enjoying their own meals, most of which included meat.
So my "adventures" in vegetarian dining in the past two weeks has been - remarkably unremarkable. End result: no one cared.
I've always had similar results. No one has ever given me any grief or gave the impression that doing so even crossed their mind. I only eat out when I'm traveling, but It's not been a problem. I never order anything that is grilled or fried, because of cross-contamination. Although, I did go to one place that specifically stated that the grilled portobellos were not grilled on the same surface as any meat products. I also ordered a cheeseless pizza once and when it was delivered the waiter said, "I assumed you were either vegan or had allergies, so I made sure the pizza was cut with a clean knife". I hadn't mentioned anything, he was just very thoughtful and I appreciated it. He got an extra big tip.
I always try my best to avoid fast food restaurants, but sometimes when we travel the choices are limited. Several of my coworkers are vegan or vegetarian, and sometimes Taco Bell is the best of the available choices. Their policy is to offer "vegetarian option" for anything on the menu. Apparently some of the employees didn't get that memo, because sometimes they don't understand.
I ordered a meal, asking that they sub beans for beef, vegetarian option. The kid at the register didn't understand, so he went back to get the manager. The manager said he could do that if I would pay for both the beef and the beans. He said that subbing beans for beef messes up his inventory.
I told him that I wasn't actually getting the beef, only the beans, and he said that I still needed to pay for the beef on each item, and pay for beans too. He said, "Why would I give you something that you aren't paying for?"
He then picked up a package of cinnamon crisps and handed it to me, and said that he would give me those for free but I still had to pay for the beef.
Heh, when I was moving from MA to CA back in '02, my ex and I stopped at a Denny's along the I-40 in Southern IL, in the middle of nowhere, for brunch. We'd brought some TastyBite Indian vacuum-sealed meals and had been cooking them at campsites, but had gotten sick of them. She was craving an omelet. I figured I'd get a veggie burger while we were there.
The waitress looked confused and said that she didn't think they had them. I noted that it said they did on the menu, so she went and asked her manager, who in turn asked the kitchen. They did, but no one in the kitchen had ever cooked one before, and so the three of them literally came to the table and asked me how you prepared it; "do you cook it just like a burger?" I explained that yeah, you just took it and threw it on the griddle, just like anything else... you just made sure it wasn't cooked in any meat juice from other burgers. They cooked it up and then came over to make sure it was okay.
In my twelve years of vegetarianism, I've discovered that there are generally three types of people in foodservice when it comes to vegetarians:
1. Totally indifferent one way or the other, just want to take your order and get you through (65%)
2. Helpful and willing to go the extra mile to make sure that you get a meal that you're happy with (25%)
3. Complete [insert favorite 4-letter expletive]-heads who are going to either tell you they can't accommodate you, or visibly take some glee in snubbing you (10%).
I went to a Korean BBQ with some friends a couple months back and didn't expect to get anything more than some sticky rice and some picked bean sprouts, which I'm totally fine with as long as I have some pepper sauce, but my female companion jumped in and asked if they had anything vegetarian. The kid who was serving us looked surprised, but then said that he'd check. The chef/proprietor came back and asked me if I liked noodles, clarified that I didn't want fish or shrimp and how spicy I wanted it, and then brought out a MASSIVE plate of noodles with veggies and a couple small plates of anchovy-free kimchi to much on, too. Immediately went and put up a positive review on Yelp and have been back a few times since
On the flip side, a few years ago, I went to one of our favorite Singaporean joints in Marina Del Rey, and there was a new girl there. She sort of copped the deadpan, too-cool-to-look-enthused, confused-by-everything-you-say-cause-you're-so-dumb hipster girl vibe, but whatever. I ordered my favorite yellow curry soup, extra spicy, and specificed that I wanted it vegetarian.
Her: "Oh, it's not vegetarian, it comes with shrimp and chicken."
Me (smiling): "Yeah, I know... but, I just want it without the shrimp or chicken or fish or anything, just with tofu."
Her: "Well, they can't make it that way. It already has the meat in it."
Me (trying to be polite and feign confusion): "Oh, really? Hm... uh, well... they've always made it for me before... And it says on the menu that any curries, rice, or noodles can be made vegetarian."
Her: "Yeah, I dunno."
Me: "Well, can I ask the chef, then?" (this is a really small place and the cooks are about five feet away from the counter)
Her (incredulous): "No, I'll go ahead and ask them."
The soup comes back with four shrimp on top of it. The shrimp were obviously not part of the sauce. I take the soup up and, attempting to be polite despite the fact I know she's just screwing with me,
Me: "Hey, uh, I asked for this to be vegetarian. There are shrimp on it."
Her (smug, accomplished-looking): "No, you asked for it without fish."
Me: "... well, yeah, I asked for it-"
Her: "Shrimp aren't fish."
Me (starting to get pissed): "I'm aware of that. They also aren't vegetables. I specifically noted that I wanted it without them at the same time I asked for it to be vegetarian, because I don't eat things that used to be animals."
Her: "Well, just pick them off."
Me: "I can't. The gunk from them has been oozing into the soup. I'd like to send this back and get it made like I always get it."
Her: "Well, you can't send it back, it's exactly what you asked for."
Me: "... no, it isn't - look, I just want this remade with nothing that was an animal at any point, can I do that?"
Her: *blank stare*
Me: "Well, fine then, are you proud that you act like you're twelve or something?" *takes dish, dumps food in trash, goes to sit with my party* "What a f---ing b----."
The next day, my gf went and talked to the guy we usually ordered from and told him what happened, and he was really concerned about it. He said that if I came back, he'd comp our meal. When we went back, he told us that they fired her because she was like that with pretty much everyone - she didn't even make it a few days. It's still one of my favorite spots here
"a lot of people bristle whne they hear the word "vegetarian" or "vegan," especially in foodservice. A lot of people typify us all as whiney, high-maintenance crybabies who are "too demanding," as I've been told by numerous friends and family members who work in food service."
PUT BOTH THOSE STATEMENTS TOGETHER AND SOMEBODY's GOING TO MAKE SOME MONEY.. ARE YOU LISTENING?
excellent point... I'm off to learn the sauces.. so, what's YOUR favorite FILLING?
---->> name your DREAM WRAP <<---- I'll start making them.
Yup, my husband and I regularly fantasize about having our own takeout place. Jimmy John's has a decent veggie sandwich but other than that pickin's are pretty dismal.
A couple of wraps and sandwiches, salads, meatless chili, soup of the day. Single meals and dinner-sized portions. I figure if people are willing to spend $25 to $35 in the Boston Market or KFC drive-thru, they'll spend as much at my place for something that isn't junk food.
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I explained that yeah, you just took it and threw it on the griddle, just like anything else... you just made sure it wasn't cooked in any meat juice from other burgers. They cooked it up and then came over to make sure it was okay.
