finding it hard to eat out?

It's unbelievable how many restaurants still don't have a vegetarian alternative to a meal.... aside a bowl of salad. I mean, come on.

There's a restaurant where I live, I don't think it's part of a chain, but my friends adore eating there. But there isn't a single vegetarian dish. I can barely get a salad w/o bacon bits.

So, after I complained to the manager twice (the 2nd time he said 'well just don't eat here!') I circulated a petition to coworkers and friends and friends of friends etc and got 300 signatures of people who live in the area, who signed for this restaruant to include at least 1 completely vegetarian dish on their menu or else they wouldn't eat there any more.

The manager was surprised I went through with it. There are now 3 vegetarian dishes on their menu, all of which are very tasty.

 

I am to the point where I ask to see the menu first. Sadly, even with veggie burgers, they often grill them right on the meat surface, too.

 

Cool that you managed to change that..

.. and to be honest.. when I read the title I was assuming that this would belong in the real kinky forum...

 

change is coming... slowly...

 

OMG! I found the best place in my city. I live in a big enough city, there are all different types of restaurants here (still none that are purely vegan/veggie), but I found this Vietnamese place that serves Lemongrass Tofu... OMG it is so delicious. I can literally eat it everyday, and they serve it with rice. Indian food usually has lots of veggie options too. Why don't you try some different types like these.

 

yeah, indian food offers a wide variety of vegetarian food, except, if you live in the US, then it all depends on where you live in the states...
I used to live in Boston, and they had at least hundreds of asian restaurants, and a large majority of them were Indian. But, once I moved down to Florida, I found that the number of Indian restaurants dwindled. I live in Sarasota, and there are probably 4 Indian restaurants here at the most...
and they suck.

 

it is true, that it is still quite hard in this day and age to find plenty of good places with a vegetarian option.

 

i usually dont think it's too hard to find vegetarian meals when i go out to eat. sometimes if there is a pasta dish with some sort of meat i just ask for that dish without meat. If anyone lives by a PF Changs they have the best tofu and broccoli dish, try it if you get the chance

 

In my little po-dunk town, I have to ask for everything without meat. There really are no other options. If only there were a Trader Joe's here.....*sigh*

 

i always get vegetables
most places have veggie burgers

 

but you have to be careful of some vegetables. often green beans are cooked with bacon and so forth. it takes a lot of awareness.

 

thats cool they changed for you! I live in a close-minded michigan town where me and my boyfriend seem to be the only veg heads around. its just about impossible to get a vegan meal at any resaurant, let along vegetarian. like i went to a chinease place the other week and ordered vegetable fried rice and it came with egg all throughout it!! Tell me, since when was egg considered a vegetable??

 

It is near impossible to eat out and find something worth paying the price for. Who wants to eat out so they can order something yucky?

All I have to add is this really. There are some out of this world Veg restaurants in NYC that you must try if you are there. Just do a google search on NYC veg restaurants. There are many and you can find ratings for them online. ie: Veg paradise I and II, Candle 79. There are veg dishes made in NYC that are unbelievably savory. *drool* man I wish teleportation existed.

 

hey good on you ceriidwen! that is fabulous!

i usually find it easy to find restaurants.... but if i go for a pub meal with friends there is nothin much but chips and side salad.. i dont usually mind because i dont eat that much anyway....but my friends care cos they think it worries me! hehe....i just think it is rude of the company, although my appetite does not complain! (or i eat at home anyways to save money for beer...hehe)

 

I'm very blessed. The resort I live at has lots of veggie options. The pizza place has at least 6 veggie specialty pizzas. My fave is the mediteranean falafel pizza. Yum! A new Chinese/Japenese/Thai place just opened up, and they have a great veggie chop suey! And I love the veggie sandwiches from the cafe next door to where I work. Big, thick slices of bread, with pesto and tons of veggies. I can barely fit it into my mouth! They also have a great creole rice square that is vegan.When we go into town it is another story though. I hate going to town. My only choice there is a veggie burger.

 

I don't normally have a problem. Probably because New Paltz an unusually high vegetarian population. See, New Paltz is known for being a pretty liberal area. You know, enough republicans that they sadly couldn't legalize gay marriage (we tried. Can we at least get a sticker for our effort?), but enough liberals that someone like Ann Coulter would feel awfully uncomfortable there. Probably walk around wondering why so many people are laughing she walks by. I'm sure she's used to that by now.

So anyway, there are a fair number of vegetarians there, and it's really in the best interest of the restaurants to have at least some vegetarian options. So I can eat at pretty much all of the restaurants there. Except perhaps the steak house. That goes without saying. Hehehe.

 

Jesi- New Paltz! wow... I grew up 45 min south of there. It is a great place but hard to find a job there I think unless you have a specialty that is in demand.
I saw the Mayor (young for a mayor! way to go np) interviewed by Katie Couric last year when the Gay Marraige think was huge, he was very well spoken and determined. I hope that town and it's liberal presence just continues to grow and prosper in that whole area of dutchess county, it is well needed!

 

Mayor West. Yeah, I liked him. He was nice- genuinely nice, not phoney nice like most politicians. I haven't heard much about him since then. I don't live directly in New Paltz, I live about 20 minutes away. I know he lost the trial, and there was talk that he may get kicked out because he allegedly broke the law. I don't know if they ever did. I kind of stopped paying attention after awhile. I hope not, though, he's really well liked.

Yeah, it's hard to find a job there. It's mostly independent shops there with exception to the Starbucks and the Mobel, so usually there aren't a lot of jobs available. I'm guessing most of the people there commute to Poughkeepsie.

 

My area is an up-and-comming little place - it's starting to become a lot more uban and cultured. There've been been a lot of little places where it's really easy to eat veggie or vegan. Since I live in a touristy place, many menus have veggie burgers. You can get one at Burger King now. The Dish is pretty cool - you get a trey, and pick out a bunch of raw foods (tofu is an option), rice, noodles, sause, etc. and take it to the cook and he/she sturfries it for you. $14 a plate - expensive, but good. A Mama Fu's just opened nearby - it's a Pan-Asian semi-fast food place with some kick ass tofu.

 

I discovered that Chili's has a black bean burger, but I have yet to try it or ask about it. And Denny's has a vegetarian omelet and a veggie burger on their menu. Personally, I would not recommend the veggie burgers at Burger King, I think they are disgusting. That's just my opinion, though, I've heard several people rave about them. I'm not a vegan, so I have found a haven in fried rice at some restaurants. I prefer Thai or Japanese fried rice over Chinese, though. But it's so frustrating being a vegetarian and eating out, especially living in rural Texas. I find it easiest to just cook for myself.