Restaurant horror stories/ why terms are important (merged)

completely agreed. i STILL have to explain to my parents EVERY TIME we eat together that i don't eat fish. argh.

 

blame the govt,,,,, they are the ones that drilled it into our little heads that fish was a protein n not a true meat cuz its a fish.... ... once something is ingrained in a mind let alone a whole entire country of impressionable young minds it takes years sometimes many many many years in order to get it straight...

 

I read the ingredients on everything, not cos I have any food sensitivities or any diet concerns but cos I like to compare the store-bought stuff to my homemade cooking , Makes me feel I'm eating so much better quality replacing over-processed foods made with cheap ingredients like corn syrup with higher quality foods like whole grains.

Ingredient labels are there to assist those with religious concerns (pork and gelatin), food sensitivities and why not for ethical or environmental concerns.

We must stand up for clarification cos that's the only way to affect change. More restaurants are being more explicit about the possibility of nuts in their foods. Restaurants should not take lightly the dietary concerns of their patrons, they could get sued afterall or lose patrons, and there is not an impossibility of patrons getting so pissed off they holler, make a scene and walk right out the door causing certain embarassment for the owners.

So when you're given the 'tuna option' DO take the time to clarify to the server that that is not a vegetarian option. If they don't provide a genuine veggie option exercise your consumer power and seriously consider eating elsewhere, and tell them so. What I like to do in these instances is talk to the owner/manager. It's they who determine what is what on the menu and if they hear enough of ppl expressing the same things and if they're smart enough, they will make changes.

But yeah, outside of restaurants I do come across ppl who call themselves veggie when in fact they're not. I don't let them get away with this and I politely make the clarification with them as someone else may have 'assured' them that you can eat fish and be veggie :H .

 

Oh, yes!!! Makes all the sense in the world to me.

We were out picking up a new vacuum cleaner this weekend, and stopped at Arby's for lunch 'cause it was the only thing in the area that my daughter would've eaten. I asked if any of their salads were vegetarian, and the guy at the counter said "Sure, they ALL are... they've just got chicken on them!"

Well bash me on the head with a brick, but last time I checked a chicken was NOT a vegetable!!!

As awful as it may sound, I am all in favor of someone making an official & VERY PUBLIC announcement about what is & isn't vegetarian/vegan and making sure everyone knows and uses those labels appropriately. It might peeve a few people off, but I think it would make most people's lives ever so much easier.
love,
mom

 

Wait...

Catholics don't eat "flesh" on Friday? But they eat flesh? Wierd...anyway, lol, I thought they just ate fish on Friday because the felt like it. But I'm a confused kid sometimes. But if they say no flesh, they have no business eating fish! And yeah, I'm not a veggie...but I notice that too that some people are confused. And it's like...duh, no meat. Meat = fish. Good lord...Chicken? Not meat? LOL Well...maybe it's not actually, I mean they are so pumped full of hormones, maybe chicken *is* someting elsse...

 

Totally agree

The most annoying thing is that in Britain foods are labelled 'suitable for vegetarians' (and sometimes vegan too) and if there are major allergy ingredients [nuts, milk, eggs etc]. In resturants there is always a veggie option [no meat, no fish] clearly labelled as such 90% of the time, or you can make an educated guess, because if a salad has chicken or whatever in it will say so. Otherwise you can just ask.

So as it obviously can be done with utmost efficience then what's their fucking excuse?

 

I am not sure how accurate this is but it makes sense-
I heard somewhere that the reason Catholics allow fish (do they allow other sea animals?) is because one Pope (long ago, not recently) had a brother who was a fisherman and after the "no meat" thing, the Pope's brother complained he wasn't getting any money during lent, so the Pope said something along the lines of, "ok you guys can have fish".
This would make sense, as the Church had also refused to cannonize several books of the Bible including one that stated that church is in your heart, etc (no congregation = no money)

 

I know this situation well.
I was in a restaurant the other week and I was inquiring about vegan choices. What did I get? A vegan meal, with dairy sour cream in a little bowl on the side.
I told the waitress to tell the kitchen that when someone inquires about vegan food, they expect to get a meal with at the very least, no meat, no fish, no dairy and no eggs.
I'm considering not eating at non-vegetarian restaurants anymore, mostly because the waitresses/ers and non veg*n company often react like "oh my god, YOU don't eat that? what's wrong with you?". Nothing's wrong with me... I just don't want to eat that stuff...

 

I DESPISE when waitresses don't pay attention to the fact that i'm ordering a vegetarian meal, then bring me salad with BACON BITS ON IT. I have sent salad back SO many times because of this. How can one be soooo ignorant?

 

i always want to do that when it happens, but i'm usually there with someone else and would hate to have to have them leave and find another place when we're already starving. I don't tip though, when that happens.

 

God, That annoys me so much. It lives, it breathes, it's meat. Especially the people who are all up themselves b/c "their vegetarian"...yettttttttttttttttttttttttt they eat chickenn, pork and fish. What did I miss? I'm all for slapping every single one of them silly.

 

Yeah, man, if it was KILLED so it could be on your plate, it's meat.

 

We recently went to a really good Asian Restaurant with Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, and Japanese options. They will do anything "meat" with tofu instead if you ask. I must say, it is really good and reasonably priced.

My friend (vegan 10 months) has gone there many times and repeatedly asked if the Miso Soup was vegan. She explained exactly what this means and was told with certainty *several* times that it was. I ate there and had the soup a week ago. I advise everyone to be cautious and ask even for things like miso. I knew this and she knew this but you may not: in almost every miso soup, they put shredded fish flakes (called "bonito") in the stock then take them out. Technically, the people consider this a vegetarian dish because it doesn't have the fish IN it. It is similar to cooking with pork fat and calling the dish vegetarian. I have known about miso cooked in this way for some time so I was cautious about it. My friend cannot control whether or not the staf tells her the truth.

I was aware of this and asked my friend if she was sure, and she was told many times they did not use bonito. So last night we got a bowl and I thought it smelled seafood-ish. So I asked the girl who brought the soup out (the soup and salad is at a salad bar) and she said YES they do use bonito. I can't to anything about it now but my friend was very upset.

We talked to our server (who seemed knowledgeable because when we said "no animal products" she said "ok no fish sauce" before we even explained what we meant) and then told her about the bonito. She replied "oh just a little bit". I think the language barrier has a lot to do with comprehending orders like ours.

If I throw up on your plate but it is a small amount, you wouldn't eat it right? It's just a little bit!

This is but one experience in veg*nism you have to be careful of. I know that things are not always cooked in separate pans, etc and I have been vegan 3 years. There are some things you avoid and some things you don't know about until it's too late.
It is a risk you take going out. We will just have to ask the chefs next time.

I am sure you all may have a similar experience, Share. And please let's be nice and not too critical of one another.