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Thank you for your suggestions. I'm ovo-lacto vegetarian. You would not believe the number of restaurants that have a problem with this diet. I'm not sure why as I have never tried to make anyone eat a vegetarian meal that didn't want one and I am always polite, kind, patient, and thorough when I request my meal. I also say "please" and "thank you" and I never tip less than 20%. I'm not sure why it creates a stigma, but it does. I've read on other threads pretty much the same sentiment.
When I went to Verona's I did tell the waitress that I was vegetarian and that I wanted a meal with no garlic. She said that wasn't possible. Twice I tried to order plain pasta with no sauce, no cheese, no oil... nothing... just plain. They refused to serve this. I didn't want the butter and parmesan cheese because that contains animal fat. I didn't want it with oil because it makes the pasta slimy, adds empty calories, and doesn't improve on the pasta's taste. I don't want plain lettuce because, believe it or not, I am not a rabbit and in all my years of being vegetarian that is what most people try to feed me so I get a little sick of plain lettuce and don't generally want it. Cake would have been fine assuming the cake was fresh and edible.
All in all no one at our table enjoyed their meal even though everyone ate something different. But, as I said before, that was our experience and we choose not to go back. If someone likes the meal they should by all means go back.
It is rather like another popular restaurant that I went to. I like one of the salads that they have and they were always very kind and didn't add the meat to it for me and sometimes they would add extra veggies just to make up for the lack of meat. One day the owner was there and he saw the salad being made without meat and with extra veggies. He came over to the table and he started ranting at me that I am not really a vegetarian because ovo-lacto vegetarians do eat some animal products (eggs and milk) and thus I am just being a pain (he used another word but I am substituting the word "pain") about the meat. He told me that the next time I come he is going to refuse to serve me if I refuse to eat meat. Everyone at our table was in shock and he was loud enough that people at other tables were looking at us which added embarrassment to an already unpleasant situation. I have never been back there either. And, no, I didn't voice my thoughts to him. I remained quiet throughout his tirade and my husband quietly asked him for our bill, which we paid and left a generous tip for the waitress.
All I can say is that some places are more accommodating than others and I am learning which restaurants want my business and which don't (regardless of how nicely, kindly, and pleasantly I request my meal). Some restaurants have good food. Some don't. There are plenty of restaurants to choose from in Austin.
1. Abysmal - too many to mention, but memorably atrocious Italianish food can be found at Taverna, Frank and Angie, Brick Oven, Carmelos, Romeos, Tree House, Carrabas, Olive Garden (except surprisingly for the gnocchi, which was almost decent once)
2. Just plain bad and clueless (and in many case expensive): Vespaio, Siena, Sagra
3. Borderline passable: North, Mandola's at the Triangle, used to be almost good when they first opened at the Triangle, but has declined precipitously.
4. Okay, some dishes tending to good: Asti, Andiamo, Olive & June.
Basically very few places make their own pasta fresco, and even when they do, they overcook it.
There is however an absolutely excellent Italian restaurant in San Antonio - Il Sogno, so when I get desperate I just drive for an hour and a half and feel much better!
fettucini alfredo at reales the other day had well prepared pasta. The sauce was just a nice cream sauce.
I can't tell whether this is humor, or whether you actually think Italian is a race...
It's a culture, and one that seems to be forever tied to the lowest strata- the mafia. It's not politically correct to target any other racial, cultural, gender, religious, or sexual preference group....why the Italian?
It's not politically correct to target any other racial, cultural, gender, religious, or sexual preference group....why the Italian?
It isn't? I hear many, many Irish (drinking/fighting), British (bad teeth), French (surrendering), etc. jokes/comments, and while it may or may not be PC, I guess one 'appropriateness test' would be whether the 'cultural group' makes the jokes at their own expense. As such, the Irish and Italians that I know definitely make drinking/mob jokes.
It's a culture, and one that seems to be forever tied to the lowest strata- the mafia. It's not politically correct to target any other racial, cultural, gender, religious, or sexual preference group....why the Italian?
I don't know any group that makes as many references to the mob in connection with Italian food as Italians do. Ever heard of Godfather Pizza? Ever wonder why nobody is offended by the reference? Because it's part of the fabric of American popular culture now.
I first began to learn the glories of Italian cooking in Chicago at a Sicilian restaurant just across the street from the site of the famous Valentine's Day Massacre. That neighborhood was ground zero for the Italian gang wars of the 1920s, which still loom large on the community identity, and to a certain degree are still celebrated today. At least, there are certainly a lot of guys affecting hoodlum styles there.
On Long Island, as I've mentioned before, a phalanx of shiny suited guys with bulges under their right armpits came into the restaurant where I was enjoying a late dinner of Italian style mussels and linguine, and within minutes I had a check on my table, delivered by a nervous waiter, and all the other diners were hurridly departing. I took the hint and got a to-go box.
And never mind real life. Just look at popular movies and television, for as many decades back as you like, and you'll find depictions of mob life and Italians and Italian restaurants as being seamlessly intertwined.
Tell you what... you get all the Italian people in America to stop making jokes and telling stories about mobsters and Italian food, and I will be happy to follow suit.
It's a culture, and one that seems to be forever tied to the lowest strata- the mafia. It's not politically correct to target any other racial, cultural, gender, religious, or sexual preference group....why the Italian?
I'm sorry, what exactly are you trying to argue? That Italians/Sicilians aren't members of the mafia or that wise guys don't like good Italian food?
Also, Glad to know there's an arbiter that which is "politically correct" on this board.
Thank you for your suggestions. I'm ovo-lacto vegetarian. You would not believe the number of restaurants that have a problem with this diet.
I see. I wish you had said something about that much earlier, because it clears up a lot of the mystery for me about specific details of your seemingly strange experience. It really wasn't just about the garlic, as you originally stated, was it?
Annnnnnnd, now I understand your problem. I not only understand it, but I have shared that same problem myself in the past. I was a vegetarian for many years, a total vegan for several, and I trained and interned as a raw food chef. I was in a relationship for years with someone who has severe food allergies, and who has an extremely restricted list of foods she can eat at all. Over many years, out of the 18,000 restaurants in NYC, we were only able to dine out together in the 6 which could reliably accommodate her exacting needs. And that's part of how I became skilled in calling ahead and negotiating with restaurants about what accommodations they would and would not make in regard to special requests.
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I'm not sure why as I have never tried to make anyone eat a vegetarian meal that didn't want one and I am always polite, kind, patient, and thorough when I request my meal. I also say "please" and "thank you" and I never tip less than 20%. I'm not sure why it creates a stigma, but it does. I've read on other threads pretty much the same sentiment.
I'll do my best to explain. According to a survey commissioned a couple of years ago by Vegetarian Times magazine, about 3.4% of the American public identify themselves as vegetarians. Many more people are "vegetarian friendly," eating at least occasional vegetarian meals, and most restaurants today feature at least one vegetarian meal. But notice that the flip side of that this equation is that 96.6% of the American public are NOT vegetarian. So which group do you think most restaurants plan their business around? Yes, obviously. And which show up as the exceptions? Right again.
Second, while you may personally be polite, kind, patient and the rest, many other vegetarians are none of the above when they are in non-vegetarian dining situation. It's unfortunate, but when you announce that you are a vegetarian, you automatically get thrown into the bin with every unpleasant and rude and hypercritical vegetarian or maybe even borderline "food crazy" they've ever encountered before. You're part of that 3.4% rather than one of the "normal" customers from the 96.6%. Trust me, as a vegan chef in a vegan restaurant I still had unpleasant vegetarians cross MY path. I'm not saying this is true of you, but there truly are some people who are just mad at the world, and unwilling to be pleased. And some people are automatically going to associate you with the worst nightmare they've ever had before with a vegetarian. Unfortunately that's just the way the primitive part of the human brain works. That's the part that makes quick, instinctive decisions in stressful situations.
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When I went to Verona's I did tell the waitress that I was vegetarian and that I wanted a meal with no garlic. She said that wasn't possible. Twice I tried to order plain pasta with no sauce, no cheese, no oil... nothing... just plain. They refused to serve this.
I'm confused. First time you went? Second time? Did you only talk to the server? Did the server talk to the kitchen? It's hard for me to understand why a kitchen would reject your request, but I suppose anything is possible. But I definitely can see a server not knowing what to do and just saying no to avoid the hassle, especially if they were inexperienced or rushed.
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I didn't want the butter and parmesan cheese because that contains animal fat. I didn't want it with oil because it makes the pasta slimy, adds empty calories, and doesn't improve on the pasta's taste.
OK, now I have to say I get the feeling you're not being entirely straight about what is really going on.
Full disclosure: I'm not a real psychiatrist, I only play one for Halloween, so I might be wrong...... but I get the impression you may have some food issues overlaying your "vegetarianism."
Any chef worth his salt could have whipped you up a delicious "Alfredo" sauce for your pasta., made of of just butter, cheese and cream from scratch in only minutes, and every ovo-lacto-vegetarian I've ever known would be delighted with it. But you weren't willing. Why? Ovo-lacto vegetarians eat eggs, milk, cheese and butter. Eggs have animal fat in them. Milk has butter fat in it, and butter is churned from milk, and cheese is also made from milk. So there is no logic at all in saying you are "ovo-lacto" and then refusing dairy products. Dairy (Lacto) is ALL milk products.
But the second line above was the clincher for me. Your ooky description made me feel queasy about eating olive oil, and I can't remember feeling that ever! I love olive oil. I always keep several kinds on hand at home. I cook with it, I dress vegetables with it, I put a bowl of it on the table with some herbs and pepper in it for my guests to dunk their hot crusty bread in as an appetizer. It's one of the signature flavors in Italian cooking. In fact, if you don't like olive oil and don't like garlic I have to wonder why you would even bother going to an Italian restaurant, where one or the other or both of those ingredients are going to be in almost everything?
Spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino ("spaghetti with garlic, olive oil and chili peppers" in Italian) is a simple and delicious traditional Italian pasta dish that every chef I know loves, that can be whipped up in just minutes and it can easily can be made with without the garlic (sans aglio!), and I like to add chopped parsley. It's totally vegan, so anyone can eat it. I make it all the time for a quick bite. But from reading your unusual description, I'm suddenly not feeling so hungry any more.
"Makes the pasta slimy" - I usually think of it as silky, especially on pasta. "adds empty calories" - not at all. It's full of all kinds of healthy anti-oxidents, "good" fats that every body needs, Vitamins E & K, etc. "doesn't improve on the pasta's taste" - cooks everywhere add olive oil to many various kinds of dishes just to improve their taste.
See what I mean? I've never met a vegetarian who wouldn't eat olive oil. My ex used to put it on plain stewed lentils or garbonzo beans just to give them a little flavor and texture boost. She would have considered pasta with olive oil to be like manna, if only she could have eaten pasta. So what's really going on for you?
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I don't want plain lettuce because, believe it or not, I am not a rabbit and in all my years of being vegetarian that is what most people try to feed me so I get a little sick of plain lettuce and don't generally want it.
But if you reject everything else... and respectfully, that's what it sounds like you're doing... what else are they supposed to offer you? Can you put yourself over on the other side of this situation for just one minute and consider what an incredible challenge you give to a restaurant like Verona, which is simply chock full of foods you won't eat?
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It is rather like another popular restaurant that I went to. I like one of the salads that they have and they were always very kind and didn't add the meat to it for me and sometimes they would add extra veggies just to make up for the lack of meat. One day the owner was there and he saw the salad being made without meat and with extra veggies. He came over to the table and he started ranting at me that I am not really a vegetarian because ovo-lacto vegetarians do eat some animal products (eggs and milk) and thus I am just being a pain (he used another word but I am substituting the word "pain") about the meat. He told me that the next time I come he is going to refuse to serve me if I refuse to eat meat. Everyone at our table was in shock and he was loud enough that people at other tables were looking at us which added embarrassment to an already unpleasant situation. I have never been back there either.
No, if your story is accurate, then I wouldn't go back there either... even if I had only been seated at a neighboring table! That actually seems like a personality disorder at work, because his issue with you sounds irrational. Leaving the meat off your salad actually means higher profit for him, so it makes no sense at all that he would have a problem with the request... unless the kitchen was slammed and your special order was slowing down the line. One thing I recommend if you have special requests, don't go at their peak times. Go early or late, or midweek when things are slower and there is less pressure on the staff.
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All I can say is that some places are more accommodating than others and I am learning which restaurants want my business and which don't (regardless of how nicely, kindly, and pleasantly I request my meal). Some restaurants have good food. Some don't. There are plenty of restaurants to choose from in Austin.
Yes, and I see a dozen places in the Austin area that list themselves as vegetarian establishments , so there is really no reason to feel deprived, or to put yourself in situations like you did at Verona where you are almost guaranteed to be unhappy. Seriously, I'd suggest you take a fresh look at all this with the benefit of my essentially sympathetic, but significantly different perspective as added information.
And try my tip of calling ahead to negotiate special requests in advance, rather than just showing up and springing something on them that they may not be able to accommodate on the fly. It really works.
Thanks OpenD. I do have a heart condition and my cardiologist is currently deciding how soon I need open heart surgery and I do believe the cardiologist is thinking very soon, and I am thinking "no no let's wait". There are certain things I have to be careful about eating, high cholesterol foods being one of them. I do try to be very easy on the kitchen in restaurants. Steamed/grilled veggies always work. A sweet potato with no butter is great. Pasta with tomato sauce or plain is fine. Salad with oil and vinegar is wonderful even though I usually just use the vinegar. I ask for no salt to be added to the meal as I am on a restricted salt diet, and I know that restaurant food has a high salt content. Mostly I don't have any problems with this type of order and most restaurants are happy to serve me this type of food as, you are correct, it is very high profit for them.
But there are those restaurants that believe that the only flavor of their food should be garlic (and those are the restaurants that really need to learn about other spices and herbs and what the purpose of seasoning is), or that nothing but meat-eaters should be served. And you really can't judge a restaurant by the type of food it serves. For instance, Rudy's is great about letting me bring a vegetarian sandwich with me. I order their coleslaw and a drink. That allows my husband to order BBQ meat. And Pok-e-jo's which is also a BBQ restaurant has plenty of food that I can eat, and they know me by sight and they always point out what is vegetarian without me even having to ask any more and that also allows my husband and our friends to enjoy their meals with meat. Since I am the only veggie among the crowd, I don't ever ask to go to a restaurant that bills itself as vegetarian. Seafood restaurants, Italian Restaurants, and steak restaurants are usually places that are accommodating since I can order several side items to make a meal and if I don't feel that what I am ordering is the equivalent price of a "regular" dinner, I make sure to order more than I want in order to bring the price of my food on par.
However, I do believe that because I am paying the bill, leaving a nice tip, and treating everyone with kindness and respect, that I should be treated respectfully too. Restaurants are a service industry and providing a happy experience for their diners will go a long way to assuring their success in a very competitive field.
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... but I get the impression you may have some food issues overlaying your "vegetarianism." 
