Day 32 Or... Eating Out?

Going out for dinner?

Joanne Stepaniak and Vesanto Melina in their book, "Raising Vegetarian Children" suggest that if a vegetarian goes to a restaurant and wants to find a meatless meal or a vegan meal, it can be embarrassing and certainly a difficult situation.

I haven't found this to be the case yet, and I live in small-town Kentucky, but at times it can be a little challenging.

Stepaniak and Melina recommend that new vegetarians try the following solution: Have a card printed that says something to the degree of "I'm a vegetarian. I don’t eat any meat or anything that contains traces of meat. Do you have any items on your menu that would be appropriate for my lifestyle? If not, would the chef be willing to create something special to suit my dietary restrictions?" Then, when it comes time to order, just hand the waiter the card to avoid any ridicule, any confused looks, and most of all to avoid actually having to actually explain your vegetarian lifestyle out loud.

Does this seem ridiculous to anyone else? Obviously, a vegetarian doesn't want to eat meat because, well, that's what it's all about. But, let me share that while the authors think this will make life much easier on the vegetarian customer, it seems like a dumb and unnecessary step.

I don't know if you've ever worked full-time at a restaurant, but being waiting tables is one of the most frustrating, tiring and thankless jobs in America. I can't imagine handing a waiter (or waitress) a card instead of just talking to them. Other than receiving good tips, it's probably the best part of their job.

You have to imagine a tired waitress approaching a table halfway through her 12-hour shift that happily greets a customer with the hopes of some friendly interaction and a positive experience. Chances are this waitress has been stiffed or short-changed on several tips during the day, despite doing the job to the best of her ability. She smiles and asks if the customer knows what he wants to eat for dinner.

Then, perhaps without even really looking at the menu, the customer sheepishly hands her a card that reveals the dietary bomb that will only further complicate the dining experience for everyone.

Is there any other course of action than handing a waiter such a card? Absolutely.

First of all, vegetarianism has certainly grown in popularity over the past few years which has caused many restaurants to provide options (beyond a basic side salad) to accommodate the preferences of these diners. After all, about 3 out of every 100 adults in America are vegetarians, which makes for literally millions of potential customers.

So, I recommend just checking the menu first. That was the case tonight when I took my family to El Dorado Mexican Restaurant. Right there on page two of their menu, there was a section labeled "vegetarian specials." Needless to say, I didn't hand the waiter a pre-printed card, not that I would have any way. I just ordered a combination of some of their vegetarian-friendly items.

Obviously, there is always an element of trust involved with ordering "vegetarian items" on a menu because a restaurant could be actually including traces of meat in their vegetarian options, but that's okay. There's all kinds of trust involved with it comes to eating out. You also have to trust that the kitchens are clean and that your food is cooked to the proper internal temperature. It just comes with the territory.

Secondly, there are many websites devoted to helping people accurately choose vegetarian options while eating out, especially at restaurant chains. [I'll share some of them in a later post.] If you remember this is how I found out that there's some meat in the green beans at Cracker Barrel. So, before you stress the waiter out, do your homework if you can as a common courtesy.

And third, talk to the waiter. Communicate. If you're sincerely nice, it will make their day better and yours better too. And besides, the least thing a truly passionate vegetarian should do is make their diet seem overly difficult, complicated, or unreasonable. An idea will never catch on if it seems too embarrassing or like too much effort for the average person.

The good news is that despite Stepaniak and Melina's odd recommendation, I am proud to stay that their "idea" doesn't seem to be the norm when it comes to everything I've learned from reading about vegetarianism, talking to vegetarians, and such. This "I'm a vegetarian..." card concept certainly is interesting, but it seems to have "bad idea" written all over it.

- What did I eat on Day 32?

Breakfast. I ate a large bowl of Toasted Cinnamon Squares before heading off in the present winter wonderland for work. I almost fell three times on the walk to the office, but I'm confident that this bowl of cereal drastically helped my balance. ...Okay, so it probably didn't help my balance, but it sure tasted good.

Lunch. I've been eating lots of leftovers for lunch and today was no different. Today, I downed a plate of red beans and rice.

Dinner. I ordered a couple of vegetarian options from El Dorado Mexican Restaurant. I had two very delicious cheese enchiladas and a vegetarian-friendly chalupa. And I didn't even have to hand the waiter an awkward card explaining the Go Veg Project.

32 days down. 8 to go.