rant: restaurants

[perSue]

i'm horribly exhausted today. what a LONG day!

i come home, WAY too tired to cook, forgot to eat anything but an apple ALL day long ... i know, my problem, my fault.

i ask if we just go out to eat somewhere... cheap.

so we decide on this familiar place that i know serves a good veggie burger... but it's a chicken place.

we go, we sit, we order... several minutes later i get asked if i want to order something else because they havent ordered any veggie burgers in the past week. *lovely - the only reason i chose that place*

so i choose this "new" salad they have that's got "asian flare" and it's described as having carrots, bok choi, red cabbage and mandarine oranges. no nothing about anything else (other than lettuce of course).

i order it. sounds ok i guess.
it comes out with all this disgusting spicy/sweet/szechuan sauce all over it. Note: i dont like soy sauce/szechuan or anything similar to that.

i push it away. the server asks what the problem is. i state i dont like the sauce, the description states nothing about that and i simply dont want it as I'm feeling ill due to it.

she takes it away, she was nice about it tho. asks if there's anything else she could get for me.
I decline... BECAUSE by this time, fam is already over half way thru their meal!

so i sit and munch on tortilla chips (greasy fried nasty ones!) "for dinner".

ok i know i'm picky. i dont like meat. that's MY problem. fine. i'll accept it.
but i get SO tired of going out for what SHOULD be a "nice" dinner w/the fam... and eating NOTHING!

I went to applebee's once only to find out they dont have baked potatoes! I sat... with about a dozen other ppl (fam & friends) sipping water while they ate.

fast food is outta the question. even little salads have cheese on 'em around here... and you can't get "special order" salads at fast food places.

I'm tempted to simply send the fam out W/OUT me next time...

it's frustrating and annoying that a places state "we have many vegetarian options" and have tiny side salads w/croutons, cheese and bacon, OR fish sandwiches OR cheese ravioli...
and there's NOTHING to eat.

i get tired of eating "a side of broccoli and plain rice with water" at "fancy" places... and "just fries and water for me plz" at fast food places.

nothing like spending "quality" time w/the fam...

[The Muse]

I feel your pain on this one. I'm a vegetarian and was stuck going to Red Robin for a work lunch. So, I ordered a Gardenburger. The waitress came back and told me that they were out of Gardenburgers, and asked if a turkey burger be OK. Um, no...it wouldn't be OK. In what universe are turkeys vegetables?

My only veggie option was a tossed salad. I don't understand it, vegetarians are pretty common now. You'd think more places would accommodate us since we often get veto power when deciding where to go.

[cheles2kids]

PerSue, I'm so sorry.
How dissapointing and frustrating for you.

I was vegetarian for a few years and I remember going through the same thing. I know alot of vegetarians will mention eating *before* you go out with your family or friends, just in case the menu doesn't have anything to order.

Okay, really. What's the use in eating before you go? Isn't that part of the reason you want to go *out* to eat, so that you don't have to eat at home? Durh.

I did usually find though, that most places would have either a salad, pasta dish or sometimes I could just order off of the "sides" menu, that would work for me.
Believe it or not, most ethnic restuarants have a pretty good vegetarian menu as well.

As for the salad that you ordered, I would have been upset as well, obviously they should have mentioned the dressing.
They're fault, not yours.

But next time, don't feel bad for sending the food back and reordering something else.
Or in your case, another salad without the dressing.
Even if you ask for them to fix it "to go" so that you can at the very least take it home and have something to eat.

Unfortunately being a vegetarian isn't as easy an option as it should be.
I mean, it's not that hard to have a few vegetarian meals on a menu and as far as the restaurants' profits go, it's defiantely cheaper to fix meatless meals.

[perSue]

thanks for "listening" first and especially for pointing out the one obvious thing that upsets me...

"eat before you go out." You said it right... DUHR!!! LoL

sometimes we go out for dinner to meet with other friends/family... and because others know "I" am the veggie AND the chef at my house... i rarely cook meat (tho i can and will depending on circumstance). so friends/fam dont wanna come over cuz i guess they think i'll try to "convert" them or they wont have anything to eat themselves!

so that's fine... restaurants "normally" provide for all types.

I dont eat dairy. i can't. lactose intolerant and the lactase pills do not work at all! So, I dont eat it. MY choice.

But it's frustrating going to a restaurant that's "chicken" based... and I can't order ANYthing... except fries.

yay... another "enjoyable" meal out with ppl. *sigh*

and then I get dirty looks or ppl make comments because "I'm" not being nice to the servers (who think turkey is a veg! LOL)... or that I dont wanna eat the side of rice prepared with beef broth!
"but it doesnt have meat IN it!"

then when I say "i'd rather not go" out to eat... then it gets turned into a bigger production "there's nothing at that place she'll eat, so let's change restaurants or we're not going at all."

It's nice that my fam stands up for MY choices LOL
but then "I" get to be the "bad guy" because "she's too picky to not eat a hamburger. it won't kill her!"

ok, animal rights or not... i CANNOT digest certain foods... meat and dairy top that list. Saying that it's painful sounds like a walk in the park compared to the pain I end up with for days after eating.

It's more the "Scarlet Letter" syndrome with me... I get labeled as this "bad" person for not just buying a fish sandwich or eating a tiny side salad the size of my spoon filled with cheese...

Talk about a Catch 22!

[perSue]

oh & don't get me started on how meatless meals are MORE expensive than that with meat...

*SIGH*

[stinkbug]

This is pretty much why I hate to eat out. People just can't figure out that if you don't eat what they do that you are NOT a freak! It's a personal choice, or medical need....but they sure get mouthy about it! I literally cannot tell you how many lunch invitations I turn down. I just make an excuse that I'm busy. I don't want to have to argue about my food choices. Not do I want to pay 9.00 for a plate of wilted brown iceburg (yuck!!) lettuce with some veggie shavings with some fancy name.
That's why dh is gone to a fancy convention this week and I'm home eating vegetarian lasagna! I went last year and the main dinner had no choice! They served prime rib (rare) with a skewer of shrimp on top! HUH???? They contaminated the whole meal by serving the shrimp ON TOP of the meat....like some people are deathly alergic to shell fish...what were they supposed to eat? Argh! It was horrible and $$$$$. No thanks. The man next to me ate his (tiny) salad and dinner rolls....

[perSue]

wow... that's a horrible dinner option... and you're absolutely right about the shell-fish issue! I wonder who thought of that combo?!? lol

oh well, i just dont know.
i dont wanna be a stick in the mud, w/not going out to see fam/friends... w/not having any options to eat anything... with getting dirty looks and comments.

at an old job i had i used to get ppl complaining to the boss about my not "going to lunch" (comraderie)... because it was a place i could get no food at or i'd order some off the wall thing and get comments for the next week made.

and my family... well, they dont like "different" foods.
i'm willing to try new/different things... like i made polenta for us as a dinner and got "eww, what's this?"
they'd never had it... barely ate it.

so that leaves out any possibility of my trying to make falafel or something i would like...

it's too much work.

i might as well learn to live off'a bread & water anymore.

[StaceyS]

Yep! It's amazing how many people feel that fish, chicken stock and bacon bits (other than the obvious soy ones) are vegetarian! Duh! And, you would think that at ANY resturant they would have baked potato. What does it cost?? Practically nothing! I personally can not stand the grated cheese on my salads. I have asked EVERY time I order a salad for them to leave it off, and I was a waitress, so I know it's not hard, you just have to remember..., and at least 50% of the time I have to send it back. People!

[acidcookie]

So sorry to hear about this. I have to ask though, where do you live? I don't eat meat either and have to say I haven't had so much trouble (though I did at first when I was still 9). I know that some geographic areas are more vegetarian friendly than others. Like Montana a few years ago? Not so much. Also, certain cuisines are more veggie friendly, like Indian food.

[perSue]

i'm in SW ohio... this is "meat & taters" country! lol

so if i say veg*n i get looked at like i fell from mars! lol

[grneyegrl]

my god where do u live? are there no indian (the country) near u.. the have a lot of wonderful veggie options..or try any other ethnic resterant(sp) ....

[perSue]

i'd LOVE to try something like that...
but it's not my call exactly.

and others dont seem to like that kinda stuff.

so i'm stuck w/the "usual". *sigh*

[stinkbug]

Really, I understand this. I'm all willing to do different....but even in the *city* (200,000+) I don't have/know people who will eat what I will. Dh is a HUGE canivore (speaking of Montana) and he never gives me any grief over what I eat....but others just sigh a lot when it takes me awhile to order. And most restaurant food makes me sick anyway. I'm not technically a vegetarian, I'm just not crazy about food with a face. (and I love me some cheese! but it triggers migraines) I like fish, but not puddled in butter! I don't want my food fried or smothered in some goo. I really prefer to just stay home. People actually have a harder time with that concept! I'm wierd

[Palooka]

Applebee's is the worst non vegan friendly place. There is nothing to eat. I hate when I am at an Italian resturant and find they cooked their noodles in chicken broth or their veggie soup/bean soup in it too. Aargh!

I mean what is the point to this??? Use veggie broth!

One time I was at TGIF's and asked about a veggie option. The waiter pointed to fish! Yea right! There was nothing to eat.

We don't go out to eat very much anymore because of the prices, plus it is frustrating here. The veggie good places my dh won't eat at and they are way down town. grrrr.

I did have good luck at Red Robin because you could substitute a veggie burger in place of anything on their menu.

I find the best fast food friendly place is taco bell here! lol Yummy bean burritos and tostadas.

[acidcookie]

I hate when I am at an Italian resturant and find they cooked their noodles in chicken broth or their veggie soup/bean soup in it too. Aargh!

I mean what is the point to this??? Use veggie broth!

I know!! I hate this too. Vegetable soup, oh, but beef broth. EW.